What are aerobic exercises and what are anaerobic exercises and what are the differences?

Let’s give a simple and intuitive distinction. Aerobic exercise is medium-intensity exercise that can last for more than 2 minutes, with steady breathing and keeping up with the rhythm. Common brisk walking, jogging, long-distance swimming, cycling, and moderate-intensity aerobics all count.； Anaerobic exercise is a short-term high-intensity exercise that cannot last more than one minute even if you try your best. All-out sprinting, heavy weight lifting, explosive box jumps, and fast rope swings all count. The core difference between the two is the different energy supply system.

When I was taking a fitness test at the gym a while ago, the coach specifically talked to me about this. Many people tend to classify exercise directly into aerobic or anaerobic categories. In fact, this is not the case. Take the running that everyone is most familiar with. You usually run at a pace of 6 and a half minutes in the community. You can chat with the people around you while running and breathe very evenly. This is a typical aerobic state. At this time, it mainly relies on the aerobic oxidation system for energy. Fat and glycogen are consumed together. The battery life is full. You will not feel overwhelmed after running for forty or fifty minutes. But if you see the bus coming from a distance while you are running, and rush 100 meters, you will not be able to breathe at that time, not to mention talking. The energy supply for more than ten seconds will immediately switch to the anaerobic phosphate system, and there is no time to wait for oxygen to participate in the energy supply. When you catch up with the bus and hold on to the railing to catch your breath, it will switch back to the aerobic energy supply state.

To put it more bluntly, aerobic energy supply is like the city's main power grid. The output is stable. As long as you have enough glycogen and fat reserves and the oxygen can keep up, you can always supply energy. The disadvantage is that the power is not high and it cannot support you to do explosive movements.； Anaerobic energy supply is like an emergency high-performance battery. At full power, it can support your maximum strength, but its battery life is very short. Phosphagen energy supply can only last for 10 seconds at most, and glycolysis can only last for tens of seconds. After it is used up, you have to rest for a while to slow down. Lactic acid accumulation will also occur during the metabolic process, which is the reason why your legs are so sore after strenuous exercise that you can't lift them up.

There are actually differences in the classification of many exercises in the fitness circle. Some people say that HIIT is purely anaerobic, while others say it is a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic. Some people think that high-intensity flow yoga and Pilates are also considered anaerobic. In fact, it essentially depends on the energy supply ratio during exercise. There is really no need to pick the label. Just choose according to your own goals. If you want to exercise to relax and improve your cardiorespiratory endurance, you can walk around the park for forty minutes after get off work, or ride a bike to the suburbs on the weekend. This kind of low-intensity aerobic exercise is very comfortable, not too tiring, and can relieve stress. ； If you want to build muscle, wear clothes that hold up better, or want to improve your performance in playing ball or running, you should do more anaerobic content such as heavy weight strength training and explosive strength training. After training, your muscle mass will increase, and you will consume more calories sitting still than before, making it easier to control your weight.

Oh yes, there is another point that many people misunderstand. It is not that aerobic only consumes fat, and anaerobic only builds muscles. It is really not that clear-cut. Aerobic will also consume glycogen and lose a small amount of muscle. The anaerobic process will also burn a lot of calories. If you want to take into account both fat loss and muscle gain, you can do 40 minutes of strength in one training, and then 20 minutes of steady-state aerobic. I have been practicing for more than half a year, and the results in personal testing are quite good.