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Anaerobic exercise is any exercise that doesn’t use the oxygen in your body as its main source of energy. Therefore, anaerobic exercises require short sudden bursts of energy. For example, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), weight lifting, circuit training, Pilates, yoga, and other forms of strength training.
Keep reading to find out how aerobic and anaerobic exercises differ, plus how to add them to your routine.
Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Exercise
The word aerobic means “with oxygen,” and anaerobic means the opposite—”without oxygen.” Anaerobic exercises are generally higher in intensity than aerobic exercises and, therefore, are shorter in duration.1
Some examples of anaerobic exercises include:
Sprinting
Weightlifting
High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
Plyometrics
That doesn’t mean that anaerobic exercises don’t require oxygen, because, of course, you need it no matter what kind of exercise you do. What it means is that anaerobic exercises don’t make use of oxygen in the same way that cardio (or aerobic) activities do. Instead, anaerobic activities break down glucose that’s already in your muscles as a form of fuel, instead of using oxygen you inhale during your exercise.2
Glucose is the main source of energy in your body, and you get it from carbohydrates that are then broken down into glucose by enzymes in your body.3 Your liver also produces glucose when it is needed by the body as fuel. Breaking down glucose produces lactic acid, the chemical that gives your muscles that burning sensation while you’re working out.
Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that maximally delivers oxygen to your muscles and uses oxygen to create energy for your body. Generally, aerobic exercises use large muscle groups and can be done for a long duration, like swimming and dancing. Many of the activities are focused on endurance because the goal is to maximize your body’s oxygen usage by increasing your heart rate and breathing.5
Aerobic and anaerobic exercises have similar benefits:
Improve blood circulation
Strengthen your heart muscle
Improve lipid profile—reduce bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol
Burn calories and help with weight loss
Increase metabolism
Lower blood pressure
Improve mood
The biggest difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is that anaerobic exercise has the capability to build muscle. Doing anaerobic exercises like weight-lifting causes micro-tears in your muscles that, over time, rebuilds to help your body get stronger.
Anaerobic Exercises to Do
Anaerobic exercises are meant to be intense and uses an energy pathway called anaerobic glycolysis. Anaerobic glycolysis is the transformation of glucose to lactate when limited amounts of oxygen are available.
This leads to a buildup of lactic acid in your muscles, which is responsible for that “burn” you may feel in your muscles during anaerobic activity.1 When this buildup happens, you have to let your body recover and replenish the oxygen in these areas, which is why you can’t sustain the exercise for long periods of time.
Weight Lifting
Weight lifting, also known as strength, weight, or resistance training, is a type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength. It uses the force of gravity in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or weight stacks to work against, or resist the weight.
It may not seem like an intense activity if you’re not moving super heavy weights y asou would in powerlifting or with mass-building exercises. But it’s not the amount of weight that makes an exercise anaerobic. It’s the need for a large burst of energy over a relatively short amount of time that makes the exercise anaerobic.