We know that automobile engines generate electricity by burning gasoline, and the combustion of gasoline is inseparable from oxygen. Similarly, humans also need to burn fuel to get power. Of course, the "fuels" of the human body are sugar, fat and protein.
Just as an engine burns gasoline, human beings also need oxygen to support combustion when burning (that is, oxidizing) "fuel". People breathe heavily during exercise, and the oxygen in the air enters the blood circulation system through alveoli, and then flows into the tissues and cells of the whole body with arterial blood flow. This process will take some time.
When the intensity of exercise is relatively low, the energy consumption is also small, so oxygen has time to be transported to tissues and cells, and the "fuel" in the body is fully oxidized and "burned" to meet the energy demand of exercise. Such exercise is aerobic exercise. Low-intensity and long-term exercise is basically aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, long-distance slow swimming, slow cycling and so on. Aerobic exercise requires a lot of breathing air, which is a good exercise for the heart and lungs and can enhance vital capacity and heart function.
When people do strenuous exercise, such as running 100 meters, they have passed the finish line in 10 seconds, but the oxygen inhaled at the start has not reached the cells to participate in the "burning" activity. In other words, the exercise is over before the oxygen works.
In the process of using oxygen, there is a considerable time difference, which determines the intensity and brevity of exercise and becomes anaerobic exercise. For example, 100 meter sprint, 200 meter sprint, 100 meter swimming and weightlifting are all anaerobic exercises.
Aerobic metabolism and anaerobic metabolism.
The fundamental difference between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise lies in their different energy metabolism systems. So it is necessary to talk about aerobic metabolism and anaerobic metabolism.
Aerobic metabolism is a slow but lasting energy supply system, and the main fuels are carbohydrates and fats. At rest, the body has a continuous supply of oxygen to generate energy and maintain basal metabolic rate. When we start to exercise, for example, from sitting to walking, our energy demand increases, which causes our breathing and heartbeat to accelerate slightly.
As long as the intensity of exercise does not increase too much or too fast, our body will adjust its breathing and heartbeat, and aerobic metabolism can still maintain the body's energy demand, so we will not feel too tired. Basically, you can continue to exercise for more than three minutes by relying on the aerobic metabolism energy supply system.
When the intensity of exercise increases to a certain extent and the energy demand exceeds the supply capacity of aerobic metabolic system, anaerobic metabolic system begins to start. Anaerobic metabolism can only use sugar as fuel, which is characterized by fast energy supply but small capacity. This is one of the reasons why we will be exhausted after lifting weights for more than ten times.
The biggest disadvantage of anaerobic metabolism is that sugar is not completely "burned" and lactic acid is produced. The accumulation of lactic acid leads to the decrease of pH value in muscle cell environment, which is another main reason for fatigue during high-intensity exercise. Anaerobic metabolic exercise generally cannot last more than two minutes. Many times, you need to rest and restore your physical strength, and you can continue to exercise until the blood takes away anaerobic metabolic waste.
The chart is a comparison between aerobic metabolism and anaerobic metabolism.
There are no absolute boundaries.
The difference between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise is mentioned above. But in fact, aerobic and anaerobic rarely exist independently and will not change from one metabolic state to another at once. More often they overlap, but sometimes aerobic metabolism is dominant and sometimes anaerobic metabolism is dominant.
In low-intensity exercise, such as walking, the proportion of anaerobic metabolism is very small. At this time we can call it "pure aerobic" exercise. But in almost all high-intensity exercises, aerobic and anaerobic metabolism coexist, so there is no "pure anaerobic".
In addition, whether an exercise is aerobic or anaerobic depends on one's physical condition and training level. The fast walking of Olympic athletes may lead to the participation of many beginners in anaerobic metabolism and muscle aches; The so-called novice weightlifting may just be the warm-up of professional strength athletes, which is equivalent to their aerobic exercise.
Is it only aerobic exercise that burns fat?
As mentioned above, aerobic metabolism can use fat and sugar as fuel, while anaerobic metabolism can only use sugar as fuel. Is it only aerobic exercise that can consume fat? No. There are three reasons:
As mentioned above, there is no "pure anaerobic", and aerobic metabolism has almost reached its limit during high-intensity anaerobic exercise. I believe that everyone who has run the 400-meter dash has experienced this.
Second, anaerobic metabolism mainly consumes glycogen, and the result of glycogen consumption is to accelerate aerobic metabolism and use fat to supply energy. Therefore, the combination of anaerobic and aerobic is better for reducing fat.
Third, anaerobic exercise not only consumes a lot of energy during exercise, but also owes an "oxygen debt" to improve the body's metabolism, so that the body consumes energy during rest, and most of the energy consumed during rest comes from fat.
Which kind of weight loss effect is better?
The essence of fat is excess energy reserve. If the total amount of energy consumed by two exercises is similar, then the weight loss effect is similar.
Many people who want to lose weight can change their thinking and pay attention to the overall calorie consumption instead of always looking for special ways to lose weight.
If weight loss is compared to spending money, slow aerobic is like spending a small sum of money, and high-intensity anaerobic is like swiping a credit card. The former spends slowly and the latter spends quickly, but as long as the total amount is equal, it is as fast as poverty. Even, credit cards may deduct interest, just like you have to pay off your "oxygen debt", so credit cards may make you poor faster.
Look carefully, the girl or handsome guy with the best figure in the gym often does not run on the treadmill for an hour, but silently lifts iron in the strength area. I don't mean to ask everyone to lift the iron. Of course, there are people in good shape on the treadmill, but at least I want to explain that anaerobic training can also have good results.
How to choose aerobic and anaerobic?
No sport is suitable for everyone. Which sport is suitable for you depends on your own situation. These specific conditions include: age, physical fitness, sports foundation, body shape goals, and presence of diseases.
For example, people who have no physical education foundation have just started exercising. They can start with aerobic exercise to improve heart and lung function and physical fitness, and then add anaerobic training.
Some people are born thin and want to strengthen muscles and build a strong body, so anaerobic training should be the main method. On the other hand, some people are "muscular" and it is easy to gain muscle. If you want to lose weight, you should give priority to aerobic training.
Patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, and the elderly should give priority to aerobic exercise. To prevent osteoporosis and osteomalacia, anaerobic exercise should be the main method.
If you have enough time, you'd better do anaerobic and aerobic exercise at the same time (anaerobic and aerobic are generally recommended) to reap the benefits of both kinds of exercise. If your work and life are busy and your exercise time is limited, then you can also combine aerobic and anaerobic training to do HIIT (high-intensity interval training), which has a very good effect of reducing fat and shaping.