Aerobic Fitness
The words aerobic and anaerobic refer to energy pathways that are utilized during exercise. Aerobic means "with oxygen" and anaerobic means "without oxygen"
What is aerobic?
Aerobic is more about cardiovascular conditioning, deals with your heart, and is an oxygen-based exercise.
To burn fat, one must be working out in an aerobic (with oxygen) manner for at least 20 to 30 minutes without stopping. When working out aerobically, the large muscle groups demand oxygen, which places an oxygen debt on the body. When large amounts of oxygen are breathed in the body, it uses that oxygen to produce heat (thus the sweating). Its heats your body and burns the fat from your fat cells.
What is anaerobic?
Anaerobic is more about muscle conditioning, deals with your heart, and has lack of oxygen-based exercises.
Fat needs oxygen to burn completely so in order to burn fat during an exercise we need to move slowly and smoothly. This enables muscle cells to be supplied with enough oxygen to continue with its aerobic capacity and utilize fat as the main energy source.
Anaerobic exercise requires moving at an increased pace or with greater effort. Exercising this way burns more calories but results in a greater demand for oxygen which cannot be delivered in sufficient quantities to allow cells to continue burning fat.
When we breathe heavy we start to develop an oxygen debt and muscle cells switch to burning mainly carbohydrates, this fuel burns quickly and does not require oxygen. Anaerobic exercises such as sprinting or weight training require more effort and up to 95% of the fuel used will be carbohydrates.
Although anaerobic exercises burn more carbohydrates they can be important in any weight loss program. They help burn fat indirectly by increasing the metabolic rate after an exercise session.
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