What are aerobic exercises?

There are actually a lot of aerobic exercises that we are exposed to on a daily basis, such as fast walking, jogging, long-distance slow swimming, medium-speed cycling, aerobics, Tai Chi, medium- and low-intensity badminton, and long-distance hiking. These basically fall into the category of regular aerobic exercise. The core judgment criterion is not the exercise itself, but the energy supply state during exercise - as long as oxygen is fully involved in metabolism and the heart rate is maintained between 60% and 80% of the maximum heart rate. Endurance exercises lasting more than 15 minutes can basically be considered aerobic.

When many people first come into contact with sports, they always think that there is a fixed list of aerobic events, and they have to choose according to the list before they can practice aerobics seriously. In fact, there is really no need to pick out the items. I used to take care of a new member. I forced myself to run 5 kilometers every day at first. After running for three days, my knees hurt and I had to struggle to get down the stairs. Later, I changed it to walking briskly for 40 minutes around the park next to the community every evening. The pace was stable at about 110. While walking, I could chat with the aunt next to me about my new square dance moves. During that time, I lost body fat steadily and my knees no longer got angry. This is the most suitable aerobic exercise for ordinary people.

There is a lot of quarrel online now about the boundaries of aerobics, such as whether HIIT counts as aerobic, and whether strength training with small weight and multiple repetitions counts as aerobic. In fact, there is no completely unified conclusion in the exercise physiology community. Some scholars believe that as long as the proportion of aerobic metabolism in the energy supply system exceeds 60%, it can be classified into the aerobic category. Others believe that it should be classified according to exercise mode. Intermittent and resistance types should be considered separate categories no matter how high the aerobic proportion is. For those of us who exercise in general, there is really no need to worry about this classification. When you exercise, you can speak short sentences in a coherent manner without gasping for breath to the point of being unable to speak in full. You can persist for more than 20 minutes smoothly. Even if you slowly climb the stairs for half an hour without rushing, follow the blogger for 40 minutes of low-intensity fat-burning exercises, or even take your family to the countryside for an afternoon hike on the weekend, it is all serious aerobic exercise.

I used to have a friend who always felt that aerobic exercise required wearing professional equipment and going to the gym. Exercising at home or wandering around outside was not considered aerobic. As a result, last summer he went shopping with his girlfriend for two hours every day, and he even carried a bag to help her choose clothes. In two months, he lost 3 pounds. Everyone laughed when he told him that this was painless aerobic exercise. Don't tell me, as long as the heart rate is up to standard and the duration is long enough, it actually counts. It's just that the fat burning efficiency is lower than that of specialized training.