Is it better for beginners to do aerobic or anaerobic exercise first?

Should a novice do aerobic or anaerobic exercise first when getting started with fitness? The answer is: There is no unified optimal solution. It all depends on your core demands for getting started, your physical foundation and your available exercise habits. No matter which type you do first, you can get positive feedback, and the probability of falling into a trap is much lower than "hard training with a sport that is not suitable for you".

In the past two years, I led two friends who had no basic knowledge and took completely different paths. In the end, they persisted. One is Liu, who weighs 182 pounds. He was diagnosed with fatty liver during his physical examination. When he first came to work, he followed his colleagues in lifting irons. The air squat bar shook as if he had stepped on cotton. After practicing twice, his knees hurt for three days. He even had to sit on the chair slowly. Later, he stopped touching the equipment at all. I walked briskly around the park for 40 minutes after work every day, and went to the gym to ride the elliptical machine on weekends. I lost 22 pounds in two months. When I started strength training again, I could squat 40kg very steadily. Now I can bench press 70kg, and my fatty liver has long since disappeared. The other one is Xiao Nan, who weighs 92 pounds. She is not fat in the first place, but her waist and abdomen are loose after sitting for a long time. She followed the blogger to dance Pamela and run in the morning. After running for half a month, she lost 2 pounds on the scale, and the flesh on her waist became looser. She always felt that it was too painful to be out of breath while running. Later, she switched to a strength group class. After the first training, her buttocks and legs were so sore the next day that she had to hold on to the handrail and walk backwards when walking down the stairs. Instead, she felt a special sense of accomplishment. After three months of running, her waistline came out, and she finally didn’t have to suck her belly when wearing jeans.

In fact, there have always been two completely opposing views in the fitness circle, and both of them make sense. One group is the "aerobic pioneer" group. The core logic is that most novices have not exercised all year round, have poor cardiopulmonary capacity, and low muscle mass. Not only will they easily injure their joints if they don't do the movements correctly when they first start practicing strength training, but they will also be so out of breath after two sets that they will faint, and they will easily give up if they feel too frustrated. The aerobic threshold is so low. You can go out and walk with a pair of comfortable shoes. Even if you are jumping in place at home, as long as you can persist for two weeks and your heart and lungs are up, no matter what you practice in the future, it will be easy.

The other group is the "anaerobic-first group". Their core basis is that novices have an exclusive "novice muscle-building effect". The muscle-building efficiency in the first 6 months is 2-3 times that of the subsequent ones. If you increase the muscle mass first, the basal metabolism will increase accordingly. You will not gain weight easily even if you eat more in the future. The fat-burning efficiency will be higher when doing aerobics, and there will be no problems of muscle loss and loose skin.

Both of these statements are actually valid. The core is that the people they are suitable for are different.

Oh, by the way, I also encountered this pitfall when I first started. At that time, I read on the Internet that "doing 40 minutes of aerobics first and then strength will burn the most fat." I forced myself to run for half an hour every time I went to the gym. When I ran, I felt sick when I saw the treadmill. Later, I couldn't bear it anymore and tried shoulder training. It was difficult to lift my arms and put on clothes the next day after the training. However, a week later I found that I could carry 20 pounds of cat food up to the sixth floor without panting. I suddenly found motivation. Later, it was half aerobic and half strength, and I slowly persisted until now.

It’s really not worth worrying about this for a long time. If you are heavy, have old knee injuries, or are out of breath even when climbing the third floor, then start with low-impact aerobic training (elliptical machine, cycling, swimming), lower the weight, lift the heart and lungs, and then touch strength. It will be safe and not easy to feel frustrated.； If you are not fat and want to get in shape and gain some muscle, then just go to strength training. There is no need to force yourself to run. The more you run, the thinner you will be, but it will have no effect.

Also, don’t believe in the saying that “you will lose if you train first”. The amount of training and the difference in calories during the novice period can be made up by drinking less than one cup of full-sugar milk tea, and it will not affect the effect at all. If you really can't make up your mind, go to the gym and try each one. Whichever one you're not so resistant to after practicing and still has a small sense of accomplishment is the most suitable entry option for you.

Fitness is not a college entrance examination. There are not so many standard answers. The one who can persevere is the best choice. Oh, by the way, one last thing to mention, no matter what you practice first, you must warm up well. If your movements are not right, ask the coach for a few words. Don't hurt yourself by carrying it hard, or the gain will outweigh the loss.