AEROBIC VERSUS ANAEROBIC

We so often hear people going to the gym to do aerobic exercise but unless you have reached certain level of fitness, anaerobic exercise is probably never heard of.

The term "anaerobic" means "without air" or "without oxygen."

Anaerobic exercise uses muscles at high intensity and a high rate of work for a short period of time. Anaerobic exercise helps us increase our muscle strength and stay ready for quick bursts of speed. Think of short and fast when you think of anaerobic exercise. Examples of anaerobic exercise include heavy weight lifting, sprinting, or any rapid burst of hard exercise. These anaerobic exercises cannot last long because oxygen is not used for energy and a by-product, called lactic acid, is produced.

Lactic Acid contributes to muscle fatigue and must be burned up by the body during a recovery period before another anaerobic bout of exercise can be attempted. The recovery period also allows the muscles to use oxygen to replenish the energy used during the high intensity exercise.

Aerobic exercise, on the other hand, includes lower intensity activities performed for longer periods of time. Activities like walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling require a great deal of oxygen to break down glucose to make the energy needed for prolonged exercise.

Anaerobic exercise is not nearly as effective for directly burning fat as aerobic exercise is. However, anaerobic exercise helps burn fat indirectly by increasing the metabolic rate after the exercise session. Because anaerobic exercise builds muscle and muscle requires energy in the form of calories, more calories are being burned even when the body is at rest.

The efficiency of anaerobic exercise in burning fat compared to aerobic exercise is therefore 5 to 1 and sometimes go up to 7 to 1.