Aerobic vs Anaerobic Exercise: What Type of Cardio is the Key to Weight Loss?
It is probably hard to argue that all of us have had some sort of experience with cardio, whether it be positive or negative. Maybe you had PE as a child and nothing would bring you more pain and suffering than that dreaded mile, or maybe you remember running laps in high school sports. Or perhaps you’re one of the few who got their enjoyment from running-based sports like track or cross-country and you actually have fond memories regarding cardio (to each their own, I suppose!).
We have all been told for years and years that the key to fat loss and, in turn, weight loss, is cardio, and while aerobic and anaerobic forms of exercise can be an excellent tool for fat loss and healthy living, not all types of cardio are created equal. While any sort of exercise is better than no exercise, different types of cardio may have different benefits, and it is essential to understand what method of cardiovascular exercise will benefit you the most in your weight loss journey and why.
Why Should We Do Cardio?
To begin, it’s important to understand that both aerobic and anaerobic exercise can both be immensely valuable to your health and well-being. Speaking generally, cardio provides all sorts of benefits for the health of multiple body systems, including the ways in which it can support the functionality of the endocrine system, the system of glands that regulate hormone function. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise promote the secretion of myokines, which can assist in tissue regeneration and repair, metabolic adaptation, and in regulating homeostasis within the body. In addition to these benefits, cardio can assist in weight loss through not only calories burned during rigorous, whole-body exercise but also through the increase in metabolism that can occur when one is exercising regularly.
Before you can really figure out what type of exercise is going to help you reach your goals, it’s probably a good idea to really understand what you’re getting yourself into. When you think of cardio, you probably think of jogging on a treadmill, cycling, swimming, or any sort of exercise taking place over an extended period of time. These are excellent forms of aerobic exercise, which is exercise that is performed at low-to-high intensity over an extended period of time. Usually, these exercises are performed at low-to-moderate intensity, with the individual performing the exercise aiming for roughly 50-75% of their Maximal Heart Rate, or MHR. To calculate your MHR, merely subtract your age from 220. In addition, the exercise should last for 15 minutes or longer, so as to challenge the cardiovascular system to utilize oxygen as a primary energy source for longer periods of time. During aerobic exercise, type 1 muscle fibers are the primary muscle fibers being utilized, which helps increase muscle endurance and capillary size. Now all of this sounds wonderfully complicated, but it’s truly not. Aerobic exercise just means that you are exercising at moderate intensity for a longer period of time, and your heart and lungs should be working hard to take in the necessary oxygen you need for energy. Your heart rate during aerobic exercise will probably fall between 120-150 beats per minute. Your cardiovascular system will be able to adjust to this form of exercise over time, which is why your endurance greatly improves after doing cardio regularly.
The Science Behind Aerobic Exercise (Steady-State Cardio)
Aerobic exercise differs from anaerobic exercise in the way that it requires oxygen for energy usage. In this form of exercise, fats and glucose are “burned” by oxygen, in order to produce adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which is the primary energy carrier for all cells. In such an exercise, glycogen, which is the way body stores carbohydrates, is broken down to produce glucose, which provides the cells the energy they need to sustain exercise. If the necessary glycogen stores are not found, the body will begin to use fat stores, which results in a drastic decrease in performance level, which many marathon runners refer to as ‘hitting a wall’. This is one of the potential setbacks of aerobic exercise. In addition, aerobic exercise might hinder muscle growth, and while it can help contribute to the caloric deficit necessary for weight loss, it does not burn as much fat as anaerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise can have a wide array of benefits that affect multiple aspects of health. For example, as mentioned previously, the respiratory system will strengthen over time, which will increase the body’s ability to supply air flow to body systems despite outside stressors. The heart is also strengthened with regular aerobic exercise, which will help one’s lower resting heart rate in a process known as aerobic conditioning. Aerobic exercise can also help lower blood pressure, increase overall number of red blood cells, and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes; it can also help reduce stress and increase cognitive functioning. Aside from the myriad of health benefits you might see, this form of exercise can also provide numerous athletic performance benefits, such as increased storage of fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increased endurance, and enhancing recovery speed of muscles following high intensity exercise. It is clear that aerobic exercise can provide a number of health and performance benefits, but if you’re looking for an effective, sustainable weight loss tool, you might want to keep reading.
Why Anaerobic Exercise (HIIT) Is the Key to Weight Loss
While aerobic exercise has been long-praised by the fitness community, many who desire a more useful form of exercise-based weight loss have found success in anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is high intensity, high power, and is not sustained for a long period of time, unlike aerobic exercise. This form of exercise will usually have your heart rate at between 80-90% of your MHR and works primarily type II muscle fibers, or fast twitch muscle fibers. This form of exercise can take place in the forms of sprint workouts, heavy weight training, jumping rope, or HIIT training. While anaerobic exercise might sound foreign to you, you’re probably familiar with HIIT, or high intensity interval training, which is the most well-known form of anaerobic exercise. HIIT consists of short bursts of high intensity training followed by less intense recovery periods, and this cycle is continued until a threshold of exhaustion is reached. Unlike the long-lasting aerobic exercise mentioned earlier, HIIT usually lasts under 30 minutes. HIIT varies in intensity based on one’s level of personal fitness, but it can be an excellent form of exercise for just about anybody, especially if you need to get in a workout in a short amount of time!
While aerobic exercise requires oxygen so that both fat and glucose can be used for fuel, anaerobic exercise does not use oxygen stores, so it can only use glucose for fuel, which is stored in the muscles and can provide quick bursts of energy for movements. It also works fast twitch muscle fibers, which leads to an increase in both muscle strength and size. Anaerobic exercise, especially HIIT, seems to have many advantages over aerobic exercise in the field of weight loss. For example, seeing as type II muscle fibers are being worked, overall lean muscle is being built and maintained, which means that your body is naturally going to burn more calories, even in a resting state. In addition, high intensity exercise can even increase the calories burned post-workout, so even though your workout might be shorter in duration, it’s still packing quite a punch! In addition, recent studies have found that anaerobic exercise in the form of HIIT can lead to remarkable reductions in body fat, which is not found when just using aerobic exercise; also, anaerobic exercise can help increase your lactic threshold, which is the point of exercise where you feel fatigued. When your lactic threshold is increased, you are able to work out for longer periods of time at higher intensity, which can increase overall fitness and calories burned during exercise.
Aside from weight loss, anaerobic exercise can help fight depression and boost overall moon. It also can help reduce chances of osteoporosis by increasing bone density and strength, reduce the risk of type II diabetes and heart disease, and help maintain joint health. It also can help increase overall energy and power during physical activity, which can, again, help lead to more effective workouts.
All in all, it is clear that both aerobic and anaerobic exercise have their place in helping you live a fit, healthy life, with each providing wonderful benefits to your physical and mental health. While both can be performed by individuals of any fitness level, anaerobic exercise takes less time and can help you build up muscle fibers and strength, while aerobic exercise is longer in duration and can help increase cardiovascular fitness. However, it becomes evident that high intensity anaerobic exercise should be the first choice for a quick, sustainable, reliable form of weight loss. Not only can it help your body burn more calories overall, it can also burn fat far more effectively than aerobic exercise. When it comes to new and trendy workouts, HIIT has certainly earned its place, and there is no doubt that it will continue to be used for years to come.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991639/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18673303/
https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/anaerobic-exercise#types
https://www.issaonline.com/blog/index.cfm/2016/is-cardio-really-the-secret-to-fat-loss
https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/which-cardio-methods-melt-fat-the-fastest.html