World recognized aerobic exercise

Currently, there is no "best aerobic exercise" that is uniformly stamped by all authoritative organizations in the global sports medicine community. However, aerobic exercise has been jointly included in the regular recommendation list by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other institutions. It has been clinically verified for decades in large samples and has clear benefits for cardiopulmonary function and metabolic regulation. It mainly includes six categories: brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics, and rowing.

The core reason why these projects are widely recognized is that they are universally applicable and the evidence of benefits is solid enough - ACSM has conducted a follow-up study spanning 20 years and covering more than 100,000 samples. People who adhere to moderate-intensity aerobics for 150 minutes per week for a long time have a 35% lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than sedentary people, a 40% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and a 29% lower all-cause mortality. The data is solid.

Don’t underestimate brisk walking, this is the first aerobic activity recommended by WHO for all ages. A while ago, I helped my mother adjust her exercise plan. The aunties who danced in the community all encouraged her to jog together, saying, "Running is the only way to get aerobic, walking is useless." As a result, her knees hurt after running for three days. She went to the rehabilitation department to see a doctor, and the doctor immediately said, "Her knees are aerobic." He has degenerative disease and is overweight. When running, the pressure on his patella is 3-4 times his body weight. It is not as safe as walking fast. As long as the walking speed is about 110 steps per minute, and he can speak normally but cannot sing, the intensity is enough."

This is something that the sports circle has not yet come up with: most coaches with a competitive sports background prefer jogging. After all, the threshold is zero, you can go out with shoes, and the fat-burning efficiency per unit time is high enough. However, sports rehabilitation practitioners generally recommend low-weight-bearing programs such as swimming and cycling, especially for people with old joint injuries and whose body weight exceeds 10% of the standard body weight. The long-term benefits of the latter are much higher than running, and basically will not cause sports injuries.

To be honest, I used to think that only when I ran 5 kilometers and worked up a sweat could I be considered doing aerobics. It wasn’t until I studied with the team’s rehabilitation therapist in the past two years that I realized that the standard is actually very simple: as long as the heart rate is maintained in the 60%-70% range of the maximum heart rate (220 minus actual age), and the energy supply mode is mainly aerobic oxidation, whether you are walking or riding an elliptical machine, it is considered effective aerobic exercise.

Oh, yes, there is another controversy that has been going on for several years: does HIIT count as aerobic? The view of the traditional exercise physiology school is very clear: it does not count, because the heart rate of HIIT often rushes to more than 90% of the maximum heart rate, and there is a large amount of anaerobic energy supply stage. It is a mixed-oxygen exercise and cannot be classified as pure aerobic exercise. However, the exercise guidelines updated by the WHO last year have included interval training in the recommended list, and the reason is very real: for office workers who are so busy every day that their feet never touch the floor, 15 minutes of HIIT twice a week can basically improve the heart and lungs.

I have a friend who works in Internet operations. He always said that he didn’t have time to exercise. Later, he followed the video and did two sets of 10-minute interval exercises at home every day after get off work. He persisted for three months. During the physical examination, the triglyceride index was directly brought back from excessive to the normal range, and the resting heart rate was also reduced from 78 to 65. The effect was much better than when he only ran once in half a year.

Some people also ask whether skipping rope is recognized as aerobic? In fact, mainstream organizations have not included it in the general recommendation list, mainly because it has a considerable impact on ankles and knees. People with heavy weight and poor joints are prone to injuries. However, for people with normal weight and no old joint injuries, skipping is 30% more efficient in burning fat than jogging. If you can persist, it is also a very good choice.

Many people still have a misunderstanding, thinking that aerobic exercise must be done continuously for more than 20 minutes to be effective, otherwise it will be in vain. This view has actually been updated a long time ago. The traditional theory does require that the proportion of fat energy supply will increase for more than 20 minutes. However, the latest research shows that as long as each exercise lasts for more than 10 minutes and a total of 150 minutes of moderate intensity is reached in a week, you can achieve similar health benefits as continuous exercise. When I work a lot of overtime, I break my exercise into pieces: I go downstairs to pick up the express in the morning and walk an extra 10 minutes, I walk around the park for 10 minutes after lunch, I get off the subway two stops early after get off work and walk for 10 minutes. That’s enough for the day, and I don’t have to make time to go to the gym.

To be honest, there is actually no need to worry about what is "world recognized". No matter how good the project is, it will be in vain if you can't persist. I have seen too many people apply for a fitness card worth tens of thousands of yuan. After swimming twice, they find it too troublesome and never go again. On the contrary, the aunt who walks with her wife for half an hour after dinner every day has better physical examination indicators than many young people. What suits you and can be sustained for a long time is the best aerobic exercise for you.