Although both aerobic and anaerobic exercise are good for your body, they provide different benefits.
Aerobic exercise
These endurance-enhancing exercises increase your heart rate and breathing over longer durations. Think short bursts of intense activity, such as cycling, dancing, swimming, running or walking briskly. Exercises that require you to use your muscles in a rhythmic way for a sustained period of time fall under this category.
If you’re looking to lower your blood pressure, reduce fatigue, stimulate the immune system, slow bond density loss or increase stamina, aerobic exercise may help. Although people who participate in strenuous jogging may have the same mortality risk as those who don’t exercise, mortality risks do appear to be significantly lower for people who engage in moderate aerobic exercise.
Anaerobic exercise
Anaerobic exercise—such as weightlifting, sprinting, pushups or high intensity interval training (HIIT)—involved short but intense bursts of exercise or activity. While aerobic exercise helps increase endurance, anaerobic exercise works on strength and muscle mass.
Other differences and similarities
The differences between the related to:
- exercise intensity
- how long the person can maintain the exercise
- how your body uses stored energy
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise provide great health benefits, including:
- increased circulation
- boosted metabolism
- weight management
- stronger heart muscle
- lower risk for type 2 diabetes, some cancers, heart disease, dementia, depression and anxiety
Adding aerobic or anaerobic exercise
The key with any exercise is to start slowly and consult with your doctor before starting a new form of exercise if you have any health conditions.
For adults, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends getting either 75 to 100 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise or 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise weekly. More exercise will provide more health benefits. Not sure what “moderate aerobic activity” looks like? You should be able to talk comfortably while participating.
For moderate or high intensity muscle-strengthening activities, HHS recommends a minimum of two days per week.
