What are Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise and Why You Need Both in Your Gym Workout

There is a lot of information available on what is the best workout, what exercises work best for women/men, best for building strength, best for losing weight, etc. Some information is good, some not, but the sheer volume of opinions and research (and misinformation) is enough to make your head spin.

Let’s get down to basics. A complete workout is comprised of two types of exercise – aerobic and anaerobic. And you need to include both in your gym program for optimum results and benefits.

Aerobicmeans “with oxygen” and refers to the use of oxygen in the body’s metabolic or energy-generating process. Aerobic exercise uses your arm and leg muscles giving your heart and lungs a continuous workout. Biking, Stairmaster, Zumba, dancing, spinning, Step Aerobics and swimming are all examples of aerobic exercises.

What Aerobic and Resistance Exercise Do For Your Health

Aerobic, cardio, endurance – these terms all refer to exercise that simulates heart rate and breathing rate toprovide your muscles with oxygenated blood(this differs from anaerobic exercise, which we’ll discuss shortly). The energy that powers such exercise is produced in muscle cells primarily via anoxidativepathway, meaning oxygen is required.

That explains all the heavy breathing when you go out for a run, doesn’t it?

That oxygen is delivered via blood being pumped from your heart, through your arteries, and returning to the heart through your veins.