Anaerobic Exercise vs. Aerobic Exercise

There are two forms of exercise: Anaerobic exercise and aerobic exercise. Both serve different purposes, so it is important to understand the difference between the two, especially if you have a specific goal of either gaining muscle or losing weight.

Anaerobic exercise is generally performed to build muscle, rather than to burn fat. Some forms of Anaerobic exercise include sit-ups, pull-ups, crunches, and squats. Anaerobic exercise also includes weight lifting. During anaerobic exercise, the body converts glycogen into glucose, which it burns, rather than burning fat. Using anaerobic exercise to build muscle is actually more effective, as you must retain or gain fat in order to build muscle. You can't both lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

Aerobic exercise is sometimes categorized as simply “any type of exercise,” but it is usually differentiated into two phases: one phase is anaerobic exercise and the next phase is aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is said to occur after performing repetitious exercise for 20 minutes or more without a break. Of course, the scientific definition is somewhat more precise: when you exercise for long enough period for glucose to begin being burned with oxygen, you are performing aerobic exercise. This generally consists of running, jogging, using a treadmill, or even performing “aerobics” -- or continued, repeated exercise -- for an extended period of time.

Burning glucose without oxygen is considered to be less efficient than burning it with oxygen, as is done in aerobic exercise. This is one of the reasons why building up your capacity for aerobic exercise is crucial for burning fat. Simply doing crunches and building muscle anaerobically will not help you; it will only stack that muscle under fat, making it appear even larger.

If your goal is to lose weight and build muscle, you may want to start off building muscle anaerobically – and then begin a regimen that consists of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. In addition to improving your fat to muscle ratio, this will also improve your cardiovascular health.