Anaerobic Exercise

The most common description of anaerobic exercise is weight lifting or resistance training, but that isn't the only way to exercise anaerobically. Anaerobic exercise also includes high intensity cardio exercise. Exercise in which your body is moving at such a pace that it can't burn enough fat to provide the needed energy, so it uses the sugar in the bloodstream and stored in the muscles and liver. The heart rate will typically get into the 140's or higher depending on the duration of the exercise.

Since the body's energy systems can't maintain this pace for very long, unlike aerobic exercise, it is usually done in intervals of anaerobic with recovery periods of rest or active rest at an aerobic pace, such as 2 minutes of running with 1-2 minutes of slower jogging. This kind of interval happens naturally during sports like soccer, basketball and hockey. It can also occur during recreational activities like dancing or mountain biking. Walking steep hills or inclines on a treadmill can also cause intervals of anaerobic to aerobic.

While anaerobic exercise doesn't burn fat during the anaerobic phase, it does cause the release of fat burning hormones, like growth hormone, 12 to 48 hours later. The body uses fat stores to repair the damage to the muscles that is caused by anaerobic exercise. This recovery usually takes place while we sleep, between 12:00 and 4:00 A.M., as long as insulin isn't present from a late night snack of carbs. More fat can actually be burned during this time than burned during a long bout of aerobic exercise. Growth hormone also heals tissues and slows the effects of aging all over the body.

It is much easier to over train with anaerobic exercise than with aerobic. An anaerobic workout should last between 20 and 45 minutes. That is just long enough to stimulate the fat burning hormones but not so long that too much cortisol is release. There also needs to be adequate rest between workouts or over training could occur. Most recommendation are 48-72 hours between workouts depending on the fitness level of the person, the intensity of the workout and the quality of the recovery period. Personal or emotional stress should also be considered as from a job, lack of sleep, sickness, etc. Somewhere between 2 to 4 times per week is a good guideline. When the body is over trained, it releases more cortisol which breaks down muscle tissue and releases sugar into the bloodstream, which is stored as fat if not burned, usually around the abdomen. Obviously that is not the desired effect so it is important to pay attention to the body's needs. Challenge it but don't beat it up.