The Importance of Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

The Importance of Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

If you have been interested in changing your lifestyle to a healthier one, then you must be aware of the benefits of regular exercise. For instance, working out is beneficial for your physical and mental health.

In addition to this, it’s proven that working out also impact positively the social life of the people who practice it. Today we want to focus on two different types of exercise which you have probably already heard of: aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

Cardio and strength training are other ways to name these two types of exercises, but are you aware of which would be better for your objectives?

Do you need to do both types of exercise or you should focus only on doing one of them? If you have these questions surfing in your mind, then you should read this blog to the end. We will answer these queries and give your useful information about aerobic and anaerobic exercise. 

What is aerobic exercise?

The term aerobic refers to the use of oxygen as the principal source of fuel. Whenever you’re doing any type of exercise considered aerobic, your body will be using oxygen to generate energy.

If more oxygen is required for aerobic exercise, then your breathing and heart rate will increase due to the increased oxygen consumption. Those exercises that involve the body moving rhythmically for a long period of time are considered aerobic ones. 

So, cardio exercise is beneficial for several body functions, and it will be an ally to keep the heart, lungs and circulatory system in outstanding conditions. Also, it will improve your cardiorespiratory fitness. These are some examples of cardio exercise:

  • Running
  • Swimming
  • Cycling
  • Dancing
  • Step aerobics, etc.

What is anaerobic exercise?

On the other hand, we have the anaerobic exercise which is a high-intensity exercise done in short periods and implies using the highest level of your body’s effort.

The energy will come from components already stored in the muscles, instead of using oxygen, because the body will need energy available fastly.

So, unlike aerobic exercise, glucose will be the main fuel for strength exercise. Therefore, eating enough carbs and protein will be required to keep a good performance while making anaerobic exercise. 

Your cardiovascular system will be also benefited from anaerobic exercise, but the main advantage of this type of exercise is that it will enhance your muscle power, strength, and size.

It will increase bone density and maintain muscle mass while aging. Both will improve your life quality while getting older and decrease the risk of falling. Some examples of anaerobic exercise are:

  • Weightlifting
  • Plyometric exercise
  • High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  • Calisthenics

Which type of exercise is better for me?

As now you know, anaerobic and aerobic exercise will produce different stimuli in your body. Therefore, it’s important to practice both for optimal health.

Cardio exercise will improve your cardiovascular health, while strength exercise will increase your muscle strength and bones density. In summary, having a little of both in your routines would be the best way to stay healthy and improve your life quality while aging. 

So, try to do at least 30 minutes per day of aerobic activity, like walking, jogging, or swimming. If you can’t do it daily, then it’s ok, little is better than nothing. In addition to cardio, do any kind of anaerobic exercise at least two times a week.

One last piece of advice:

If you haven’t done physical activity in a while, then start at a slow pace. Don’t push yourself to do more than you actually can, listen to your body and work out progressively.

For example, start walking or running 10 minutes per day, the next week add 5 more minutes and keep doing that until your reach the 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Don’t forget to warm up and stretch every time you’re going to do any kind of exercise. 

And last but not least, if you have the opportunity choose to work with professionals in the field. A personal trainer would be the right person to get close to and ask for a weightlifting routine.

Any injury, your objectives, and the time you have available for the routine during the week will be considered to set the best weightlifting routine for you.

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