FitView
By Efren Martinez
Going Anaerobic
You lace up your shoes, plug in your music and you’re off to get your run on. Somewhere between mile two and three you suddenly feel that your jog has become easy so you pick up the pace. At mile three you’re no longer at a joggers pace but more so in a full run and still you find yourself handling the pace with ease. Now your initial jog pace has become more of a sprint. Congratulations! You’ve broken through the fitness wall. At this point you feel as if you’re flying and the endorphins in your brain have scattered throughout your body. You feel no pain. You feel as if you’re a super hero. These super endorphins are primarily made in the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, though they may also come from other parts of the body as well. This well-known phenomenon is also known as a “runner’s high” that is felt during and after lengthy, vigorous exercise due to an increase in endorphin levels. But wait! You also at this point may have put your body in an anaerobic state. Although this may help you to win races there is always a price to pay for everything that we do to our bodies in fitness and/or in life. According to the fitness gurus, the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is; aerobic exercise produces energy using a continuous supply of oxygen to sustain the current level of activity without needing additional energy from another source while anaerobic exercise prompts your body to demand more energy than your aerobic system can produce. In easy science, it’s now pulling energy from your muscles instead of building them. You are now burning off more muscle instead of fat. This isn’t necessarily good if you’re trying to lose (fat) weight or if you’re a body builder looking to bulk up with “Hulk” size muscles. As a tri-athlete it’s always a controlled science to stay lean instead of getting too bulky with muscles. At the same time I don’t want to lose what I’ve worked so hard for; and that’s muscular strength. It’s true, muscle weighs more than fat and having too much bulky muscle can slow you down in a race. My advice is this: if you’re into fitness for your health or perhaps to lose a few fat pounds in the process, keep your workouts at an aerobic level. You can do this by wearing a sports heart monitor or by using the heart monitor on the fitness machine. These devices are geared to help you stay in an aerobic or in anaerobic state depending on your own personal fitness and health goals. Cheers to your Health!
5 Anaerobic Exercise Examples
Running sprints rather than a steady jog for an extended period of time, sprints are completed at maximum running effort and potential. Skipping Rope for an extended period of time. Using a Stairmaster or running up several flights of stairs. Open water Swimming in an ocean or lake or swimming sprints in a pool. Rowing
