The Benefits of Anaerobic Exercise and Nutrition

If you are researching different exercise programs, you are probably getting a little confused. Let me break it down. There are basically two types of exercise, anaerobic and aerobic. Anaerobic exercises are without oxygen, such as wind sprints, while aerobic exercises are with oxygen and they allow you to pace yourself, such as jogging.

How does this type of exercise work? When you start to exercise such as lifting weights for this example you do work in sets. Usually 8-10 repetitions per set then you take a break before doing the set again or moving on depending on your routine. When you begin the set there is a temporary shortage of oxygen being delivered to the muscles and lactic acid is produced. The more you work out the more the lactic acid is produced and put into your bloodstream and as that amount is increasing it produces muscular fatigue. This is the exact reason that anaerobic exercises are only done for a short period of time.

The longer you train, the better your body will adapt and you will be able to deal with the lactic acid build up much easier. In reality your body produces a buffer that slows the fatigue response in your muscles. As you exercise and get stronger the body is better able to handle the lactic acid as more of this buffering chemical is produced. When the exercises become easy you increase the resistance or distance or cycle depending on the type of exercises you are doing and the process starts all over. The other benefit is you now have increased your muscle mass and the amount of energy that your muscles need to move because they have a larger mass. As you gain more muscle mass, it will require more energy for you to move around, which means you will burn more calories and fat. This process even happens while you are at rest or sleeping, a true fat burning machine.

Studies have shown that with the different types of anaerobic training the buffering capacity is increased by 12% to 50%. This means that with more buffering capacity your body can produce more lactic acid and allows larger quantities of lactic acid to form during training without causing fatigue. This will allow you to do more and become stronger and use more energy when exercising and make a previously hard task much easier as you get stronger and your body is able to handle the increased work load. You will notice that now simple tasks that before were hard are now easier, even climbing steps, getting out of a car, walking around the block or in a mall, even simple tasks that most people take for granted will now be easier for you as you shed the weight and become more fit. This type of exercise combined with your diet plan should be started gradually. You should be doing your aerobic exercises which are not as high intensity as anaerobic first. The aerobic exercises shou! ld be done for a couple of weeks as you get your body ready for the high intensity workout. The high intensity training should not be attempted by the beginner but a less intense weight or sprinting or even circuit training should be used to start out as your body need to get into some shape before trying a truly high intensity workout. If your body is not ready for this type of training more damage can be done.

Once you begin your anaerobic training you will want to start with lighter weights, or shorter wind sprints, and gradually work your way up to a full exercise program. It is perfectly natural for you to think you can actually lift more weight or do more exercises than you body can actually handle. Begin slowly and incrementally build up to an exercise regimen that will increase your muscle tone and help you burn fat.