The oxygen we breathe is a valuable part of exercise and allows us to have a good workout. However, there are many benefits of anaerobic workouts that you may not know about. Read on to learn more about the benefits of anaerobic exercise and how it will help you get better gains in your future workouts.

Anaerobic vs. Aerobic

It’s important to breathe as we work out for various reasons. Oxygen is essential to keep our blood flowing and prevent us from becoming light-headed, and it also helps us break down the nutrients in our bodies. However, oxygen isn’t necessary for the second part when it comes to exercising.

This use of oxygen is where aerobic and anaerobic exercise differs. Aerobic exercise uses oxygen, while anaerobic ones rely on the energy already in our bodies. When we breathe, our bloodstream absorbs the oxygen, and our red blood cells carry it to our muscles. The red blood cells will break down the glucose and other nutrients in our muscles and create energy for us to use, which is essential in physical activity.

But when we don’t use oxygen for this process, the cells and tissues in our muscles produce lactic acid that breaks down the nutrients. Aerobic exercises such as walking, running, or bike riding are longer because they rely on a constant oxygen intake. Anaerobic workouts are shorter because your body is too active that the oxygen can’t keep up with the activity, and you’ll need to take time to breathe after a quick burst of energy.

The Benefits of Anaerobic Exercise

Better Fat Burning

The need for more energy and lack of oxygen to break down nutrients will make the calories and glucose in your muscles the primary pillar of your strength. You’ll use more nutrients as you work out, meaning you’ll burn more fat in the process.

Although it’s possible to lose fat with prolonged aerobic exercises, an anaerobic exercise that burns the fat to keep your body active will show better results. Short bursts of exercise will help you trim down and build muscles.

Efficient Muscle Gains

You’ll notice a significantly faster rate at which you gain muscles when you use anaerobic exercise. These workouts will give your muscles more activity since they use the nutrients already stored within them.

The anaerobic workouts you perform will also be a significant factor in building your muscles. These exercises will include high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprinting, and push-ups, and they’ll rely on the muscle’s strength more than the body’s oxygen levels. Weight-lifting is also a common anaerobic exercise, meaning that you’ll benefit from getting weights and other exercise equipment for your home.

Improves Endurance

Training your endurance level will typically involve pushing the limits of how long your muscles will remain flexed. An amazing health benefit of anaerobic exercise is its improvement in muscular endurance. Although these exercises aren’t long-lasting, they will require you to push your body past its limits and perform with the most amount of energy possible for a short duration.

When you bench press a barbell that’s 10 pounds more than what you’re used to, you’ll rely on maximum strength to make your muscles endure the strain and push it away from your body. Incorporate anaerobic exercise into your routine to help you improve the endurance of your muscles and how long you will flex your muscles at their maximum limit.

Increases Muscular Strength

Along with the muscular endurance you gain, you’ll also become stronger with anaerobic exercises. You’ll need as much strength as possible to make the most of your anaerobic exercises. Muscular strength determines how much energy you put out in a brief period. By performing more actions that require this force, your muscles will grow used to the effort, and you’ll grow stronger.

Maintains Muscles

If you’ve already gained massive muscles and want to keep them at their current size, you should turn to anaerobic exercises. Using the nutrients in the muscles will cause them to become more active during workouts. The muscles will continuously stay trim and grow since you keep losing fat and tearing your muscle fibers. These muscle tears are essential to keeping your body and muscles strong. You’ll remain in great shape if you keep up with anaerobic exercises.

Lowers Blood Sugar

If you have trouble keeping your blood sugar levels down, use anaerobic to regulate them. Your body will only rely on the glucose in the muscle to replace the oxygen you would typically use in aerobics. Burning this glucose will lower blood sugar and help you gain muscle in its place. People with diabetes and pre-diabetes will have an easier time controlling their blood sugar levels when they participate in anaerobic activities.

Improves Bone Strength

Weight training will be the go-to exercise for most anaerobic workouts, strengthening your muscles and bones. Bones have living tissue that adapts to the force you place on them. Your bones will strengthen when you lift heavy weights for short intervals. Performing constant anaerobic exercises with various weights will improve your bone health and flexibility as you age.

Boosts Metabolism

Your body adjusts to your activity levels to ensure you remain at your strongest. As you use more nutrients to exercise, your metabolism will adjust to this energy usage and burn more fat, calories, and glucose. Your metabolism is an important part of the anaerobic process as it assists in converting nutrients into energy. The increased metabolism will cause you to lose more weight and slim down faster, making room for more muscles.

Saves Time

For most workouts, you’ll need to set aside time to complete lengthy sets. And if you feel tired from a long day, the session will take longer. Aerobic workouts have brief sessions in mind, with most sets typically taking about half a minute to complete. You’ll save more time when performing anaerobic activities and have an easier time fitting exercise into your busy schedule.

Anaerobic exercises have a different style than typical aerobic ones, but the results are significant and hard to ignore. Use these workouts and remember the benefits that come with them.