Aerobic training: benefits for gym-goers
Aerobic training suits everyone who goes to the gym. For beginners, it lays the foundation for a long training career; for more advanced lifters, it means faster recovery and better fat burning. In this article we look at why aerobic work belongs in every gym regular’s program, and what heart rate to train at and for how long.
Why aerobic training is essential in the gym
Muscle needs three things to grow: a stimulus from the gym, food and time to recover. Recovery begins with the very first sip of your recovery drink. Nutrients are absorbed through the stomach and intestines into the blood, which carries them on to the muscles. Blood brings oxygen and removes metabolic waste — it is precisely these acids that cause fatigue and sluggishness.
Think of blood as the muscles’ caretaker: on the way in it brings building materials, on the way out it takes the rubbish away. The wider your blood vessels, the faster things move in both directions. Poor aerobic fitness slows this flow — and so slows muscle growth too.
Aerobic training speeds up muscle growth
Base endurance training widens the blood capillaries above all. The heart grows at the same time. A bigger heart pumps more blood, which speeds up recovery both between sets and from one workout to the next.
During a workout, blood rushes into the muscles — this pump is one of the signs of muscle growth. The blood stretches the muscle, so to speak, and brings oxygen and nutrients into it. The wider the vessels, the better the pump. Even the most expensive hydrolyzed protein doesn’t reach the muscles on its own — you need blood.
You don’t need to run up the stairs for this. It’s enough for your heart rate to be 60% of maximum. That means sweating, but not yet heavy panting.
Fat burning and the morning aerobic workout
When your heart rate is 60-70% of maximum, i.e. in the aerobic base endurance zone, the body gets most of its energy from fat. This teaches the cells to use fat as fuel. The body is extremely adaptable: it prefers sugars, but it also learns to burn fat if you give it time. The result: in a mass-gaining phase you don’t build up as much of a reserve under the skin, and on a diet the last layer of fat comes off more easily.
Base endurance training itself doesn’t burn much fat in absolute terms — the benefit comes over the long term. For someone who trains hard it is especially valuable, since muscle mass already burns a lot of energy. A simple solution: add a base endurance portion to the warm-up and cool-down of your gym workout, and once a week do a longer, easy jog in the fresh air.
Morning cardio gets talked about a lot. Some praise it to the skies; others say aerobic is aerobic — whatever the time of day. With empty glycogen stores the body really does have to burn fat. But be careful: the body is not a machine or a formula. It keeps itself alive and reacts to stress in its own way.
What can go wrong? First, thirst. When you are thirsty, the body starts secreting cortisol as soon as you get moving, which breaks down muscle and concentrates fat on the belly. Second, intensity: if the morning run goes above 70% of maximum, the cells need sugar. There are no sugar reserves, so sugar gets made from muscle protein. The same happens with a run that is too long. In one person muscle breakdown may begin after 10 minutes, in another after 45 minutes — it depends on glycogen stores and on how well the body burns fat. Shaking and a feeling of weakness mean your blood sugar is already low and muscle breakdown is in full swing.
Three rules for going on a morning run:
- DRINK WATER. This way you avoid the catabolic state caused by cortisol.
- DON’T GO HARDER THAN 70% OF MAXIMUM. Avoid heavy panting; this way the body burns fat and doesn’t become dependent on sugar.
- DON’T DRAG THE WORKOUT OUT TOO LONG. Keep an eye on how you feel and don’t let your blood sugar drop too low.
Lactic acid, strength and aerobic capacity
In a strength phase, and especially for powerlifters, the ability to clear lactic acid is critical. Lactic acid weakens muscle contraction and innervation — in other words, it reduces force production. Every set produces lactic acid.
Here’s an example: you load the barbell with 90% of your max and do three reps. After 30 seconds of recovery you are barely ready for the next set. The cause is depleted energy stores (ATP and CP) and lactic acid. Give the muscle 4-5 minutes of rest — the energy stores refill, the blood carries the acids away and you are ready to go again. Some people manage three sets of three reps with 4-5 minutes of recovery, while for others the second set drops to two. The difference comes down to recovery ability, which in turn depends on the condition of the respiratory and circulatory systems.
The more sets with a load of over 90% you can do, the better your maximum strength develops. Maximum strength is very useful in bodybuilding, especially in a mass-gaining phase. If you squat 120 kilos for 8 reps, you grow. If you can do 8 reps with 140 kilos, you grow faster. But always pay attention to technique. There’s no point loading 200 kilos on the barbell if you can’t perform the exercise cleanly — heavy weights increase the risk of injury.
Aerobic interval training at 70-85% of your maximum heart rate builds lactic acid tolerance best. In this zone you’re breathing hard and sweating, but you’re not wrecked. Acid builds up, but your body can cope with it.
A practical example: set aside 40 minutes in the gym. Warm up for 10 minutes, then do 5 minutes above 75% of your maximum, a couple of minutes at an easy pace, then another 5 minutes at a higher intensity. Switch machines in between — easy intervals on the treadmill, hard ones on the rowing ergometer. Your heart doesn’t care what it’s trained with; it simply pumps blood.
How much aerobic work is too much
Everything has its limit. Aerobic work in too high a volume breaks down muscle proteins and glycogen stores. It also simply takes up time.
To develop your respiratory system, do about 3 hours of aerobic work per week. A couple of hours is enough to maintain it. You can split this up: 10-15 minutes of aerobic work at the start and end of every gym workout. In that case, one separate running session per week is enough to keep you in shape.
The length of a single workout depends on your nutrition and your other training. Morning aerobic work, or aerobic work combined with a gym session, shouldn’t stretch beyond 45 minutes — 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb. On a separate day you can do a 60-90-minute jog at an easy pace. You don’t need to build aerobic fitness year-round. Two months a year is already far better than nothing.
FAQ on aerobic training
Does aerobic training interfere with muscle growth?
A moderate amount doesn’t — on the contrary, it speeds up recovery and feeds the muscles. The problem only arises when you do too much aerobic work or do it at too high an intensity, because then muscle proteins and glycogen get used up.
What heart rate should you do aerobic workouts at?
For fat burning and base endurance, 60-70% of your maximum. To develop lactic acid tolerance, 70-85% in intervals. On a morning run, stay below 70%.
How long should one aerobic workout last?
Together with a gym session or in the morning, 30 minutes, 45 at most. On a separate day at an easy pace, up to 60-90 minutes. Beyond that, the harm starts to outweigh the benefit.
Translated from Body magazine; Author: Jukka Harju
Author: Greta
Source: Turg.Fitness.ee
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