Anaerobic vs Aerobic - Which One is The Optimal Choice for You?
When it comes to exercising you want to make sure you are getting the most out of your workouts.
Most people want to get in, get their workout done and get back out in as little time as possible. At the same time you want to make sure you are working hard and activating your muscles.
This is where your workout selection comes into play. Anaerobic vs Aerobic workouts, I am going to find out which are more effective for the two most common workout types, muscle building and fat loss workouts.
Let's go through the two separately and find out the differences and how to maximize your time working out, no matter if you are in the gym or at home.
Once we have all the facts we can decide which is better for your specific goals, anaerobic vs aerobic.
Aerobic Workout Technique
This is what you would commonly call 'cardio'. Exercises like jogging, cycling, swimming or even treadmill work are all types of aerobic work. Basically, aerobic means 'with oxygen'.
So when you are doing cardio you should be able to keep a conversation, although you will be breathing heavily while doing do.
Most experts agree that you during aerobic workouts you should have your heart rate at approx 70% of max. This is to keep your muscles supplied with oxygen throughout the workout!
Anaerobic Workout Technique
So when we are comparing anaerobic vs aerobic the first thing we notice is that while aerobic means with oxygen, anaerobic means without oxygen.
So the key is to get our muscles pumping at a level that exceeds the amount of oxygen we can get from our blood supply.
Your heart will be beating at about 90% of the max rate. Clearly no one can keep this pace up, and anaerobic work is usually done in short bursts of maximum effort.
During the first 2 minutes or so of intense exercise your heart rate will get to about 90% of max (call the anaerobic heart rate zone).
There will be a major build up of lactic acid in the muscles, this causes them to fatigue and eventually fail. Then when the body rests the blood will pump the lactic acid from the muscles and start to recharge them.
So Here is The Difference
When you are engaging in an aerobic workout the body is able to regulate itself and create the energy that is needed to do the exercise.
While this is not a bad thing, the much more effective way of doing a workout is to deplete the energy reserve and force the body to work to its max.
Actually when you do anaerobic work, you are forcing your muscles into a place they are not totally comfortable.
When you create this overload in lactic acid and the temporary deficit in oxygen the workout becomes a much more powerful calorie burner and metabolism booster. In fact, the metabolism boost can actually last for many hours after the workout is complete.
Here is the Good News!
Most muscle building workouts have this anaerobic training built into them.
As you know the best way to build muscle is to lift heavy weights in low to medium rep range. This has anaerobic work written all over it.
For your fat loss workouts, there are more and more anaerobic workouts coming onto the market! The insurgence of interval training is one of the best things that have happened to the fat loss world in a long time.
Before it was thought you had to just run on a treadmill to lose weight. Not anymore, now there are tons of awesome interval training techniques that you can use.
If you are in the market for a total muscle building of fat loss program that really understands the concepts of anaerobic vs aerobic workouts you should check out the following pages.
My Recommendation
The fat loss anaerobic workout program that I recommend you checking out is called Turbulence Training by Craig Ballentyne. I would suggest that you check this out and see, as Craig is a super fit and very hands on kind of guy.
The muscle building anaerobic workout pogram that I recommend is call No Nonsense Muscle Building, it is by a guy name Vince DelMonte, and he totally uses some amazing techniques to build muscle on the frames of men and women.
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