Non-aerobic Ways To Burn Calories

Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, even when you are sleeping. Glycogen, which is a type of carbohydrate and potential energy, is stored in your liver and muscle cells. A calorie is the measure of the energy or glycogen that your body burns. You will burn calories in all forms of exercises, but, unfortunately, not all exercises are equal in the amount of calories burned. If you want to burn more calories during exercise, the trick is to select the type of exercise that will burn a lot of calories, and several non-aerobic exercises will burn a significant amount of calories. There are numerous available online calorie burn calculators, which can help you not only find an anaerobic exercise, but find one that you will enjoy incorporating into your exercise program.

Criteria for Non-aerobic Exercises

Non-aerobic exercises are called anaerobic. Anaerobic exercises are usually maximum-effort exercises that last less than one minute. An example of an anaerobic sport is football, because the average time of a play lasts less than 10 seconds. Some exercises have both aerobic and anaerobic characteristics, such as soccer and basketball. Weightlifting, circuit training, tennis, racquetball, calisthenics and gymnastics are all examples of anaerobic exercises.

Anaerobic Burn

Research has shown that aerobic exercises, like jogging are often the best ways to burn calories, but some anaerobic exercises, such as racquetball, can burn the same or even more calories than jogging. For example, a 150-lb. person jogging for 30 minutes will burn approximately 238 calories. The same person playing casual racquetball for 30
minutes will also burn 238 calories, but if the person plays competitive racquetball for 30 minutes, 342 calories will be burned.

Weightlifting, Calisthenics and Sports

Weightlifting and calisthenics are effective anaerobic exercises for burning calories. A 125-lb. person vigorously participating in weightlifting exercises for 30 minutes will burn approximately 172 calories. If the same person does moderate calisthenics for 30 minutes, approximately 127 calories are burned. Competitive sports can be the best way to non-aerobically burn calories. For example, a 175-lb. person can burn 346 calories playing 30 minutes of touch football, or 178 calories playing badminton for 30 minutes.

Non-exercise Activities for Burning Calories

If you are one of those people who do not like to exercise, don't despair, because many non-exercise activities are effective calorie burners, including occupational work, house cleaning, gardening and many other types of work and play. A 150-lb. person gardening for one hour will burn approximately 281 calories, and the same person will burn 250 calories raking a lawn for one hour or 218 calories by cleaning the house. Children's games, like foursquare, will burn 144 calories for a 60-lb. child playing for one hour.

Safety Considerations

It is important to receive a medical examination before beginning an exercise program. It is also a good idea to work closely with a certified physical trainer, who can design your anaerobic calorie burning program, teach you proper exercise methods, recommend proper clothing and shoes, and serve as a consultant as you progress through your program.