Cardiovascular Exercise – Aerobic Versus Anaerobic When Trying to Lose Weight

So many people are looking to start a weight-loss program but have no idea whether to engage in aerobic exercise, weight-training, both, or how much of either one. Questions that relate to all of this come up with me more often than anything else before I advise people on beginning a fitness regimen.

I want to start by eliminating a common misconception about aerobic and anaerobic exercise. The big misconception that I hear people talk about frequently is that after they finish their weight-training (or resistance training) portion of their workout they then have to go do their 20-30 minutes of cardio on an elliptical trainer or treadmill. Now running on a treadmill is certainly considered “cardio,” but it is generally associated with aerobic conditioning. The fact is that you can gain absolutely tremendous “cardio” from your weight-training (or resistance training) portion of your workout. This is also “cardio” but this is anaerobic conditioning. You see the truth is when you elevate your heart-rate from engaging in anaerobic conditioning in the form of supersets or circuit training you will achieve insane cardiovascular conditioning. After doing this you will quickly learn the benefit of “cardio” that you gain from doing this. There is nothing wrong with aerobic training, but when implementing a properly planned anaerobic program it is much more beneficial when trying to obtain a quicker, steadier, overall optimal level of fitness and weight-loss. So you want to know the difference between aerobic versus anaerobic. Well the truth is that each one can serve its purpose. If you are not use to working out at all then you absolutely have to begin somewhere. Maintaining a steady level of physical activity like walking, jogging, or running can be a great beginning to your exercise program.

Remember, the harder you work the more results you will get. Proper exercise planning and an effective program design will allow you to obtain phenomenal cardiovascular conditioning and rapid weight-loss.