Having a basic understanding of aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise is a great starting point if you want to get fit, lose weight, or improve your athletic performance. Both forms of activity can be incorporated into a workout, either using the best exercise bikes (opens in a new tab)go to the gym or play a team sport.
Aerobic exercise is generally classified as cardiovascular activity that lasts more than two minutes and includes sports such as running and cycling. Anaerobic exercise is generally classified as short, intense bursts of movement (think running and jumping).
However, some researchers have argued that these classifications are useless and reductive. We spoke to Alan Ruddock, professor of sport and exercise physiology at Sheffield Hallam University, to find out more.
What is aerobic and anaerobic exercise?
Simply put, aerobic means ‘with oxygen’ and refers to the body producing energy by using air. Anaerobic means ‘without oxygen’ and refers to the body producing energy without the use of air.
When you do aerobic exercise, you rely on oxygen as your main source of energy. During more intense periods of anaerobic exercise, your body needs to get energy quickly, so it relies on stored glucose.
However, we actually use both energy systems for most forms of exercise, so you can’t really classify certain activities as purely aerobic or anaerobic.
“The way we assess aerobic exercise is through a face mask on an athlete running on a treadmill or on a bike,” says Ruddock. “We assess your oxygen consumption and can use that information to determine your aerobic contribution to a particular task.”
Ruddock explains that during these tests, the team never finds an exclusive domain of aerobic or anaerobic energy contributions; there is only one predominance.
Ruddock is an accredited sport and exercise scientist and a member of the British Association for Sport and Exercise Science. Currently the Laboratory Director of the Sport and Physical Activity Research Center in Sheffield, UK, he has provided physiological support to Olympic, Paralympic, World, Commonwealth, European and British champion athletes in a variety of sports and He is co-author of more than 25 scientific manuscripts. .
To back this up, a study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (opens in a new tab) found that a 100-meter run was powered by 21% aerobic energy for men and 25% for women. So even though a sprint is predominantly an anaerobic activity, a good portion of the energy during exercise can still come from the aerobic system.
As such, Ruddock says it’s important not to use the terms aerobic and anaerobic exclusively and to understand that all exercises use both energy systems.
Some sports scientists have even called for the terms aerobic and anaerobic to be replaced due to their misuse.
In an article in Sports medicine (opens in a new tab) Sports scientists Karim Chamari and Johnny Padulo suggest that researchers and practitioners should use the terms explosive efforts, high-intensity efforts, and intensive endurance efforts.
What is predominantly aerobic or anaerobic exercise?
Whether an exercise is predominantly aerobic or anaerobic depends on its intensity and duration. As a general rule, the longer the duration of an exercise, the greater the aerobic dominance. This is due in part to the fact that the intensity of an exercise will decrease the longer you do it.
There are other ways to separate the two types of exercise. Predominantly aerobic exercise is something with an intensity of 75% of maximum heart rate and is something a person can continue for a long time. Examples include long-distance running or team sports. Explosive activities like weight training or sprinting are predominantly anaerobic. Meanwhile, high-intensity interval training falls in the middle ground.
If you’re focusing on predominantly anaerobic activities (intense, explosive movements), be sure to build in long enough recovery periods between sessions.
“If you repeat a primarily anaerobic exercise, like a six- to 10-second sprint, by the tenth repetition there’s a reduction in the amount of anaerobic energy and the aerobic system kicks in. If there’s only a short recovery time, it becomes quite aerobic. in the end,” says Ruddock.
This is supported by research in the journal of physiology (opens in a new tab) which showed that power output was derived primarily from the aerobic energy system at the tenth repetition of a six-second sprint when the athletes only had a 30-second recovery time.
What are the benefits of aerobic and anaerobic exercise?
For general fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic exercises are important for different reasons.
Aerobic exercise is important for cardiovascular health because it keeps the heart and blood vessels healthy and reduces the risk of heart-related disease. If you want to cut weight or get fit, your body will require more heavy aerobic exercise, but this needs to be complemented by predominantly anaerobic strength training to avoid injury.
By comparison, anaerobic exercise is important for strength, coordination, and maintenance of muscle mass. The American Heart Association recommends strength training at least twice a week to help protect the body from injury and maintain mobility in old age.
Anaerobic activity will also help with metabolic health, which means the body can respond to food in beneficial ways, reducing the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
This article is not intended to provide medical advice, and readers should consult their physician or health care professional before adopting any diet or exercise regimen.
