Is aerobic exercise really THAT good?

[CrimsonMama]

And what exactly is classed as aerobic exercise? Is marching on the spot really just as good as push ups or squats?

As I can't currently do any running or exercise that agitates my archilles tendonitis I am still trying to burn calories enough calories a day to aid my weight loss.

I use mapmyfitness to record my walks, cycles, runs and exercise.

Today I did a 30 min brisk walk and burned 225 calories. This afternoon I did 45 mins of aerobic exercise from a YouTube video. Mapmyfitness allows you to select "general aerobic video" as a category and says that 45 mins burns 415 calories!

That seems a lot! That is the same as doing a 30 minute run! I do get a little hot and sweaty so I'm guessing it's doing some good for my weight loss. But some of the exercises are so easy! Like going on all fours and bending up and down so your body is in a straight line, then a upside down V shape then back again and so forth. That one's called high plank to down dog. I really enjoy that one!

Seems too good to be true that I can theoretically exercise at home maybe 3x 30 mins sessions and burn a crazy 834 calories!!!

[lucigret]

If you are enjoying the exercise that you are doing, then do it, regardless of what you are burning. Walking is a great exercise and marching on the spot helps to burn calories too. Take a look at Lesley Sansone 1 mile happy walk on Youtube.

Exercise is obviously beneficial to us all, but just remember, you can't out run a bad diet - the way you eat is more important.

I'm really glad you have found something you enjoy, carry on planking, great for the tummy

[Brightfeather Maintainer Healthy BMI in reply to lucigret]

Lesley sansone and happy walk is great

[lucigret in reply to Brightfeather]

I agree, although have to admit I haven’t done it for months!

[Rhosyn2]

I love MyFitnessPal but its calorie calculation for exercise is notoriously way off. It's actually really difficult to calculate calorie expenditure through exercise accurately, so I don't trust the apps.

Instead I get other benefits from exercise; it's my 'me' time, it makes me feel good (hello endorphins!), builds self confidence, gets me out in nature or out in a group, gives me a hobby to talk about... The list grows from there.

Cardio is good for heart health, but strength training has a lot of additional benefits. Building a bit of muscle will help support your day to day life, raise your resting metabolism (and thus TDEE), helps support aging gracefully, and more. Although it doesn't burn as many calories while you're doing it, it has so many long term benefits that I prioritise it over running / cycling.

That's my 2 cents!

[lucigret in reply to Rhosyn2]

A good 2 cents 😁

[RazzleH]

Hey Crimsonmama- It's quite difficult to estimate the calories burned during generic aerobic exercise, so I'd take those numbers with a pinch of salt. And squats, high planks, down dogs etc. aren't cardio exercises but more about strength and flexibility. Now, while they might burn less calories to do in the moment, they are still hugely beneficial as they are helping activate your muscles - regular good quality strength work will get lots of muscles working, and muscles are hungry little critters that boost your metabolism and eat energy even while you are inactive or asleep. My experience is that regular, good quality strength work (from basic stuff like you've mentioned) really really helps me to burn the fat. But whatever the calorific benefits, if you enjoy jumping round in front of your telly/laptop like a loon, keep doing it - it will be great for your overall health no matter what. Personally I'm a bit partial to some cheesy pop at the same time

[UnfitNoMore Visitor]

Aerobic exercise is, by my understanding any exercise where your heart can still pump blood (and oxygen) to the muscles being used. This is up to 90% or your maximum heart rate. You could be at 20% and it’s aerobic. If you can raise that heart rate to where you can still talk and yet not sing, then you’re in the sweet spot as far as physical fitness development is concerned... and it really doesn’t matter what you do to achieve that. If you can do it 5 times a week for 30 minutes you’re right on the NHS guideline of 150 minutes a week of cardio.

So, yeah... marching on the spot can be just as good health & fitness wise as push ups... though the push ups will beat it in terms of upper body strength. Likewise with squats and lower body strength.

For me, the best thing you can do is to vary the exercises up and go daily... some days I focus on upper body and others lower... when I alternate them for cardio sessions I find it easier as the muscle I’m pushing isn’t tired from the day before.

Moving more is always good, no matter what that moving is.

[CrimsonMama in reply to UnfitNoMore]

That's a good idea about alternating upper or lower muscle groups/exercises. As I can't run at the moment I was trying to work out the best routine I can do for maximum daily calorie burn but without running three times a week this means I will be doing aerobics and brisk walking nearly everyday. And a few bike rides on the weekend. Going by the calculations on mapmyfitness I am currently burning around 4200 calories a week.

[UnfitNoMore Visitor in reply to CrimsonMama]

I do active 10x3 daily... as you know I run every other day, so it’s 3 walks in 6 days. When I run I do yoga and other flexibility work, and when I’m on “rest” day I do push-ups and other upper body work. The active 10’s deliver 210 minutes of cardio a week and the other work helps my development as a runner even if it’s not running.

4200 calories a week burnt is fantastic and will help your weight loss journey no end.

Have you looked at active 10, and, strength and flex on the nhs site? Both have forums on here and to anybody reading this, they form a formidable partnership with a good nutritional weight loss programme.

[CrimsonMama]

I did download the active 10 app in the past but as I already walked or ran daily I didn't feel I needed it. Flex and strength might be good. Again, in the past, I wasn't really looking for that. I just wanted the calorie burn. But I definitely see the benefits of keeping your whole body working and strengthening now compared to back then.