Plank was first introduced by a man named Joseph Pilates,. He proposed that you can never be too young or too old to have a healthy body. He further added that plank was meant for everyone, including the physically impaired people and even people suffering from spinal injuries.
The plank exercise is an aerobic workout that uses the large muscles in your back, arms and legs to support your body weight as you hold it up for a period of time. You can also add variations such as leg lifts or planks with arm raises to increase the intensity of this workout.
The plank is one of the simplest and toughest exercises in the world of fitness. But as simple as it is, Is Plank Exercise an Aerobic or Anaerobic Workout? Let’s find out !
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Is Plank Exercise an Aerobic or Anaerobic Workout?
Plank exercise is an aerobic exercise, because it helps you to use your whole body in order to move and breathe.
The kind of muscles that are being worked out during plank exercise include, but are not limited to: arms, shoulders, abdominals, glutes and thighs.
You can do this as part of a regular physical activity routine or even using it as a warm up or cool down technique before working out at the gym.
What is Aerobic Exercise ?
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Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise that uses oxygen and increases the heart rate to promote cardiovascular fitness and health. Aerobic exercise can be performed on a regular basis to help you improve your overall health and well-being, but it also provides many other benefits.
Aerobic exercises include activities such as walking, jogging, swimming, cycling and climbing stairs.
These types of exercises are better for improving your cardiovascular fitness than weightlifting or resistance training.
Benefits of Doing Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously and is rhythmic in nature. Examples of aerobic exercises include jogging, aerobics classes and dancing.
Here are some of its benefits:
1) Burns fat
Aerobic exercises burn calories and help you to lose weight, improve body composition and lower blood pressure. This may be because more oxygen is being used by the muscles during an aerobic workout than during an anaerobic activity such as weight lifting or sprinting.
2) Increases Heart rate
Aerobic exercise increases heart rate (or pulse rate) above rest levels, which can lead to better cardiovascular health in older adults. It also helps to improve the functioning of cardiac muscles, which may protect against future heart problems.
3) Promotes Circulation
Aerobic exercises increase circulation throughout your body by increasing blood pressure and helping to remove toxins from your cells. This may reduce inflammation, which has been linked to many diseases including cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Increase endurance. Aerobic exercise can help you build up your cardiovascular system so that you can do activities that require more exertion, such as hiking or playing basketball.
Anaerobic Exercise Explained: Every Detail You Need to Know
Anaerobic exercise means “without oxygen,” so anaerobic exercise refers to exercises that use carbohydrates or fats for energy without any help from oxygen. This type of exercise can be done anytime, anywhere, and is therefore a great way to increase your endurance and strength.
Examples of Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic exercise generally refers to a form of exercise that does not require oxygen for energy production. This means that your body will be using stored sugars (glycogen) and fats as fuel sources.
Examples of anaerobic exercises include:
Sprinting
Sprinting is one of the most well-known forms of anaerobic exercise because it burns through glycogen stores quickly, which can cause fatigue after just a few seconds.
Weightlifting
Lifting weights is another example of anaerobic exercise because it causes your body to switch from aerobic energy production to anaerobic energy production in order to move the weight around.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
High intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of short bursts of activity followed by short periods of rest. This type of training promotes the release of growth hormone, which helps build muscle mass faster than traditional workouts that only last 30-60 minutes per day.
Why Should You Do Anaerobic Exercise? The Benefits
Anaerobic Exercise helps you to lose weight, build lean muscle and keeps you healthy.
Anaerobic workout is a good way to burn fat and give your brain all the fuel it needs, while not taxing your heart as much as aerobic workouts.
These workouts are great for body shaping exercises such as interval training, HIIT (high intensity interval training), Tabata training and weight loss.
Keep in mind that anaerobic exercise includes both high intensity and short duration workouts.
These exercises also increase flexibility, endurance and overall health fitness.
What is the Difference Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise ?
For aerobic exercise, you use oxygen to supply your muscles. Your heart needs to beat faster and at a higher rate in order to deliver enough oxygen to your body during aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercises include running, swimming and bicycling.
In contrast, anaerobic exercises use the stored energy from carbohydrate used for specific muscle activity that does not require oxygen for enzymatic activity. These may include weight lifting, planks etc
Also, aerobic activity is aerobic in nature and is more active, ridding the body of lactic acid and raising blood sugar levels. The body uses more energy while performing aerobic exercises versus anaerobic activities that are short in duration and involve only muscular contraction.
Is Jogging Aerobic or Anaerobic?
Jogging is a form of aerobic exercise.
When you jog, your heart rate increases as your body tries to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to your muscles and skin.
This is an aerobic process, which occurs when you’re using oxygen from the air to produce energy for muscle contraction.
In addition to burning fat and calories, aerobic exercise strengthens heart muscles, improves lung capacity and reduces stress hormones like cortisol in the body.
It also reduces insulin resistance, which can help deter diabetes. Aerobic exercise can be done at any intensity, but it’s typically done at a moderate or vigorous intensity for at least 20 minutes at a time.
Are Squats Aerobic or Anaerobic?
Squats are an anaerobic exercise because they require energy that can’t be replenished during the set.
As you squat down, your body draws on its glycogen stores for fuel. Glycogen is stored in your muscles and liver in the form of glucose molecules linked together into long chains (polymers). It is advisable to wear knee sleeves when doing squats for extra support
When you engage in a high-intensity activity like lifting weights or sprinting, your body breaks those chains apart into individual glucose molecules so they can be absorbed into cells to provide immediate energy. This process is called glycolysis- literally meaning “glucose splitting.”
After about 10 seconds of intense activity, glycolysis produces so much ATP that there isn’t enough oxygen available for it to complete the job. That’s when anaerobic metabolism kicks in: Your body breaks down fats and amino acids (the building blocks of protein) into smaller molecules called pyruvate to produce more ATP without oxygen
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What Category of Exercise Is Planks?
The plank is a classic core exercise. It’s a great way to strengthen your abs, lower back and obliques, while also improving spinal stability.
The plank is also one of the most effective exercises you can do to stabilize your spine in all three planes of movement: rotation, flexion and extension.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
Are planks considered aerobic?
Plank is anaerobic exercise ?
Plank exercise involves holding your body in one position for a period of time, and planks are performed using both your abdominal muscles and legs. The benefits of planks include building strength, toning the body and increasing flexibility.
Although it is mostly anaerobic as after 30-60 seconds our body uses up the oxygen and we’re relying on carbohydrates in our system, it can also be aerobic. When muscles use up glycogen they create lactic acid which causes fatigue in the working muscles.
Aerobic Vs Anaerobic Exercise ?
Aerobic exercise is a set of activities that involve large muscle movements that make your heart beat faster and increase your breathing more rapidly, using more oxygen while anaerobic exercise involves small muscle movements and brief bursts of intense activity that do not require oxygen because they do not involve your large muscles.
So technically speaking the plank is an aerobic exercise.
What is the example of anaerobic exercise?
Anaerobic exercises include weightlifting, sprinting and push-ups. During these types of workouts, your body produces lactic acid as it breaks down the energy stored in your muscles. This causes the burning sensation you feel in your muscles during anaerobic exercise.
Thoughts
Plank exercise is an anaerobic exercise, not an aerobic. It is challenging to do the plank because of its resistance to motion, but not challenging enough to degrade body functions as in aerobic activities.
Plank exercise is an isolation movement, in that only your core is being worked out. When you do the plank exercise alone, it will amount only to a few calories burned per minute.
REFERENCES
What’s the Difference Between Aerobic and Anaerobic?
https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/difference-between-aerobic-and-anaerobic
Why Cardio Is Important ?
https://www.tripplefitness.com/why-is-cardio-important/
Understanding Anaerobic Exercise
https://www.verywellhealth.com/anaerobic-exercise-5218117
11 Plank Exercises That Double as Cardio Moves
https://www.self.com/gallery/plank-exercises-that-double-as-cardio-moves
