Aerobic vs Anaerobic Exercise: What's the Difference?

Regular exercise is essential to your health. It will lower your risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases while simultaneously protecting against premature death. Unfortunately, research shows that only about one in four U.S. adults get enough exercise. You can increase your physical activity levels by performing aerobic or anaerobic exercise. Before including these activities in your lifestyle, though, you should learn the differences between them.

What Is Aerobic Exercise?

Also known as cardio, aerobic exercise is any type of physical activity that increases your heart rate and respiratory rate for a prolonged period. Running and jogging, for instance, are classified as aerobic exercise activities. When you run or jog, your heart rate and respiratory rate will increase.

Anaerobic exercise is all about moving you body -- and keeping your body moving for an extended or prolonged period. It will burn calories while simultaneously promoting a healthy weight. More importantly perhaps, aerobic exercise will strengthen your heart so that you are less likely to develop heart disease.

What Is Anaerobic Exercise?

Anaerobic exercise is any type of physical activity that involves short bursts of physical activity. You'll burn calories when performing anaerobic exercise, but your muscles will be exposed to more stress. Anaerobic exercise is short but intense. The high intensity of anaerobic exercise makes it effective at building muscle mass.

Examples of anaerobic exercise include the following:

• Squats
• Bicep curls
• Chest presses
• Lunges
• Sprinting

Differences Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise aren't the same. They are two different types of exercise. Aerobic exercise is characterized by its ability to elevate your heart rate and respiratory rate for a prolonged period. Most aerobic exercise activities last for at least 15 or 20 minutes. Some of them may even last for up to an hour. During this time, your heart rate and respiratory rate will remain elevated.

Another difference is that aerobic exercise is longer than anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is designed to keep your body's heart rate and respiratory rate elevated for a prolonged period. Anaerobic exercise, on the other hand, is designed to expose your muscles to short but intense stress.

You can burn calories by performing either of these two types of exercise. With that said, aerobic exercise is the most effective at burning calories. If you're trying to lose weight, you may want to include more aerobic exercise in your lifestyle. If you're trying to build muscle, conversely, anaerobic exercise is the better choice.