Aerobic exercises
Activities are considered aerobic or “with oxygen,” if they stimulate your heart rate and cause your breathing to increase and they can be performed at a level that can be maintained for an extended period of time.
Benefits of aerobic exercise include:
- Reducing the risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, obesity and type 2 diabetes
- Managing chronic health condition such as high blood pressure and high blood sugar
- Strengthening your heart and keeps your arteries clear—aerobic exercise helps lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol
- Warding off cognitive decline
- Increasing stamina
- Improving mood and manage certain mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, cardio equipment (elliptical, stair climber, stationary bike), aerobic classes and hiking.
Activities that are considered aerobic use fat, with the help of oxygen and carbohydrates, to provide a steady supply of energy for activity. Unlike anaerobic exercises, the intensity of aerobic exercise is lower and doesn’t require fast and powerful contractions to produce force.
However, aerobic exercises can become anaerobic if performed at a level of intensity that is too high. For example, if you’re cycling on a spin bike and increase the tension or get out of the saddle too much, your heart rate may not have a chance to go back down to the aerobic range.
In Aerobic exercises, our body majorly uses stored fat as primary energy source and glucose/glycogen to a minor extent.
Anaerobic exercises
Anaerobic exercise is considered short-lasting, high-intensity activity, where your body’s demand for oxygen exceeds the oxygen supply available.
Let’s say your workout consists of heavy squats, deadlifts and bench. Typically, when you finish a set of heavy squats, you’re out of breath and you know there’s not much gas left in the tank to squeeze out a few more reps.
Unlike the nice, easy jog you took the day before that relied primarily on the aerobic system, lifting weights—which is an anaerobic exercise—requires a huge amount of energy to produce large amounts of force. Other examples of anaerobic exercise include sprinting, high-intensity interval training, powerlifting and most athletic sports.
The benefits of regularly performing anaerobic exercise include:
- Building strength and lean muscle mass
- Strengthening your bones
- Reversing the effects of bone loss and reducing the risk of broken bones and osteoporosis
- Increasing fat loss
- Improving cardiovascular health
- Helping to improve mood and manage certain mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
In Aerobic exercises, our body majorly uses stored glycogen and glucose in our blood for energy. Only a very minor part of energy comes from stored fat.
Reference:
Content collected from various fitness articles
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