Aerobic Epiphany

I was doing some thinking about the benefits of resistance versus aerobic exercise.  What's strange for me is that even though I've gained some muscle this year, it has had no effect on my day-to-day life.  I don't feel any different.  I suppose the added muscle is functional, but in a non-physical job (like mine) you don't really utilize your muscles much on a daily basis.

Conversely, when in the past I've been in better aerobic shape via running/interval training/dancing, I've felt better and had more energy on a daily basis.  This is somewhat in line with the recent paper on how the aerobic system truly underlies the capacity of the human system.

I remember in the 90s there was a big anti-aerobics push, and there was the notion that strength training provided all the aerobic training that was necessary.  This is entirely false in my opinion, mostly because of the evolutionary implications.  Roughly you could say that in terms of hunter-gatherers, the aerobic system provided locomotion (running, walking, etc.), and the muscular system either supported this locomotion or was used to move heavy objects.  But it would seem very probable that the locomotion system was dominant.  How can you acquire game by standing in one spot?  If a load was too heavy, you could always get help to move it.  But if you just sat around in camp and expected others to go hunt for you, I'm not sure that would take you very far.

I put in a good aerobic workout (along with weightlifting) yesterday, and I definitely had more energy than usual today.  I will probably start putting more emphasis on aerobic work, if only to gain the psychological benefits.

Comments

[DaveC - DaveGetsFit]

The variable I wonder about here is the intensity at which one performs steady-state aerobics. I got involved in this whole health blog scene by reading Mark Sisson's "Case Against Cardio" post but it was directed against cardio done at a relatively high heart rate over an extended period such as tounge-dragging, hour long spinning classes (the exact kind my wife teaches). But I still try to do a good amount of lower intensity aerobics either walking or on a bicycle. I think my weekend of Boogie Golf is a great example of HG exercise. I walk for miles, carrying a load on my back (golf clubs), and even spend some time hunting and gathering (lost golf balls in the woods). :-)

[Mike]

Good thinking. After abandoning aerobic workouts for 2 years, I added them back through tempo runs and biking. Yes, I do feel better, whether it's psycological or physiological, I don't care. I think Lyle McDonald has a great series of blog entries on this very topic.