Anaerobic and aerobic exercise and recovery

• Anaerobic


  Doesn't use oxygen, produces lactic acid, glucose ➡ lactic acid
• Anaerobic respiration

  1. Respiration without oxygen

  2. If exercise is done in short, fast bursts, the heart cannot supply blood and oxygen to the working muscles as fast as the cells need them

  3. Examples: sprinting, long jump, javelin/shot put
• Anaerobic respiration


  • High intensity for a short period of time
  • Byproduct is lactic acid (major cause of fatigue)
  • Build up of lactic acid eventually causes pain
  • You may have to slow down or stop to recover after a while
• Aerobic


  Uses oxygen, steady exercise, Oxygen + glucose ➡ carbon dioxide + water
• Aerobic respiration

  1. Respiration with oxygen

  2. If exercise is not too fast and is steady, the heart can supply all the oxygen the muscles need

  3. Examples: marathon running and long distance cycling
• Aerobic respiration


  • Carbon dioxide is taken to the lungs and breathed out
  • Water can also be breathed out or be removed from the body by sweating
  • Energy is supplied by breaking down food into glucose using oxygen
  • Occurs during low intensity exercise and can be maintained for a long period of time
  • Activities where normal breathing can be used
  • Working muscles get oxygen supplied through breathing
• Anaerobic respiration produces lactic acid, a major cause of fatigue
• Aerobic respiration produces carbon dioxide and water as byproducts
• A marathon is an aerobic event because it is quite slow and moderate intensity, and you need to be able to continue the exercise which you wouldn't be able to do if you were building up lactic acid. It is very long distance so takes a long time to complete and you would need your muscles to not get fatigued.
• Michael Johnson's 400m world record performance in 1999 was mainly anaerobic because it is a very high intensity and fast event so he would have been sprinting most of the time. He doesn't have to do the activity for a long amount of time so it doesn't matter if he builds up lots of lactic acid as it will be over quickly (43.18 seconds). In this time he won't be able to get enough oxygen to his muscles to respire aerobically so he will have to use just glucose which will turn into lactic acid and he will become fatigued.
• Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)


  • What happens when strenuous exercise stops:
  • During recovery after anaerobic exercise the body needs extra oxygen to remove the lactic acid that has been produced during the sprint
  • The body has just worked anaerobically and is in oxygen debt-this is why the performer continues to breathe heavily
  • The extra oxygen the performer breathes in above what would usually be breathed in, this is called EPOC
  • How long the oxygen debt lasts depends on how much lactic acid is produced
  • In turn this depends on how strenuous the exercise was and how long it lasted
  • It can take several hours for the lactic acid to go after intense exercise
  • EPOC's function is to remove lactic acid
• Recovery methods


  • Cool down
  • Rehydration
  • Ice baths
  • Massage
• Cool down

  1. Should take 5-10 minutes of walking or jogging to help decrease body temp and remove waste products such as lactic acid from the working muscles

  2. Also you should do 5-10 minutes of static stretching which will help to relax the muscles

  3. Benefits: clearing waste products, reduces potential for DOMS, reduces chance of dizziness or fainting caused by high blood pressure, heart rate slows down
• Rehydration/manipulation of diet

  1. Replacing fluids lost during exercise, mainly through sweating

  2. During both aerobic and anaerobic exercise, glucose is used to produce energy needed for muscle contractions

  3. This could be easily added to the fluids (through meal replacement drinks or protein shakes) that are being consumed to replace the water and minerals lost during the exercise

  4. Also, high carbohydrate meals can replace the energy used during exercise
• Ice baths


  1. Intense exercise causes tiny tears in muscle fibres

  2. Muscle damage stimulates the muscles to repair and strengthen themselves but also causes delayed onset muscle pain and soreness (DOMS)

  3. Ice bath is thought to constrict blood vessels and flush waste products like lactic acid

  4. It is also supposed to reduce swelling
• Massage


  1. Rubbing and kneading of muscles and joints with the hands

  2. Can help reduce pain or swelling that may occur due to too much physical activity

  3. Can help to reduce DOMS by encouraging blood flow to the muscles to help flush out waste products that cause fatigue

  4. Can also reduce the stiffness in newly exercising muscles