What are the benefits of aerobic exercise

The core function of long-term insistence on regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is to lay a foundation for the whole body's cardiopulmonary function and metabolic level. It can also achieve additional benefits such as weight control, improving mood, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases. It is not "only for fat loss" as many people think.

My former programmer buddy in the same department had a physical examination 3 years ago that revealed moderate fatty liver disease and excessive low-density lipoprotein. It took him two days to recover after staying up all night. Later, he listened to the doctor and ran 3 kilometers around the company every day after work.

Of course, it does not mean that aerobic is a panacea. The most talked about thing in the fitness circle now is "aerobic muscle loss". I specifically asked a sports rehabilitation practitioner I am familiar with. Indeed, if you do a single high-intensity aerobic exercise for a long time (such as running for more than 2 hours continuously) without replenishing protein in time, the body will break down the muscle supply. Yes, but for ordinary people, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise such as jogging, brisk walking, and swimming three times a week for about 40 minutes each time will not reach the threshold of muscle loss. On the contrary, it can improve the blood oxygen transport efficiency of the muscles. After I finish my strength training, I add 15 minutes on the elliptical machine, and the muscle soreness will be much lighter the next day.

Many people just start doing aerobics to lose weight, but in fact, its mood-regulating effect is more like an unexpected surprise. Many of my friends who work in the office now like to ride shared bicycles for 20 minutes home from get off work. They don’t have to squeeze in the subway and smell the sweat. They can enjoy the wind on the way and look at the street scene. The irritability of having a meeting during the day and changing more than a dozen versions of the plan is basically gone by the time I ride to my door. I have seen clinical studies before, saying that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for more than 30 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks can improve mild to moderate anxiety, which is no worse than low-dose prescription anti-anxiety drugs, and has no side effects.

To put it bluntly, cardiopulmonary function is like the "main power supply network" of your body, and aerobic function is to expand the capacity of this main network. In the past, it might only be able to carry you to sit in the office and walk two steps, or to catch the subway and climb a flight of stairs before "tripping" and out of breath. After practicing aerobic for a month or two, you will find that you used to have to rest twice to climb the 5th floor, but now you don't breathe much when you carry two bags of vegetables to the 7th floor. Even after staying up late, you don't have the same fast heartbeat as before.

Of course, I have to remind you that if you have an old knee injury and still insist on running a half-marathon every day, you will definitely hurt your joints. This is not an aerobic problem, but a problem of not choosing the right sport for you. Switching to swimming or elliptical machines, which have less impact on the joints, can instead exercise the muscle strength around the joints and reduce the probability of subsequent injuries.

I don’t do any high-intensity aerobics now. I just walk briskly for 40 minutes around the park next to my house three days a week after dinner. I don’t have to hit the pace or use momentum. I sweat a little after walking. After I go home and take a shower, I turn two pages of a book on the bed and I feel sleepy. Even the difficulty I often had in falling asleep is much better. I can’t say it has any particularly magical effect, but my overall state is much smoother and I don’t have minor problems anymore.