Aerobic Vs. Anaerobic Conditioning

Many people have difficulty determining the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, but the difference is simply the amount of oxygen received by your muscles. Your body does not receive the same amount of oxygen during an intensive exercise period as it does during a lighter period of exercise, making it impossible to maintain a high-intensity workout for too long. Learning the distinction between these types of exercise can help you determine a personal workout routine.

Aerobic Definition

Anything that causes you to breathe more deeply to maximize the amount of oxygen found in your blood counts as aerobic exercise. Generally, aerobic exercises help your cardiovascular system to transport blood around your body in an efficient manner. The more you do endurance exercises, the more efficient your body becomes at transporting this oxygen.

Aerobic Exercises

Light aerobic exercises include things like walking, riding your bike and pushing a lawnmower. You should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-aerobic exercise every week, as this helps you to maintain a healthy weight and keeps your cardio system in good shape. More vigorous aerobic exercises include running, bike riding through the mountains, swimming and dancing at a fast pace. If you step up your workout routine to this level, your body only needs half as much exercise as when doing moderate exercises. Make sure that your body can handle the more vigorous exercises before making them a part of your routine.

Anaerobic Definition

Anaerobic exercise helps your cardiovascular health, because your goal remains to work so hard that your demand for oxygen overcomes your supply. This means that you do not rely on oxygen to provide your energy, but rather on the calories that you have stored in your body through eating. Your goal is to fatigue the body completely through short bursts of exercise. Interval training is a common type of anaerobic exercise, in which you have a period of exertion, followed by a rest period.

Anaerobic Exercises

An anaerobic routine is broken down into repetitions. Each repetition comes in the form of a high-intensity period, such as a sprint. You measure the high-intensity period by either time or distance. If measured by time, you sprint as quickly as you can for between 30 seconds and five minutes, depending on your level of fitness. After the sprint, you have a rest period of between one and 10 minutes. During this rest period, you jog or walk quickly, because no real stopping occurs until after the workout.