What are aerobic exercises

The fast walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, elliptical machines, aerobics, and low-to-medium-intensity rope skipping that we usually come into contact with are all considered. Even medium-speed mountain climbing, square dancing for half an hour, and moderate-intensity Tai Chi, which many people don’t take seriously, all meet the standards of aerobic exercise.

When I first started working out, I was always confused and insisted on classifying every exercise into an aerobic or anaerobic category. Later, a coach who had practiced for almost three years reminded me that classification is originally for novices to refer to. The core is to look at the energy supply mode during exercise. To put it bluntly, when you exercise, your energy mainly relies on oxygen to participate in the decomposition of sugar and fat. It does not need to rely on the body's anaerobic metabolism to supply energy. That is aerobic. Ordinary people do not need to remember such a complicated definition. They only need to remember two judgment criteria: first, the large muscle groups of the whole body are involved and can last for more than 15 minutes; second, the heart rate is maintained in the 60%-80% range of the maximum heart rate. During exercise, you can still speak short sentences to people normally without being out of breath and unable to speak complete sentences. Calculating the maximum heart rate is also simple. Just subtract your actual age from 220. If you don't mind wearing a sports bracelet, it will be fine if you are almost stuck in the range.

Take the most debated jump rope as an example. Half of the people on the Internet say it is an aerobic fat-burning tool, and half say it is anaerobic for explosive power training. In fact, both statements are correct. It all depends on how you practice. If you jump slowly and not pant for half a minute, and can carry it for 20 minutes continuously, then it is definitely aerobic; but if you go to the limit speed, and you jump for 1 minute and you are out of breath and can't speak a whole sentence, then the anaerobic energy supply is the main one at this time, and naturally it cannot be considered aerobic. There are also various HIIT trainings that have become popular recently. Don’t directly classify them into aerobic. It is a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic energy, which can quickly improve cardiopulmonary capacity. However, the threshold is also high for novices, and hard training can easily lead to injuries.

I had knee discomfort a while ago, and the doctor didn’t allow me to run or jump, so I went to the park near my home and walked briskly with my grandparents every day. The cadence was about 120 steps per minute, and I walked for 40 minutes. The heart rate measured by the bracelet was stuck between 120 and 140. I am 30 years old, and this range happens to be my aerobic range. After walking for a month, I lost 2 pounds of body fat, and my knees didn’t hurt. It was much more comfortable than before. In order to prepare for the half-marathon, I jogged for 30 minutes every day for three consecutive months. I could also listen to audiobooks while running, but the pace was not fast. However, after running for two months, I clearly felt that I no longer needed to hold on to the stairs to climb the 10th floor of the company to catch my breath. This is the effect of aerobic on improving cardiopulmonary capacity. It is equivalent to long-term gentle exercise for the heart and lungs, which is much more effective than an occasional high-intensity exercise.

To be honest, there is no need to scrutinize whether a certain activity in the exercise list is aerobic. If you don’t want to go to the gym after work, you can buy a shared bicycle and ride it home for 40 minutes. The speed is not too slow and the wind is comfortable.