Exercise is divided into two main categories: anaerobic exercise and aerobic exercise.

The difference between anaerobic and aerobic exercise lies in whether you can sustain the exercise for three minutes or more. If you can, it's aerobic exercise; if you can't, it's anaerobic exercise.

It's not that holding dumbbells makes it anaerobic, or that running makes it aerobic. If you sprint 50 meters, that's anaerobic. But if you do dumbbell exercises and can use those small dumbbells for a full hour, then even though you're using dumbbells, that exercise is aerobic.

How should aerobic and anaerobic exercise be allocated during weight loss?

Almost all health organizations and sports administrations worldwide have given the following recommendations:

During weight loss, you should accumulate at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, ideally 225 minutes, or even 300 minutes per week. Examples of typical aerobic exercises include jogging, cycling, climbing stairs, and aerobics.

During weight loss, it is recommended to schedule anaerobic exercise at least twice a week, and each session must involve strength or anaerobic training of large muscle groups.

What is a large muscle group? It means that if you only train one arm or shoulder, that doesn't count as a large muscle group. It has to be a muscle group like the chest, back, or legs, or a combination of several of these large muscle groups, which is very effective.

The second point we need to discuss is exercise intensity. The intensity of exercise you do while casually using your phone is definitely different from the intensity of exercise you do when you're focused and pushing yourself to the limit, and the results will be drastically different as well. So how do you test your exercise intensity?

Here are two tips for you.

The first tip is the speaking test. See if you can speak normally during exercise. If you're speaking haltingly and breathlessly, for example, "Don't tell me... I'm running now...", then it's high intensity. If you can still speak normally, but can't sing a whole song, then it's medium intensity. If you can sing continuously, then it's definitely low intensity.

The second tip is to test your heart rate. Run your finger down your ear and feel for a pulsating spot just below your jawline. This spot can be used as a rough estimate of your heart rate. Count how many times this spot beats in ten seconds, and multiply that number by six to get your heart rate per minute. Once you have your heart rate per minute, calculate your maximum heart rate for your age.

Maximum heart rate = 220 - age

For low-intensity training, your heart rate should be 50%-60% of your maximum heart rate.

For moderate-intensity training, the intensity should be 60%-85%.

High-intensity training should be conducted within 85% of your maximum heart rate.

If you're doing strength and anaerobic training, and you reach exhaustion after ten repetitions, that's high intensity. If you can do ten to twenty repetitions without exhaustion, that's moderate intensity. If you can do twenty repetitions without exhaustion, then the anaerobic training is low intensity for you.

You might ask, if I want the best weight loss results, do I have to pursue the longest exercise time and the highest exercise intensity?

The answer is no.

Because you can't expect an exercise to be both high-intensity and long-lasting. It's like expecting something to be both big and small. So whether to choose high-intensity, short-duration exercise or long-duration, low-intensity exercise for weight loss is entirely up to you.

Some people simply can't dedicate large blocks of time to exercising, but enjoy the feeling of being breathless. Others would rather stretch out their workouts than exhaust themselves. Therefore, finding a balance between duration and intensity that suits you is crucial.

So how do you know if you've found the right intensity and duration for you?

Here's a little tip: if you don't see any results after two weeks of exercise—and I mean more than just no change in your appearance, energy levels, or any other benefits—then your two-week plan might be a little off. Either the frequency isn't high enough (e.g., increase from three times a week to five), or the total duration isn't long enough (e.g., increase from 150 minutes to 250 minutes), or the intensity isn't high enough. You should be working up a breathless state, not just slightly out of breath.