The terms aerobic and anaerobic can be thought of in terms of oxygen; aerobic exercise uses oxygen to create energy while anaerobic workouts create energy without oxygen. You might be familiar with aerobic exercises and workouts, but anaerobic exercise can also have a number of benefits on your health by itself or when paired with aerobic workouts.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercises are typically used to build your endurance, which your body tries to achieve by using your red blood cells more efficiently to transport oxygen throughout your body. The goal of aerobic exercise is to push your body to the point where your body is doing this at its most efficient, called your VO2 max, and keep it there as long as possible. By exercising at about 70 percent of your maximum heart rate for at least 30 minutes, you should see gradual improvement in your VO2 max.
Examples of Aerobic Exercise
The best examples of aerobic exercise are workouts that you can keep your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time, such as running, swimming and cycling. Running is easy to do as it requires little to no extra equipment, but if you have a treadmill or exercise machine, you can adjust the speed and incline of your workout to push yourself harder. Swimming is a great aerobic workout that does not put added stress on your joints, but it may not always be easy to find a pool. Cycling requires a bike, but long bike rides that incorporate hills and inclines are great for your aerobic health.
Anaerobic Exercise
While the energy for aerobic exercise comes from oxygen intake, anaerobic exercises rely on blood sugar to generate the power necessary to complete the workout. Anaerobic exercises are much shorter than aerobic exercises, and while they are brief they are very intense for that short period of time. Your cardiovascular health can be greatly enhanced through aerobic exercise, but anaerobic exercise focuses on muscle strength and adding muscle and bone mass.
Examples of Anaerobic Exercise
Weightlifting, resistance machines and sprinting are all examples of anaerobic exercises. They all force you to push your body to its maximum, or very close to it, for a short period of time. That brief spurt of intensity is what makes the exercise anaerobic. Exercises like push-ups and sit-ups also fall into the category of anaerobic exercises. It is essential to give your body adequate time to rest in between sets or repetition, as pushing your body too hard for too long can have negative consequences, especially fatigue.
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