What is anaerobic energy?

When I wrote my post “Weights or Cardio” I mentioned “anaerobic energy” but didn’t really explain what it was.  Surprisingly when I was researching this, a lot of people made it sound like it wasn’t that healthy because it causes cramps and fatigue.  But if you Google anaerobic vs. aerobic, everyone says to do both.  Anaerobic vs. Aerobic will be a topic for a later post.  For right now I just want to focus on anaerobic energy and exercises.

Anaerobic energy is stored in your muscles and can be used in short burst of energy to push the body as hard as it can go, like in a jump or a sprint.  The human body can’t handle pushing itself this hard for more than 2 minutes.  That’s why exercise routines like Tabata are so short because they push the body as hard as they can with 8 sets of 30 second exercises.  (One of the teachers at my gym has us do it, it’s tough)

Now I’m going to skip all the scientific terms, because those aren’t going to help you at the gym, but when you use anaerobic energy your body is using the carbohydrates it has stored.  Burning these carbohydrates produces lactic acid, which was thought to be a waste product and cause muscle fatigue and cramps but new research proves that to not be true.  Lactic acid is actually another form of energy created and your body does use it!  So doing anaerobic exercise sound better because your are burning those stored carbohydrates, but you still can only do a few minutes of it and if you push yourself further, you’re really just going to make yourself sick and you’re still going to get cramps and be fatigued.

What are some anaerobic exercises?

Lifting weights

Sprinting

Jumping Jacks

Push Ups

Pretty much anything that you can’t do for a continuous amount of time

Links:
mind the Science Gap

lactic acid debate

WiseGeek