Posted by Maria Dimitrova

Read this if: You want to achieve fitness results effectively taking advantage of the latest methods in fitness training

The latest findings reveal that you are more likely to lose body fat and build up muscles if you combine aerobic exercises with anaerobic ones. Another interesting fact is that experimental and observational research show that aerobic exercise and resistance training contribute to the maintenance of functional capabilities during aging. Researchers have also concluded that as a result of resistance training there is substantial improvement in all of the components of musculoskeletal health in all types of people – sedentary, disabled, young, physically active, and very old frail individuals (Vuori, 1995) .

What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercises?

Aerobic exercises are for example jogging, cycling, elliptical machines training done at a lower speed for a longer period of time – between 40 minutes and one hour.

Anaerobic exercises are sprinting, lifting weights, pushups, pull ups and crunches done with high intensity so that your muscles have to work without oxygen for a short period of time. The best way to perform them is by using the method of interval training when you switch from an interval of between 30 seconds and two minutes of very high intensity to an interval of one minute of lower intensity and then switch again to higher intensity exercises. The optimum duration for this kind of training is between 10 and 20 minutes. Thus, this type of workouts aren’t as time consuming as the aerobic ones but at the same time bring about fast body fat burning as this process continues long after the workout. The more muscles you have, the faster your metabolic rate becomes. In addition, the larger muscles you gain from harder exercise mean you will burn more energy throughout the day. Muscle mass burns energy, and fat mass does not!

A very important detail!

To take advantage of the continuous fat burning process, you cannot eat sugary or high carbo foods like pasta after your workout. Your body will snatch those calories instead of going to the fat stores to convert glucose for energy.

When do you train aerobically and when anaerobically?

To define whether you are working out aerobically or anaerobically, you can use a heart rate monitor. The general rule is that the max heart rate of a man is 220 minus their age and max heart rate of a woman is 225 minus their age. At 50% of your max heart rate and not above, you are working aerobically.Your anaerobic zone is somewhere between 80 percent and 90 percent of your MHR, says sports coach Brian Mackenzie. For example, if you are 40 years old, your MHR is 180. When you train within the aerobic zone, your heart beats between 126 and 144 beats per minute, or bpm. Exercising in the anaerobic zone has your heart beating between 144 and 162 bpm.

Are anaerobic exercises suitable for anyone?

During resistance exercise, systolic and diastolic blood pressures may show steep increases, which indicates that caution should be observed with persons with known cardiovascular disease or risk factors. So it’s obligatory to consult your doctor if you have any doubts concerning these matters.

If you’ve just started an exercise program, don’t push yourself into the anaerobic zone. American Sports Medicine Institute indicates that most healthy adults exercise so their heart beats between 50 percent and 80 percent of their maximum heart rate. When starting out, keep your target heart rate at the low end of this range, ACE advises. Increase the intensity of your exercise as your body becomes stronger.

If one of your goals is to raise your endurance level, you should know that training anaerobically can create strength and power, it does very little for endurance. That’s another reason to include aerobic training in your workouts.

And of course, your personal preferences are not to be ignored. If you dislike high intensity training, don’t do it. It’s good when you challenge your body but it should give you more energy and help you get rid of stress not the opposite. Doctor Hiromi Shynia in his book “The Enzyme Factor” says that people will benefit from moderate physical activities. Of course, “moderate” means different things for different people.

But if you are an energetic person with no health concerns who wants to achieve great fitness results without wasting time, combining anaerobic and aerobic exercise will maintain the right balance for you  since both types of training have pros and cons. Aerobic exercise reduces stress, improves your circulation, burns more fat than anaerobic, but it decreases muscle mass. Anaerobic exercise increases muscle mass, increases cardio capacity but doesn’t burn a lot of fat. Combine both to maintain muscle, improve bone density, optimize your cardiovascular system and gain the fat burning benefit of both.

Further Reading:

Reduce body fat successfully

Get the desired six-pack abs

Why popular diets don’t work

Speeding up metabolism to burn more calories