Out of myriad ways to lose weight, you should stick to the primary one, a calorie deficit, which means eating fewer calories than your body uses. Moreover, you can incorporate anaerobic exercises to accelerate weight loss and enhance overall fitness.
I’ve shared an anaerobic exercise routine for weight loss and maintenance in this article. So, whether you’re a male or female, you can do that if you want to shed some extra kilos, enhance cardiovascular fitness, and improve body composition.
What are Anaerobic Exercises?
Exercises in anaerobic training are highly intense and performed at 90 to 100 percent of maximum heart rate for a very short duration, typically for 15 to 60 seconds.
During the anaerobic workouts, your body breaks down glucose that’s already there in your muscles for energy without using oxygen.1 The science behind anaerobic – Healthline
The various types of workouts included in anaerobic training provide various health benefits. For example, they boost endurance and metabolism, enhance cardiovascular health, build muscles, speed up fat loss, and improve physique.
Examples of the Best Anaerobic Exercises
The anaerobic training program can include any exercise that requires short bursts of intense energy. For example:
- High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT),
- Circuit Training (Tabata)
- CrossFit (Box jumps, Weightlifting, Jump Squats, etc.)
- Powerlifting
- HIIT Rowing
I’ve also created a brief article on anaerobic home workout training. So you can also check it out.
Does Anaerobic Exercise Help Lose Weight?
You can perform anaerobic exercises to maintain and lose weight.
Here’s how:
- HIIT significantly reduced subcutaneous and abdominal body fat in overweight males and females after 15 weeks of training – according to a study published by the Journal of Obesity. 2Boutcher SH. High-intensity intermittent exercise and fat loss. J Obes. 2011;2011:868305. doi:10.1155/2011/868305 However, more studies using overweight individuals need to be carried out.
- Anaerobic training also has the after-burn effect or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). It means your body will burn calories at a fast pace even after 12 to 36 hours, depending on the intensity and duration of the workout. The EPOC will improve your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and help you maintain and reduce weight.
- Weightlifting included in anaerobic training also has promising effects on weight loss. A study suggested that resistance training is as crucial as aerobic training in reducing major cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as blood glucose and cholesterol. Moreover, it helps in the reduction of fats and increases lean mass.3 Strasser B, Schobersberger W. Evidence for resistance training as a treatment therapy in obesity. J Obes. 2011;2011:482564. doi:10.1155/2011/482564
Most importantly, you should restrict your calorie consumption to accelerate weight loss. And to reduce calorie consumption, you should eat low calories and high proteins foods, veggies, and fruits; and adopt intermittent fasting.
15-min Best Anaerobic Exercise Routine for Weight Loss for Beginners
Summary
- Type of exercises: Bodyweight
- Place to workout: At Home
- Equipment needed: No
- Frequency per week: 5 times a weeek
- Rest between Circuit: 2 minutes
- Perform each exercise for 15 seconds
- Rest between exercise: No
Here’s the routine
| Circuit 1 | Circuit 2 | Circuit 3 | Circuit 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jumping Jacks | Split Jump Squat | Jumping Jacks | High Knees |
| Squat Jumps | Crunches | Mountain Climber | Mountain Climber |
| Pushups | Mountain Climbing | Squat Jumps | Burpees |
| Squats | Squats | Pushups | Flutter Kicks |
| Burpees | Pushups | Lunges | Jumping Jacks |
| Mountain Climbing | Flutter Kicks | Reverse Crunches | Split Jump Squat |
Advanced 30-minutes Anaerobic Workout for Fat Loss
Here I’ve shared three different plans, so depending on your choice, you can do one of them or all of them.
- Sprinting
- Rowing Machine
- Treadmill Run and Weight Lifting
You can also combine them on different days of the week to make a weekly workout routine.
30-min Anaerobic Exercise Routine – Sprinting
Summary
- Number of rounds: 5
- Duration for each round: 5 minutes (one extra minute reserve for each round)
- Training days per week: 3 days a week
Round 1
- 90 seconds jumping rope
- 30 seconds sprints
- Rest 3 minutes
Round 2
- 10 Burpees
- 30 seconds sprints
- Rest 3 minutes
Round 3
- 90 seconds pushups
- 30 seconds sprints
- Rest 3 minutes
Round 4
- 90 seconds mountain climbing
- 30 seconds sprints
- Rest 3 minutes
Round 5
- 90 seconds jumping rope
- 30 seconds sprints
- Rest 3 minutes
30-minutes Anaerobic Rowing Machine Workout
Summary
- Number of rounds: 5
- Duration for each round: 5 minutes (one extra minute reserve for each round)
- Training days per week: 3 days a week
Round 1
- 90 seconds Rowing
- 15 reps Upright Row
- Rest 2 minutes
Round 2
- 90 seconds Rowing
- 15 reps Burpees
- Rest 2 minutes
Round 3
- 90 seconds Rowing
- 15 reps Mountain Climbing
- Rest 2 minutes
Round 4
- 90 seconds Rowing
- 15 reps Squat Jump
- Rest 2 minutes
Round 5
- 90 seconds Rowing
- 20 reps Pushup on knees if you couldn’t perform the standard ones.
- Rest 2 minutes
30-min Anaerobic Exercise For Weight Loss – Treadmill Run & Weightlifting
Summary
- Number of rounds: 5
- Duration for each round: 5 minutes (one extra minute reserve for each round)
- Training days per week: 4 days a week
Round 1
- 10 Squats at 70-75 % of 1RM
- 200 meters Run at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate
- 3 minutes rest
Round 2
- 6 Deadlift at 70-80% of 1RM
- 200 meters Run at 80-90 % of MHR
- 3 minutes rest
Round 3
- 10 Bench Press at 70-80% of 1RM
- 200 meters Run at 80-90 % of MHR
- 3 minutes rest
Round 4
- 10 Overhead Press at 65-75% of 1RM
- 200 meters Run at 80-90 % of MHR
- 3 minutes rest
Round 5
- 10 Barbell Bent-over Row at 65-75% of 1RM
- 200 meters Run at 80-90 % of MHR
- 3 minutes rest
Which is better for you aerobic or anaerobic and Why?
To understand which is better between aerobic and anaerobic exercises, let’s know the difference between these two.
| No | Aerobic Workout | Anaerobic Workout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | It involves long, slow-moderate intense workouts for a longer duration, for example, jogging. | It involves short, fast, high-intensity exercises, for example, sprinting. |
| 2 | During aerobic exercises, your body uses energy from stored carbs, protein, fat. | Your body breaks down glucose for energy without using oxygen. |
| 3 | You can do aerobic exercises six times a week. | Anaerobic exercises can be taxing on your body, so you should not do them more than four times a week. |
| 4 | It doesn’t burn as many calories as anaerobic workouts. | It burns plenty of calories during and after the training because of its after-burn effect. |
| 5 | One session of aerobic exercise can of one hour. | The optimum time of one anaerobic exercise session should be 20 to 30 minutes. |
I hope you have decided which one you should do. If not, let me help you. If you want to stay fit, active, and maintain muscles and weight, you can do aerobic training. And if you want to lose weight, boost endurance, and build lean mass, you can do various anaerobic exercises mentioned in this article.
References
- 1The science behind anaerobic – Healthline
- 2Boutcher SH. High-intensity intermittent exercise and fat loss. J Obes. 2011;2011:868305. doi:10.1155/2011/868305
- 3Strasser B, Schobersberger W. Evidence for resistance training as a treatment therapy in obesity. J Obes. 2011;2011:482564. doi:10.1155/2011/482564
