Key Difference: Aerobic exercise is a physical exercise that is usually low in intensity and can be maintained for long periods of time. On the other hand, anaerobic exercises are physically intense exercises that trigger lactic acid formation.

There has been a constant debate about which exercise will provide the best results if a person is looking to lose weight. While many suggest that aerobic is more effective than anaerobic, experts say that incorporating both forms of exercise in the workout is the most effective way to lose weight and tone the body. These terms maybe confusing for a person who may not follow health terminology. Here is the difference.

Aerobic exercise is a physical exercise that is usually low in intensity and can be maintained for long periods of time. For example, a session of aerobic exercises is usually half an hour to an hour long. These exercises use a lot of oxygen to meet energy demands using aerobic metabolism. The intensity of these exercises should have the heart rate between 60 – 85%.

Let’s go back to the basics to understand it fully. When a person’s body is at rest, the cells use oxygen or aerobic respiration to help the process of breakdown of food into energy and nutrients to be used by the body. This energy is then reserved until it is needed. During aerobic exercise, we exert this energy to do the exercise. When the heart rate is low and is maintained at a particular low pace, the cells continue to use aerobic respiration. If we go from a sitting position to a slow walk, we increase our oxygen intake by breathing more often or deeply. The cells basically work faster and require more oxygen to burn energy.

On the other hand, anaerobic exercises are physically intense exercises that trigger lactic acid formation. These are intense and can only last for a short amount of time, i.e. a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Anaerobic exercises are often used for training the metabolism of athletes in endurance sports, where short bursts of energy and speed are required. For example, in track, the runner will maintain one speed and towards the end will run faster.

Using the similar example above, when a person goes from a brisk walk to a full run, he can only run for a specific period of time before he would have to go back to walking to catch his breath. During this process, the cells go from using oxygen to produce energy to using other catalysts such as nitrate to produce energy that is being demanded by the body. This basically includes producing glycogen from the muscles. This glycogen is burned in the absence of oxygen and it creates lactic acid as a by product. The lactic acid causes the muscles to experience fatigue and results in the tired feeling in the body.

Comparison between Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise:

Image Courtesy: dietcentercary.com, fitness19.com