"Aerobic fitness" refers to endurance, or the ability to sustain work for prolonged periods. This is usually experienced in the abilities to walk, run, climb uphill, swim, etc. Most forms of sports, work, and recreational and military activities include elements of aerobic fitness. Generally speaking, any activity, which lasts less than 12 minutes, is not fully aerobic. The term "aerobic” implies that the individual takes up the oxygen necessary to accomplish the work during the activity.
In aerobic work, oxygen is obtained from the air and is transferred from the lungs to the blood and then to the muscles via the circulatory system. Maximal oxygen uptake, or maximal aerobic power (Vo2 max) is the indicator of aerobic fitness. Vo2 max is determined by the measurement of oxygen uptake during the performance of maximal work, typically while running on a treadmill or while cycling. Exercising for at least 12-minutes at sub maximal loads does this, after which the maximal effort is performed for one or two minutes. Oxygen uptake during this time is measured, giving the value of Vo2 max. As Vo2 max increases, the level of aerobic fitness also increases.
Aerobic fitness is dependent upon age and sex and it can be improved by training. It is highest at ages 18 to 20 years in males and 15 to 20 years in females, and it decreases with age in adulthood. In general, males have higher Vo2 max than females. The main reason for this is that aerobic fitness is directly related to fat-free body weight, which consists mainly of the weight of muscles in the body, and on the average, males have a higher muscle mass than females. As with other physiological functions, there are large individual differences in Vo2 max of people of the same sex and age. Some people show high Vo2 max without exercising because of genetics and other factors, while other people who exercise regularly do not show high Vo2 max.
Fast runs, lasting 10 to 15 seconds, are mostly accomplished by anaerobic metabolism. With longer exercise time, more aerobic metabolism is involved, and exercise lasting more than 12 minutes is mostly accomplished by aerobic metabolism. Work is performed by the muscles, which use oxygen for the combustion of fat and carbohydrates creating the energy necessary to move the body, or to move objects outside the body.
Anaerobic fitness or any training that involves intervals of intense activity and rest (or less intense activity) are very specific to playing soccer. This type of conditioning is also quite effective in burning calories and lowering your body fat.
Anaerobic activity is more intense (70-100% of your maximum heart rate) than aerobic but shorter in duration. Due to this, it is commonly referred to as quality training. Anaerobic training activity is based on performing work while supplying the body with energy from stored sources such as glycogen. In this process, lactic acid is formed in the muscles thus causing you to feel fatigue or discomfort. Lactic acid buildup is the reason why anaerobic exercises cannot be long in duration and are usually segmented into intervals.
Anaerobic endurance refers to your ability to sustain intense activity and recover quicker. This is generally dependent upon your body's lactate tolerance and removal. Weightlifters, for example, try to keep the time between their sets of repetitions as short as possible. This way they are developing both their musculature and anaerobic endurance.
During Anaerobic training, one can only work for a short time at this level before you get too fatigued and go into something called "oxygen debt". An example of a great common anaerobic exercise is sprinting. Anaerobic training will make your body more efficient at using glycogen as a stored fuel and also help it deal with oxygen debt. One effect of oxygen debt is the build up of lactic acid, which is felt when your legs for example, feel a burning sensation at the end of an intense long sprint. This lactic acid needs to be removed from muscles as quickly as possible and anaerobic training helps make your muscles more efficient at coping with lactic acid and better at removing waste products from muscles.
No comments:
Post a Comment