In aerobic, or “with oxygen” exercise, your muscles have enough oxygen to produce the energy needed to perform.

Anaerobic “without oxygen” exercise means the oxygen demand is greater than the oxygen supply and you can’t keep up with the energy your body demanding. This leads to lactate (lactic acid) production and eventually you stop the exercise. 

How does each one effect us?

Aeorbic exercise is great for cardiovascular conditioning and improving muscular endurance, because  it is a steady-state cardio, performed at a steady, moderate pace, it uses slow-twitch muscle fibers.

Anaerobic exercise is often performed in the form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), where you rotate high-intensity intervals with recovery intervals. I personally think our Barre training can be considered more Anerobic. Also our Pilates HITT Inspired classes and some of our weights sessions.

Anerobic is great as it,

1. Saves time compared with aerobic exercise. You can exhaust your muscles and burn more calories than you would in the same amount of time doing steady – state cardio,

2. You’ll burn more calories in that amount of time.  HIIT will cause your calorie expenditure to be higher than if you just walked or casually rode your bike for the same period of time.

3. You’ll build muscle and increase your metabolism. HIIT requires your fast-twitch muscle fibers to engage in exercises like sprinting, plyometrics, and weightlifting, which increase muscular size and strength. Meaning you’ll be increasing muscle mass, which in turn speeds up your metabolism as muscle burns more calories.

4. You’ll experience the afterburn effect = excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC is the amount of oxygen required to return the body to its resting state. HIIT sessions stimulate a higher EPOC because you consume more oxygen during them, which creates a larger deficit to replace post-workout. This means you’ll continue to burn calories even after your HIIT session is over.

HITT Classes are not for everyone though.

You need to be fairly fit, and or do it safely. In our classes, we still keep a good eye on form.

Generally the exercise is done for 30 seconds with a minute break. Or similar timing. 

This month’s challenge focus is all about Cardio. So hopefully this is helpful for you to understand your body while we do the challenge.

Also remember, that not everyone needs more cardio. 

Remember my saying “listen to your body” and make sure you are not doing this months challenge if you feel you’re energy depleted. Instead finish off the Yoga challenge, and maybe throw in one of the Cardio classes instead. Learn to know what your body needs. Sometimes more stress on the body is not required. If you have been more  sedentary and not already feeling stressed, it maybe a great challenge for you.

As always let me know how you liked this blog in the comments below. 

Lots of love 

Em x

“My workouts include aerobic exercise for a healthy cardiovascular system; strength training to maintain muscle tone and bone density; core strength exercise for a stable mid-section; and stretching to maintain mobility.” – Samantha Stosur – Australian professional tennis player