Anaerobic exercise

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Strength training belongs to anaerobic exercise. Small group fitness sessions bundall.jpg
Strength training belongs to anaerobic exercise.

Anaerobic exercise is a type of exercise that breaks down glucose in the body without using oxygen; anaerobic means "without oxygen". [1] In practical terms, this means that anaerobic exercise is more intense, but shorter in duration than aerobic exercise. [2]

Contents

Fox and Haskell formula Exercise zones Fox and Haskell.svg
Fox and Haskell formula

The biochemistry of anaerobic exercise involves a process called glycolysis, in which glucose is converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary source of energy for cellular reactions. [3]

This type of exercise leads to a buildup of lactic acid. [1]

Anaerobic exercise may be used to help build endurance, muscle strength, and power. [4] [5]

Metabolism

Anaerobic metabolism is a natural part of metabolic energy expenditure. [6] Fast twitch muscles (as compared to slow twitch muscles) operate using anaerobic metabolic systems, such that any use of fast twitch muscle fibers leads to increased anaerobic energy expenditure. Intense exercise lasting upwards of four minutes (e.g. a mile race) may still have considerable anaerobic energy expenditure. An example is high-intensity interval training, an exercise strategy that is performed under anaerobic conditions at intensities that reach an excess of 90% of the maximum heart rate. Anaerobic energy expenditure is difficult to accurately quantify. [7] Some methods estimate the anaerobic component of an exercise by determining the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit or measuring the lactic acid formation in muscle mass. [8] [9] [10]

In contrast, aerobic exercise includes lower intensity activities performed for longer periods of time. [1] Activities such as walking, jogging, rowing, and cycling require oxygen to generate the energy needed for prolonged exercise (i.e., aerobic energy expenditure). For sports that require repeated short bursts of exercise, the aerobic system acts to replenish and store energy during recovery periods to fuel the next energy burst. [11] Therefore, training strategies for many sports demand that both aerobic and anaerobic systems be developed. The benefits of adding anaerobic exercise include improving cardiovascular endurance as well as build and maintaining muscle strength and losing weight.

As muscles contract, Calcium ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by release channels. These channels close and calcium pumps open to relax muscles. After extended exercise, the release channels can begin to leak and cause muscle fatigue. Anaerobic exercise.svg
As muscles contract, Calcium ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by release channels. These channels close and calcium pumps open to relax muscles. After extended exercise, the release channels can begin to leak and cause muscle fatigue.

The anaerobic energy systems are:

High energy phosphates are stored in limited quantities within muscle cells. Anaerobic glycolysis exclusively uses glucose (and glycogen) as a fuel in the absence of oxygen, or more specifically, when ATP is needed at rates that exceed those provided by aerobic metabolism. The consequence of such rapid glucose breakdown is the formation of lactic acid (or more appropriately, its conjugate base lactate at biological pH levels). Physical activities that last up to about thirty seconds rely primarily on the former ATP-CP phosphagen system. Beyond this time, both aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis-based metabolic systems are used.

The by-product of anaerobic glycolysis—lactate—has traditionally been thought to be detrimental to muscle function. [13] However, this appears likely only when lactate levels are very high. Elevated lactate levels are only one of many changes that occur within and around muscle cells during intense exercise that can lead to fatigue. Fatigue, which is muscle failure, is a complex subject that depends on more than just changes to lactate concentration. Energy availability, oxygen delivery, perception to pain, and other psychological factors all contribute to muscular fatigue. Elevated muscle and blood lactate concentrations are a natural consequence of any physical exertion. The effectiveness of anaerobic activity can be improved through training. [14]

Anaerobic exercise also increases an individual's basal metabolic rate (BMR). [15]

Examples

Anaerobic exercises are high-intensity workouts completed over shorter durations, while aerobic exercises include variable-intensity workouts completed over longer durations. [2] Some examples of anaerobic exercises include sprints, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and strength training. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycolysis</span> Catabolic pathway

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate, and in most organisms, occurs in the liquid part of cells, the cytosol. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Glycolysis is a sequence of ten reactions catalyzed by enzymes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellular respiration</span> Process to convert glucose to ATP in cells

Cellular respiration is the process by which biological fuels are oxidized in the presence of an inorganic electron acceptor, such as oxygen, to drive the bulk production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which contains energy. Cellular respiration may be described as a set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert chemical energy from nutrients into ATP, and then release waste products.

The muscular system is an organ system consisting of skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle. It permits movement of the body, maintains posture, and circulates blood throughout the body. The muscular systems in vertebrates are controlled through the nervous system although some muscles can be completely autonomous. Together with the skeletal system in the human, it forms the musculoskeletal system, which is responsible for the movement of the body.

Anaerobic glycolysis is the transformation of glucose to lactate when limited amounts of oxygen (O2) are available. Anaerobic glycolysis is an effective means of energy production only during short, intense exercise, providing energy for a period ranging from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. This is much faster than aerobic metabolism. The anaerobic glycolysis (lactic acid) system is dominant from about 10–30 seconds during a maximal effort. It replenishes very quickly over this period and produces 2 ATP molecules per glucose molecule, or about 5% of glucose's energy potential (38 ATP molecules). The speed at which ATP is produced is about 100 times that of oxidative phosphorylation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exercise physiology</span>

Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise professionals and utilise education, lifestyle intervention and specific forms of exercise to rehabilitate and manage acute and chronic injuries and conditions.

Weakness is a symptom of a number of different conditions. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, including muscular dystrophy and inflammatory myopathy. It occurs in neuromuscular junction disorders, such as myasthenia gravis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phosphoglucomutase</span>

Phosphoglucomutase is an enzyme that transfers a phosphate group on an α-D-glucose monomer from the 1 to the 6 position in the forward direction or the 6 to the 1 position in the reverse direction.

Muscle fatigue is the decline in ability of muscles to generate force. It can be a result of vigorous exercise but abnormal fatigue may be caused by barriers to or interference with the different stages of muscle contraction. There are two main causes of muscle fatigue: the limitations of a nerve’s ability to generate a sustained signal ; and the reduced ability of the muscle fiber to contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cori cycle</span> Lactate degrading metabolic pathway

The Cori cycle, named after its discoverers, Carl Ferdinand Cori and Gerty Cori, is a metabolic pathway in which lactate, produced by anaerobic glycolysis in muscles, is transported to the liver and converted to glucose, which then returns to the muscles and is cyclically metabolized back to lactate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption</span> Increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity

Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity. In historical contexts the term "oxygen debt" was popularized to explain or perhaps attempt to quantify anaerobic energy expenditure, particularly as regards lactic acid/lactate metabolism; in fact, the term "oxygen debt" is still widely used to this day. However, direct and indirect calorimeter experiments have definitively disproven any association of lactate metabolism as causal to an elevated oxygen uptake.

In oncology, the Warburg effect is the observation that most cancer cells produce energy predominantly not through the 'usual' citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria as observed in normal cells, but through a less efficient process of 'aerobic glycolysis' consisting of a high level of glucose uptake and glycolysis followed by lactic acid fermentation taking place in the cytosol, not the mitochondria, even in the presence of abundant oxygen. This observation was first published by Otto Heinrich Warburg, who was awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology for his "discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme". The precise mechanism and therapeutic implications of the Warburg effect, however, remain unclear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitting the wall</span> Sudden fatigue during endurance sports

In endurance sports such as road cycling and long-distance running, hitting the wall or the bonk is a condition of sudden fatigue and loss of energy which is caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. Otherwise, it can remedied by attaining second wind by either resting for approximately 10 minutes or by slowing down considerably and increasing speed slowly over a period of 10 minutes. Ten minutes is approximately the time that it takes for free fatty acids to sufficiently produce ATP in response to increased demand.

Muscle weakness is a lack of muscle strength. Its causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have either true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, including muscular dystrophy and inflammatory myopathy. It occurs in neuromuscular junction disorders, such as myasthenia gravis. Muscle weakness can also be caused by low levels of potassium and other electrolytes within muscle cells. It can be temporary or long-lasting. The term myasthenia is from my- from Greek μυο meaning "muscle" + -asthenia ἀσθένεια meaning "weakness".

Lactate inflection point (LIP) is the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase rapidly. It is often expressed as 85% of maximum heart rate or 75% of maximum oxygen intake. When exercising at or below the lactate threshold, any lactate produced by the muscles is removed by the body without it building up.

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Sports nutrition is the study and practice of nutrition and diet with regards to improving anyone's athletic performance. Nutrition is an important part of many sports training regimens, being popular in strength sports and endurance sports. Sports nutrition focuses its studies on the type, as well as the quantity of fluids and food taken by an athlete. In addition, it deals with the consumption of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, supplements and organic substances that include carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergetic systems</span>

Bioenergetic systems are metabolic processes that relate to the flow of energy in living organisms. Those processes convert energy into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the form suitable for muscular activity. There are two main forms of synthesis of ATP: aerobic, which uses oxygen from the bloodstream, and anaerobic, which does not. Bioenergetics is the field of biology that studies bioenergetic systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism</span> Medical condition

Inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism are inborn error of metabolism that affect the catabolism and anabolism of carbohydrates.

The monocarboxylate transporters, or MCTs, are a family of proton-linked plasma membrane transporters that carry molecules having one carboxylate group (monocarboxylates), such as lactate, pyruvate, and ketones across biological membranes. MCTs are expressed in nearly every kind of cell.

The lactate shuttle hypothesis describes the movement of lactate intracellularly and intercellularly. The hypothesis is based on the observation that lactate is formed and utilized continuously in diverse cells under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Further, lactate produced at sites with high rates of glycolysis and glycogenolysis can be shuttled to adjacent or remote sites including heart or skeletal muscles where the lactate can be used as a gluconeogenic precursor or substrate for oxidation. The hypothesis was proposed by professor George Brooks of the University of California at Berkeley.

The physiology of marathons is typically associated with high demands on a marathon runner's cardiovascular system and their locomotor system. The marathon was conceived centuries ago and as of recent has been gaining popularity among many populations around the world. The 42.195 km distance is a physical challenge that entails distinct features of an individual's energy metabolism. Marathon runners finish at different times because of individual physiological characteristics.

References

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