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!

Honesty is a Frustrating Policy

I simultaneously love and hate myself for promising honesty in this blog! I want to tell you "Dude, guys, I didn't make any mistakes" but that'd be a big fat lie and no one likes that.  Besides, I don't want to set unrealistic expectations for how a weight-loss journey works.  The reality is, no journey is perfect. You just pick yourself back up and learn from it.

We're still dealing with the looming threat of financial difficulty and the power was out for the morning.  I couldn't make coffee, lunch, or breakfast and we were both in a poopy mood.  So, I let the stress get to me and we had pizza for dinner and a Starbucks breakfast.  

Normally, if I am about to overeat I am very careful to avoid remembering exactly what I ate.  I don't have to feel guilty if I don't pay attention, right?  This time, I logged it in MyFitnessPal. I didn't end with a calorie deficit but I held myself accountable to what I ate and found that it didn't ruin the progress I've made this week. That is so encouraging!! My off-day didn't ruin everything I worked for this week at all.  Of course, it did reduce the progress I've made but I can accept slowing down as long as I'm moving forward!

This morning I played some Dance Central with Mr. Husband.  Not surprisingly, it was a freaking blast and I burned some good calories. The newest game, Dance Central 3, has a two player mode where you can actually dance together which is AWESOME.  Though, I don't recommend it for smaller apartments as we ended up bumping into eachother and losing points for being offsides.

Ya Can't Keep A Good Dog Down

Tuesday, poor Megan was struck down by the migraine gods and couldn't go gymming with me. I had an out on the first day of my 30-Day Habit Building Thingy.

While the part of me that woke up at 4:45am and resented existance wanted to crawl back into bed, the part of me that worries about some unknown accountability fairy coming to my blog and being very disappointed was much more annoying.  I bothered Mr. Husband until he was perpendicular and forced him to go for a brisk walk with me.

On Tuesday, I also downloaded and started using the MyFitnessPal app. Where has that thing been all my life? UPC scanning instead of entering in nutrition facts? SHUT. UP. I've been begging for that function in the BodyBugg app for ever!  It is so easy... I really have no excuse not to keep a food/exercise log. I haven't experienced the social side of it as I'm currently friendless HINT HINT so I can't speak to its merits or pitfalls. 



Yesterday our family received troubling news that there may be changes on the horizon that will impact our finances tremendously.  My wallowy butthurt heart wanted to eat ice cream and hang out on the couch all day. Instead, I went to the gym with Megan (those migraine gods started bothering someone else, I'm sure) for a super-awesome cardio session, signed up for overtime at work and made my favorite healthy breakfast! 



This site calculates your exact calories



I think my scale saw that I was in need of positive reinforcement and let me know that I'm down 6.8 pounds since I jumped back on the bandwagon! That means I'm down 22.6lbs from my heaviest! I celebrated my willpower and weight-loss victories with a Subway Veggie Delight sammich. 

Sandwiches are already the food of royalty - For Subway to make them so low-calorie and delicious has to make them the food of skinny royalty.