Someone in the gym complained: "Coach! There are too many mosquitoes here, and I have been bitten a few bags!"

 

The coach yelled: "What do you know, this is an itchy exercise!"

 

Of course, this is just a joke. However, many people cannot distinguish between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. There are many questions. Let's talk about this topic today.

 

Aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise

 

We know that car engines generate power by burning gasoline, which cannot be separated from oxygen. Similarly, human movements also need to burn fuel to gain power. Of course, the "fuel" of humans is sugar, fat and protein.

 

Like the engine burning gasoline, humans also need oxygen to assist combustion when burning (ie, oxidizing) "fuel." People breathe in a large breath while the air in the air enters the blood circulatory system through the alveoli, and then the process takes a certain amount of time as the arterial blood flows into the tissue cells of the body.

 

When the exercise intensity is low, the energy consumption is also small. Oxygen has time to be transported to the tissue cells, and the "fuel" in the body is fully oxidized and "burned" to meet the energy needs of the exercise. Such exercise is aerobic exercise. Low-intensity, long-term exercise is basically aerobic exercise, such as: fast walking, jogging, slow swimming long distance, slow cycling. Aerobic exercise requires a lot of breathing air, which is a good exercise for the heart and lungs, which can enhance lung capacity and heart function.

Aerobic vs anaerobic exercise, how do you choose?

 

When people are doing violent sports, such as running at 100 meters, they have already passed the end point in more than 10 seconds. The oxygen that was sucked at the start of the run, but it is too late to reach the cells to participate in the "burning" activities. In other words, oxygen has not yet worked, and the movement is over. In the process of using oxygen, there is a considerable time difference. This time difference determines the intense, short-term movement and becomes an anaerobic exercise. For example, 100 meters sprint, 200 meters sprint, 100 meters swimming, weightlifting, etc. are all anaerobic exercise.

 

Aerobic metabolism and anaerobic metabolism

 

The fundamental difference between “aerobic exercise” and “anaerobic exercise” is that the energy metabolism system between them is different. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about "aerobic metabolism" and "anaerobic metabolism."

 

Aerobic metabolism is a slow but long-lasting energy supply system. The main fuels are carbohydrates and fats. At rest, the body has a constant supply of oxygen to produce energy and maintain the basal metabolic rate. When we start exercising, such as from sitting to getting up, our energy needs increase, causing our breathing and heartbeat to speed up slightly. As long as the exercise intensity is not increased too much, too fast, our body will adjust the breathing and heartbeat, aerobic metabolism can still maintain the body's energy needs, we will not feel too tired. Basically, we can continue to exercise for more than three minutes by relying on the aerobic metabolic energy supply system.

 

The anaerobic metabolic system begins to activate when the intensity of exercise increases to a certain extent and the energy demand exceeds the supply capacity of the aerobic metabolic system. Anaerobic metabolism can only be divided into fuels using sugar, which is characterized by rapid energy supply but less energy production. This is one of the reasons why we will exhaust our weight when we lift a weight. The biggest disadvantage of anaerobic metabolism is that the sugar is not "burned" enough to produce lactic acid. The accumulation of lactic acid leads to a decrease in the pH of the muscle cells, which is another major cause of fatigue during high-intensity exercise. Anaerobic metabolic exercise can generally not exceed two minutes. Many times, you need to take a break and let your physical strength recover. When the blood takes away the anaerobic waste, you can continue to exercise.