Aerobic Vs Anaerobic Exercise Explained

What type of exercise is right for you?

That’s a loaded question & quite frankly, it’s a question that leads to a long conversation (because we love getting to know you!) but the organising principles are pretty simple.

It seems that somewhere along the way the messaging has been complicated and confusing & that’s why we are passionate about cutting through the bullshit and just delivering what you need to know one bite sized, digestible chunk at a time.

So today – lets clear up the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise so that when you see, hear or read about those terms it doesn’t go over your head and make you feel out of your depth!

Its pretty simple.

Aerobic means “with oxygen” and refers to moderate exercise you would do over a period of time. At lower heart rates its walking, bike riding, dancing and swimming. Our aerobic system gives us endurance & encompasses the heart, lungs, blood vessels & aerobic muscles.

If you condition your metabolism to operate aerobically AND supply it with proper diet and exercise, your body is more likely to burn fat as your primary fuel source.

Anaerobic means “without oxygen” & is the kind of exercise that requires short burts of output or power. You can do this with the same kinds of exercise mentioned above (walking, bike riding, dancing and swimming) if you are performing them at a high heart rate. Weight lifting is another good example. Its exercise that requires you to start and stop – like HIIT training, or speed rounds on the boxing bag. Usually, anaerobic causes the body to burn glycogen as its primary fuel, while causing the body to store fat. This is why it is often suggested that people perform this type of exercise in the morning before they eat – as their glycogen stores will be as low as possible.

So to be clear, it’s the body’s chemical response to a workout that determines whether it is aerobic or anaerobic and your heat rate while you are working out is a pretty major factor and a simple way for you to assess whether the workout you are doing is aerobic or anaerobic.

Which should you do? Both. Consistently.

Anaerobic exercise build muscle & aerobic exercise builds health. Its important to make sure you are not just doing the same style of exercise at the same level of intensity again and again.

Keep your workouts fresh to keep motivation high – and to let your body reap the rewards too!

Planning your weekly workouts by selecting workouts from the Online Workout Hub ahead of time, or simply following our daily program will ensure you are not just training for the sake of it, but there is some method to your madness!!

Research has shown that if you exercise consistently, at least 3 times a week over a 12 month period – it will become a healthy habit for life!