Anaerobic means without oxygen. Anaerobic exercises are generally short duration activities, often completed at high intensity. Training that falls under this umbrella utilizes energy stored within the muscles, leaving the blood oxygen for use during aerobic workouts. Sprinting and weightlifting require all-out bursts of energy, making them anaerobic. Calisthenics and circuit training may be included in anaerobic training if you maintain a quick pace throughout.
Anaerobic Exercises
Strength training frequently employs anaerobic exercises. This type of training applies resistance to your muscles, causing them to work against it, leading to strength and muscular gains. Options that provide resistance workouts are free weights, exercise machines, resistance bands and your own bodyweight. Calisthenics encompass exercises in which your bodyweight supplies the resistance. Inclusions are pushups and crunches. Doing anaerobic workouts every other day and in conjunction with aerobic training promotes better health and fitness results.
Circuit Training
Circuit training produces results via fast-paced workouts covering all major muscle groups with multiple exercises. Circuits are most effective when they allow very little rest time. Breaking down your circuit into three parts, upper body, core and lower body gets all your muscles involved and simplifies your training. Separating each section with a 30-second break and limiting your rest between exercises to 10 seconds or less keeps you moving and maximizes results. Sets may be timed so you complete as many repetitions of each exercise in one minute or a predetermined number of reps. Efficient anaerobic workouts lasting as little as 30 minutes can be valuable.
Circuit Training Workout
After a five- to 10-minute warmup, jump right into your workout. Choose three exercises from each section to make up a set, and do repetitions of each activity for one minute to complete the set. Then repeat each set three times before moving to the next portion. Incorporate three of the following upper body exercises: pushups, arm circles, curls, dips, pullups, lateral or front arm raises. Beneficial core exercises are flutter kicks, hanging leg or knee raises, bicycles, front and side plank holds and crunches of all varieties. Lower-body options include squats, mountain climbers, burpees, box jumps, calf raises, and standard and walking lunges. Follow your training session with a five- to 10-minute cool-down so you are ready to go after a day of rest.
Warming Up and Cooling Down
Warming up and cooling down are imperative steps when working out. These help prevent injury, lessen post-workout soreness and improve form by readying muscles. Warming up the muscles helps achieve movement through their full range of motion, which aids proper exercise completion. This decreases the risk of damage that comes with doing exercises in an inconsistent, incorrect manner. Cooling down brings the heart rate back to its resting state and gives the muscles a chance to relax slowly, whereas halting completely after an intense workout often leads to pulls, strains and lengthy recovery times.
References
- "Fitness: The Complete Guide"; Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD; 2008
- "Fit Facts": Interval Training
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