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Although
the two types of exercise--anaerobic and
aerobic--sound similar, they are
actually quite different--and the
controversy over which type of exercise
is best continues.
“Aerobic” literally means in the
presence of oxygen. In general, any
activity that allows oxygen to release
energy through metabolism and that is
performed at a low to moderate intensity
for more than 90 seconds is usually
considered to be an aerobic activity.
Because aerobic exercise increases your
need for oxygen and requires your heart
and lungs to work harder, the benefits
of aerobic activity include increased
cardiovascular capability and a decrease
in body fat. The disadvantages of
aerobic activity include a decrease in
muscle mass, strength, power, speed and
anaerobic capacity. Aerobic exercise is
typically longer in duration than
anaerobic exercise and involves such
activities as running, walking, swimming
and cycling.
On the other hand, “anaerobic” means in
the absence of oxygen--any activity
where energy is produced without oxygen
and is performed at a medium to high
intensity level for less than two
minutes, is usually called an anaerobic
activity. Anaerobic exercise is exercise
that has a lower impact on your
cardiovascular system and generally
lasts for shorter periods of time than
aerobic exercise. Although anaerobic
activity requires an aerobic foundation,
it provides the benefits of a decrease
in body fat, an increase in muscle mass
as well as improved strength, power and
speed. Examples of anaerobic exercise
include such activities as weight
lifting and sprints.
So, which type of exercise is best? The
answer is that to achieve optimum
physical fitness, you must train to
improve your performance in both aerobic
and anaerobic abilities and not focus
your performance on one type of exercise
at the expense of all others. In other
words, fitness is a compromise.
However, many people fail to realize
that by focusing exclusively on
prolonged aerobic or anaerobic training
that they may be actually decreasing
their overall fitness level. The best
solution is to combine both types of
training at varying levels of intensity
and duration. For example, you can
periodically switch from high intensity,
short duration to medium intensity,
medium duration and low intensity, long
duration workouts.
The truth is that unless you are
training to be an endurance athlete,
there is no need to train like one and
that most activities encountered in
sport, work and life are a combination
of aerobic and anaerobic movements
flowing in a seamless continuum.
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