Those are called aerobic exercises

To put it simply, aerobic exercise is an endurance exercise that is performed by the human body in a state of sufficient oxygen supply, involving the large muscle groups of the whole body, usually lasting more than 15 minutes, and maintaining an intensity between 60% and 80% of the maximum heart rate. The core essence is that the energy supply is mainly based on the aerobic metabolism system, and fat and glycogen are decomposed for energy with the participation of oxygen, without producing a large amount of lactic acid accumulation.

Someone must ask, does it count if I usually walk downstairs for half an hour? Do you think you are out of breath after running for three minutes on the subway? This has to do with the two different approaches to aerobic judgment in the current sports circle.

One school is the academic school. The card indicators are very strict. They must reach the 40%-60% range of the maximum oxygen uptake. The heart rate strictly conforms to the estimated value of 220 minus age, and even a little bit does not count. When I first entered the gym, I met a coach who came from a sports school. He had to make me run with a heart rate of 125 to 145. Jumping too much would make me slow down. If I ran faster, I would just be mixing oxygen. If I couldn't train my heart and lungs, it would be a waste of effort.

The other group is the practical group. They don’t like to dwell on these numbers at all. The criteria are particularly easy to remember: if you can speak complete sentences intermittently while exercising, but cannot sing a whole song coherently, this is the right state. Especially for middle-aged and elderly people, novices who are new to sports, and people who are born with low heart rates, this method is a hundred times more reliable than inaccurate bracelets - the 99 yuan smart bracelet worn by my mother can display a heart rate of 170 during square dancing. At that number, she has been afraid to move for a long time. Now according to the standards of the talk, she can dance for 40 minutes without gasping, and her blood pressure is very stable.

Not to mention the commonly recognized aerobic activities such as running, swimming, cycling, and elliptical machines that you usually see. In fact, many daily activities can be counted as long as they meet the standards. Speaking of which, I used to think that to do aerobics, I had to run out of breath. Until last week, I cleaned up the storage room at home, moved boxes, wiped dust, and organized. I was busy for more than 40 minutes. During the period, I made a voice call to my friend to complain about the abundance of things, but I was not out of breath. Later, I saw my heart rate on my watch was between 110 and 130. Isn’t this free aerobics? Also, the last time I went to climb a mountain in the suburbs with my friends, it was not steep. I walked slowly for two hours and gossiped all the way. I was not tired at all except that my legs were a little sore. It was a serious aerobic exercise.

Of course, don’t just cover everything with aerobics. If you play badminton with your friends, eight out of ten minutes are spent picking up the ball, and the remaining two minutes are spent casually swinging twice. That’s all. If you are playing a game, running around and smashing all over the court, and you can't even shout "good shot" at the end of the game, then you have mixed oxygen or even anaerobic, and the energy supply system has changed, of course it does not count.

Speaking of which, I have to mention a topic that many people have been arguing about for several years: Does aerobic exercise cause muscle loss? In the past, the bodybuilding circle really regarded aerobic as a scourge. During the preparation period, they would rather go hungry than run an extra step for fear of losing the muscles they worked so hard to build. But now more and more athletes are adding low-intensity steady-state aerobics to their training plans for 20 to 30 minutes each time. This can brush off excess sebum without losing too much muscle. As long as you eat enough protein and run for two hours at a time, there is no need to worry about it. When I was practicing powerlifting last year, I would ride on the elliptical machine for 20 minutes two days a week. Not only did I not lose any muscle, but the soreness in my legs after training disappeared faster.

In fact, aerobics really doesn’t have so many high-end thresholds. You don’t have to buy thousands of running shoes, you don’t have to get a fitness card, or you don’t even have to take time to “exercise”. Get off the bus two stops in advance and walk home quickly, take your children to the park to fly kites and run for half an hour on weekends, or even mop the floor of the whole house at home. As long as the intensity and time are sufficient, they are all considered effective aerobic exercises. To put it bluntly, you can already finish half of the set by figuring out the calculations. It’s better than lying on the sofa reading ten “aerobic tips”, right?