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Many of today's popular workout programs have aerobic exercises as their main element, particularly those designed for beginners. But are these routines ignoring a critical component, namely anaerobic exercise? To answer this, you must understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise as well as the benefits to be gained from each. At its simplest, it's a matter of a high intensity workout as compared to a low intensity workout. Most people are familiar with aerobic varieties, which are the low intensity cardio programs designed to burn fat; anaerboic is less well-known. Anaerobic exercise also includes a high intensity portion, such as strength training or an HIIT program.
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise
Aerobic simply translates as "with oxygen"; aerobic exercise means that oxygen is required to keep the muscles moving for an extended period of time. The oxygen is the fuel source for burning fat. A typical aerobic exercise is a low to moderately intense activity that lasts for an extended time, such as cycling, jogging, swimming or skiing.
Anaerobic, on the other hand, means "without oxygen"; of course, your body will still need oxygen during anaerobic exercise but your muscles do not receive enough to keep up the extremely intense pace. Without the oxygen, your muscles are forced to burn glycogen, a component of carbohydrates. An anaerobic exercise is one that is short in duration but very intense and includes such popular activities as weight lifting and sprinting.
Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
There are several ways you may benefit from aerobic exercise. A daily 30 minute routine of aerobic activity can greatly increase your heart and lung functions as well as your blood flow, all of which could contribute to a longer life. Some of the additional benefits include:
1. Weight Reduction
2. Better endurance
3. Enhanced immune system activity
4. Lower risk from such diseases as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other heart problems and even certain types of cancer
5. More efficient cardiovascular and circulation system
6. Raise your good cholesterol while reducing your bad cholesterol
Benefits of Anaerobic Exercise
There are many benefits to be gained from anaerobic exercise as well. You'll enjoy much stronger muscles and a reduced amount of body fat. Strength training has many of the same health benefits as aerobic exercises, but will also help you increase your muscle mass and bone density while you reduce the amount of body fat. Another popular anaerobic program is called an HIIT routine, which is a series of short bursts of highly intense activity followed by short periods for recovery. Such quick bursts of high activity followed by recovery periods have been shown to increase the metabolism as well as burning more calories than the low intensity variety. HIIT also has the added benefit of releasing HGH, which is a trigger for muscle building as well as fat loss. You'll also enjoy an improved aerobic capacity and much better cardiovascular system.
Performing Aerobic Training and Anaerobic Training
Aerobic and anaerobic exercises both have their own special benefits that will help you lead a healthier life. To gain the maximum benefit, you should have both as a part of your daily exercise routine. If you are a beginner, however, you should start with aerobic exercise and work your way to an anaerobic program. You will not be successful with your high intensity program unless you have a strong foundation in aerobic exercise. More advanced work out fans often wonder if they should favor one variety of exercise over another. For most of these regular exercisers, aerobic activity often seems far too easy and doesn't seem to provide any real benefit, especially when compared to anaerobic exercise. No matter how advanced you are in your programs, your exercise program should include both, since there are many significant health benefits to be gained from both the high and low intensity exercises. Also, you need to avoid performing anaerobic exercise too often, as that often leads to overtraining or burnout.
If you are trying to decide between an aerobic or anaerobic routine for your next workout, remember that the only real difference is a matter of how intense your activity will be. Aerobic activity is the low, steady exercise that is spread out over a longer period of time while the anaerobic variety is short bursts of high activity with small rest periods in between. A regular aerobic routine of walking or swimming will increase your cardiovascular system as well as your overall health; anaerobic programs such as weight training or HIIT help you increase your muscle mass while burning fat at a far more efficient rate.
About this Author
Dave provides no-nonsense "best of the best" diet and exercise tips to lose fat and build lean, defined muscle without spending hours in the gym. There's no point in using a bodybuilder routine to get a fitness model physique. These are Not Your Average Fitness Tips.
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