por What is anaerobic resistance?
The anaerobic resistance It is one in which the body is able to withstand very intense efforts for a short period, that is, it requires a greater amount of oxygen than the cardiovascular system itself can give the body.
During the training sessions, various exercises are carried out that combine anaerobic and aerobic resistance, to obtain the greatest benefits for the body from both. Aerobic endurance is the ability to exercise for a prolonged period of time.
In the presence of anaerobic resistance, the exercise is usually very intense and demands great amounts of effort in very short periods of time, in which the pulsations start from 180 per minute.
An athlete who has optimal anaerobic resistance will be able to support concentrated muscular work, of very high and short intensity, during which the strength of the muscles involved is enhanced.
Characteristics of anaerobic resistance
It is short lived. Aerobic exercises usually last several minutes and are progressive, while anaerobic exercises are short-lived, as if they were an explosion, since they are very fast.
It is usually static. In anaerobic exercises, the effort is concentrated in particular groups of muscles, even isolating the work that needs to be done in them. This is why it is stated that anaerobic exercises are static.
The effort is intense. Anaerobic exercises require a great effort to be able to execute them, which translates into a concentrated demand on the muscles that are being worked.
The energy comes from the muscles. During the performance of an anaerobic exercise routine, the body takes energy from the reserves that the muscles have.
Types anaerobic resistance
Exercises that develop anaerobic endurance can be classified in a number of ways.
Power source
Based on where the muscles get the energy to exert themselves, anaerobic endurance can be divided into two groups: alactic anaerobic endurance and lactic anaerobic endurance.
alactic anaerobic endurance
Alactic anaerobic resistance is that which is done when the effort is highly concentrated in exercises of very short duration, in which the body does not have enough time to produce lactic acid and accumulate it.
When the intensity of the exercise is very explosive, efforts are made for less than 5 seconds, in which the muscles take the energy from adenosine triphosphate.
If the exercise is done between 5 and 20 seconds, the energy source is combined between adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine, which runs out after 20 seconds.
Lactic anaerobic resistance
In contrast, in lactic anaerobic training, the muscles are subjected to effort for several seconds and lactate accumulates. When the exercise lasts between 20 and 45 seconds, the muscles take energy from glycogen and lactic acid is at its maximum levels.
If the effort goes beyond 45 seconds and can reach 120 seconds, the energy source continues to be glycogen. However, the intensity of the effort has decreased to 90% and with this, the manufacture and accumulation of lactic acid also decreases.
movement capacity
Anaerobic endurance can also be classified according to whether movement occurs. Dynamic exercises are also known as isotonic exercises. These are the ones that are performed when a muscle contracts to overcome a resistance that it can move, for example, when lifting weights.
On the other hand, the static ones are known as isometric and they are generated when the muscular contraction is sustained to try to overcome a fixed resistance. For example, when a wall is pushed.
benefits of anaerobic resistance
To achieve well-being and improve health conditions, it is recommended to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 or 4 times a week.
It is important to note that training routines generally combine aerobic and anaerobic exercises to achieve a wide spectrum of positive effects.
As far as anaerobic exercises are concerned, their main health benefits are the following:
Help maintain and build muscle mass
Strength training is ideal for building muscle mass and maintaining it. A sedentary life causes muscles to burn out, so doing anaerobic exercises is the right way to keep muscles in shape and thus have a functional and autonomous life.
Improve bone density
An anaerobic training strengthens the bones, supporting the muscles. Therefore it is ideal for preventing osteoporosis.
They speed up the metabolism
Muscle mass is the tissue that does the fastest metabolism, so the more muscle mass you have, the less fat deposits will be and, therefore, the general metabolism will be faster.
improve strength
Scientific studies have shown that athletes who incorporate anaerobic exercises into their training have greater power and strength.
For example, baseball players manage to improve their results on the field when they include this type of routine in their daily training.
mold the body
Toned muscles translate into much tighter skin, without flaccidity and visibly better. In addition, since muscle mass is worked on, accumulated fat is considerably reduced and, consequently, the body will look much more slender and with an athletic appearance.
improve mood
Anaerobic training has positive effects on mood, as it gives extra energy that has a positive impact on emotions. For this reason, this type of training is recommended for patients facing depressive symptoms.
Reduce the risk of heart attack and diabetes
By improving the general condition of the organism and giving greater strength and resistance to the muscles, those exercises that work on anaerobic resistance have a positive effect by reducing the risks of heart attack and diabetes.
Examples of anaerobic exercises
Among the main anaerobic exercises, the following stand out:
Weightlifting
During this workout, your muscles work at maximum capacity for a short period of time. This exercise builds muscle strength and endurance, which results in muscle hypertrophy (enlargement).
sprints or short, intense runs
An example of this is the 100-meter dash. There what is worked on is speed together with the strength of the legs and torso, above the rest of the muscles.
ABS
Work what is called the core of the body is key to improving strength and endurance. During the effort in the abdominal muscles, the muscular resistance is maximized.
Bars and parallels
In this exercise, the muscles of the arms have the task of lifting the weight of the body in a certain number of repetitions. The hypertrophy of the muscle groups involved is sought without resorting to the consumption of oxygen as energy.
isometric exercises
They consist of maintaining a muscular position for a while, without moving and maintaining the contraction of the muscles that are being worked. In this way, muscular resistance will be worked without using oxygen.
Examples of isometric exercises are: static plank on arms or elbows, static squats, lateral squat, static lateral plank and static lunge, among others.
boxing jumps
Jumps are performed on boxes of different sizes with the legs together. In this way, the muscles accumulate energy, working on power and resistance. This type of training is very frequent in the routines of cross fit.
medicine ball toss
The medicine ball is a ball filled with a heavy material that is used to do different types of exercises and physical rehabilitation. It is an explosive training in which you build momentum to throw the ball behind the head with force.
Apnea
It is done without having any type of access to oxygen because breathing is totally suspended while diving. It is an extreme sport in which the freediver dives to great depths without breathing, or great distances are covered with the voluntary suspension of breathing in the water.
push ups
Focused on working the chest and arms, they use gravity as a resistance to overcome to raise the weight of the body itself. As the training progresses, the short effort sessions increase and, consequently, the number of push-ups to be performed.
squats
The weight of the torso and arms is dropped on the quadriceps, which have the task of raising the body and lowering it again. During the intense and short sessions of squats, the organism does not work with oxygen as fuel.
References
Álvarez, C. What is lactic and alactic anaerobic resistance? Recovered from lifestyle.es.
Gascó, T. Anaerobic resistance. Recovered from guidefitness.com.
Recio, S. Discover the benefits of anaerobic exercises at home. Recovered from ictiva.com.
Salabert, E. Types of exercise. Recovered from webconsultas.com.