How long does aerobic exercise take for best results?

At present, there is no unified standard answer for the "optimal duration" in the sports field. For ordinary healthy people, 20-60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics in a single session and 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics every week is the most cost-effective option, which can basically cover most of the needs for improving cardiopulmonary capacity, controlling weight, and improving basal metabolism. There is no need to bother calculating the maximum heart rate for the moderate intensity mentioned here. It means that you are a little out of breath when you exercise, but you can still chat with people normally, which is easy to judge.

However, there has been a lot of controversy about the duration of aerobic exercise in the past two years. Many studies have given the green light to people who cannot squeeze in the entire time. They believe that a single session of more than 10 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics, three times a day, is no different from the benefits of practicing 30 minutes at a time. Some studies even pointed out that the cardiopulmonary benefits obtained from 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobics accumulated per week are the same as those of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics. I used to help a friend who works in the Internet adjust her fitness plan. She gets home from get off work almost 10 o'clock every day and can't squeeze in a full period of exercise. So she does 12 minutes of high-intensity aerobics according to the video before going out every morning. She also gave up sharing a bicycle for commuting and switched to a brisk 15-minute walk to the subway station. She insisted on going for a physical examination for more than three months. Her resting heart rate dropped from 78 to 63, and her abnormal blood lipid indicators also fell back to the normal range. The effect was much better than her previous two hours of sudden training on weekends.

But don’t think that you have to endure it for a long time just for the sake of effect. I encountered this pitfall when I was preparing for the half marathon last year. I ran for 1 hour and 40 minutes each time for two weeks in order to stretch my endurance. As a result, I slept very little during that period. My muscles were stiff when I woke up in the morning, and I caught two colds in succession. After checking the information on exercise physiology, I found that after a single aerobic exercise of more than 90 minutes, the secretion of glucocorticoids will increase significantly, which will consume muscles and reduce immunity. Unless you are an enthusiast who needs to prepare for a competition, there is no need for ordinary people to spend this time.

To put it bluntly, choosing aerobic duration is actually like choosing the sugar content when ordering milk tea. There is no absolute "best" at all. It all depends on your own foundation and needs: if you just want to maintain your daily health, just save enough amount of fragmented short-term aerobics. There is no need to force the whole time to embarrass yourself.； If the main goal is to lose fat, maintaining moderate intensity for 30-45 minutes is enough. Combined with some strength training, the effect is better than just spending an hour in the gym. ； If you are a sports enthusiast and want to improve your endurance, you can slowly increase the duration according to your tolerance. If I really want to give you the most practical advice, don’t get stuck on what others say is the best time. If you are in good shape today, just practice for 20 more minutes. If you are in bad shape, walking for 10 minutes is not in vain. The time that you can stick to for a long time is the best for you.