Aerobic exercise zone

The aerobic exercise zone is essentially the exercise intensity zone in which the body uses aerobic metabolism as the main energy source. For most ordinary people, there is no need to memorize the formulas on the Internet to calculate the value - the intensity at which you can finish a whole sentence coherently without pausing for breath during exercise is the most practical and effective aerobic zone for you, which is much more accurate than the universal value calculated based on age.

I also encountered a pitfall when I first started working out. I uploaded a broken formula for reducing age by 220 on the website. I calculated that my aerobic range is 117-156 times/minute. Every time I run, I stare at the heart rate monitor. If it exceeds 156, I will slow down immediately. If it is lower than 11 I sprinted hard at 7. After running for half a month, my knees hurt and I had to struggle to go up and down stairs. Later, I went to a coach to have my heart and lungs measured. I found out that my resting heart rate was 72 when I stayed up late all year round. The actual maximum heart rate was 20 higher than calculated by the formula. The stuck range before seemed like a joke to me.

There are actually two common division logics now. Academics are accustomed to classify exercise intensity according to heart rate. For example, the American Sports Medicine Association divides exercise intensity into 5 intervals, of which interval 1-2 (usually corresponding to 50%-75% of the maximum heart rate) is a typical aerobic interval. At this stage, the body does not need to decompose glycogen to produce a large amount of lactic acid for energy. The energy supply from fat can account for more than 60%, which is also the source of the often referred to as the "fat-burning interval". However, most of the old-school coaches in running circles and gyms do not accept this. They prefer subjective fatigue and speech tests. The reason is also very real: everyone's cardiopulmonary foundation is very different. Some people have a resting heart rate of more than 40 when they exercise all year round, and some people have a resting heart rate of 80 when they are sedentary for a long time. The range calculated by using the same formula can have an error as large as 20 times per minute, which has no reference value at all. There is also a simpler judgment method, which is to use the subjective fatigue scale (RPE) to score. 1 point means lying still, 10 points means being tired to the point of fainting, and the range of 3 to 5 points is the proper aerobic range. This method is particularly friendly to people who cannot bring a heart rate monitor and are too lazy to calculate the value.

Two years ago, I led newcomers in the company to run 5 kilometers. There was a 19-year-old girl. According to the formula, the maximum heart rate was 201, and the aerobic range was 120-160. As a result, her heart rate drifted to 170 while running.

As for the boundary of the aerobic zone, academic circles and fitness circles have been arguing about it. Academics believe that as long as aerobic energy supply accounts for more than 50%, even if your heart rate is 20 beats higher than resting when you take a walk after a meal, it is actually a low-intensity aerobic zone. Long-term persistence will have a lot of benefits for metabolism; but many fitness bloggers will emphasize that it must be more than 60% of the maximum heart rate to be called "effective aerobic" "In fact, it's not wrong - it's just that the premise of this conclusion is that you have limited exercise time every week and want to achieve the highest fat-burning efficiency within one hour. If you have time to walk for one hour every day, even if the speed is slow enough to check your phone while walking, your body fat rate will be steadily reduced in the long run, and you don't have to force yourself to pant like a dog.

When I was preparing for a half-marathon, I used the aerobic zone more flexibly: When I usually pile up running volume, I absolutely suppress the intensity and maintain a state of being able to chat with my runners while running, even if the pace is as slow as 7 and a half minutes. If you just want to lose fat and improve your heart and lungs, there is no need to engage in high intensity. Just find the intensity that you can persist. Many people stick to the so-called "effective heart rate" when they first start exercising. After running for two times, their knees hurt and they feel like vomiting. They give up directly, which is not worth the gain.

To put it bluntly, the aerobic zone is never a rigid number. The essence is to help you find an exercise intensity that can not only exercise your heart and lungs, but also last for a long time. There is no need to ask everywhere, "Does my heart rate count as aerobic?" If you feel comfortable when you run or ride, you can last for more than half an hour, and you can still buy groceries, cook and go to the supermarket normally, then that is the aerobic zone that is most suitable for you, right?