Anaerobic Exercise & Weight Loss

by Dave James
(Surbiton, Surrey, UK)

Anaerobic exercise is the type of exercise that we otherwise call muscle building or weight lifting. It is the best kind of exercise to adopt in order to lose weight.

The term anaerobic means movements that are carried out “without oxygen.” It allows muscles to bulk up and become very strong. This is due to the muscle fibers being forced to work harder because oxygen is not constantly being pumped into the lungs and fueling the activity.

This “without oxygen” term does not mean that you are not breathing when you accomplish the moves. A weight lifter still breathes when they are not in an oxygen deficit situation. When you exercise muscles aerobically you do not breathe heavily.

Aerobic exercises include such activities as cycling, jumping rope, and swimming, spinning on a stationary cycle, rebounding and running. You may breathe heavily doing these exercises to get your heart rate up. Lifting weight does not accelerate your pulse in the same way.

Anaerobic exercises are used during training for non-endurance sports like boxing to build muscle mass. Muscles that are trained under anaerobic conditions develop in a different way than muscles that are training for duration (such as long distance running.)

Muscle training compels the body to use processes that are not dependant on oxygen to produce energy. It just means that you are not using as much oxygen as if you were jogging or swimming.

All weight lifting exercises are classified as anaerobic in nature. Many types of anaerobic exercises associated with weightlifting. However the most common types include working with pulleys, medicine balls and slant boards.

This is very unlike an aerobic exercise, which usually requires that the body travel unless you are using a training machine such as a stationary bicycle. Almost all stationary exercise is anaerobic in nature.

Different types of anaerobic exercises can also be used as part of interval training. Interval training is a very efficient way to lose weight and build muscle. The combination of both exercises is effective way to lose weight and keep it off for good.

Practicing anaerobic exercises can help you build lean muscle. Lean muscle keeps on burring fat long after you stop exercising. This is why this type of oxygen free exercise is such an important part of an exercise program that has the goal of achieving weight loss.

Lean muscle mass burns the most calories of any other tissue in your body. It can help you reduce your weight at a faster rate than aerobic exercise.

The other bonus is that lean muscle tissue keeps burning muscle for hours after you stop exercising which maximizes your overall potential to lose as much weight as possible.

Back to Page for more about >> Lifetime Fitness