Does mountain climbing count as aerobic exercise

Mountain climbing in most daily leisure scenarios is a typical aerobic exercise, so there is no need to worry about classification.

The core judgment criteria of aerobic exercise are actually simple to put it plainly. It is whether oxygen can cover the energy supply during exercise without relying on the body to "temporarily work overtime" to provide energy through anaerobic glycolysis. The intensity is moderate, the duration is sufficient, and large muscle groups are involved. All these criteria are met. It's like meeting up with a few friends to climb a mountain in the suburbs on the weekend, walking on a repaired trail, stopping at a viewing platform to take photos of flowers for half an hour, and grabbing a bottle of water when thirsty. The heart rate is stable between 60% and 70% of the maximum heart rate throughout the whole process, and you can speak normally. You can speak a complete sentence without being so out of breath that you can't even form half a complete sentence. Mountain climbing in this state is not only a real aerobic exercise, but also has a fat-burning efficiency that is about 30% higher than brisk walking on flat ground. It is also particularly effective in exercising cardiopulmonary and lower limb endurance.

However, not all mountain climbing can be considered purely aerobic. I have been through this myself before. Last time I went hiking with an outdoor team, in order to get to the top of the mountain to take a panoramic view before sunset, I carried my camera for half an hour on a steep slope that was almost straight up and down. I felt like I couldn't even catch my breath during that stretch, and my heart rate soared to over 170 (my maximum heart rate is about 190). After I got down, I squatted on the side of the road to catch my breath. It took almost ten minutes to recover. Later, I looked at the records on my sports watch. During that sprint, the anaerobic heart rate zone accounted for nearly 60%. The next day, my legs were so sore that I had to hold on to the handrails even when going down the stairs. This kind of short-term, high-intensity hill climbing is a mixture of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, not pure aerobic exercise.

In fact, for ordinary people who exercise, there is really no need to stick to the label of "whether it is pure aerobic". They usually climb mountains for leisure, as long as they control the rhythm and do not rush and get injured. Whether it is pure aerobic or mixed oxygen, it is better than sitting at home. If you are specifically focusing on aerobic time to lose fat or do cardio training, then as long as you slow down your pace and don't compete with others to climb faster, you can basically stay in the aerobic range after walking for an hour or two.