Aerobic or Anaerobic? That is the question.

I slept like a baby last night. In fact, despite my deep-seeded hatred for Daylight Savings Time, I managed to pass out before 10:00 pm.  Admittedly, stress was a small factor but the much larger culprit here was our topic of discussion today: CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE!

Let's get our lab coats on, kiddies! I'm about to spell out the difference between Aerobic and Anaerobic Cardiovascular exercise! 

Thanks to For Dummies!

The easiest distinction between Anaerobic and Aerobic Exercise is intensity which can be gauged with air! Aerobic workouts use oxygen to create energy.  Anaerobic workouts use the absence of oxygen to create energy.  If you can hold a short conversation without getting out of breath while you exercise, you're likely working aerobically.  Weight-lifting (intense) and sprinting are good examples of anaerobic exercises because, unless you're some kind of wizard, you should be out of breath performing these. 

Interval training actually uses both by employing high-intensity intervals and lower-intensity "rest intervals" in the same workout. At first, it can be hard to have such an inexact indicator as your own breath.  It may help to know that your Maximum Heart Rate is used to be more exact. Aerobic workouts generally fall at between 50-80% of your MHR. Anaerobic workouts are generally between 80-90% of your MHR. To calculate your MHR, there are a wealth of resources online! Try HERE  HERE or HERE.

Both forms are extremely beneficial to your health and will make your body feel better. The most benefit to your heart, lungs, and bones is from aerobic exercise as it maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood and allows for more efficient removal of waste products like carbon dioxide and lactic acid.  There is perhaps nothing more beneficial to your health as it has such widespread positive impacts to vital body functions.

Anaerobic exercise beefs up your endurance for aerobic exercise, increases muscle tone and gives you the chance to get that "runner's high" from the release of endorphins.

Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters.^[1] They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise,^[2] excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm,^[3][4] and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.

THERE IS A LEGAL, FREE OPIATE-SUBSTITUTE, PEOPLE! That said, I don't recommend going at exercise like a heroin addict on a binge. 


I'm feeling super-motivated! Megan mentioned a TRX  class tonight and/or tomorrow morning that could fix that "not feeling like I was in a car accident yesterday" feeling. From the videos online, it looks like I'm in for an anaerobic endorphin treat!