WEEK THIRTY-TWO :: What Is The Best Workout To Improve Aerobic/Anaerobic Endurance?

[the_fake_webmaster]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Note: How can I win? Answer all questions in the order that they are asked.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOPIC: What Is The Best Workout For Improving Aerobic/Anaerobic Endurance?

For the week of: 05/08 - 05/14
Sunday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great endurance is very desirable. But endurance is not just aerobic endurance from your lungs and heart, but also anaerobic endurance (aka muscle endurance).

What is the best workout for improving overall aerobic/anaerobic endurance? Be specific. Include exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, etc.

How should weight training, cardio, and stretching, all be combined to create a workout to help increase aerobic/anaerobic endurance?

BONUS QUESTION: Do you have better aerobic or anaerobic endurance?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

----------------------------------
NEW PRIZE MONEY!!!!!
----------------------------------

The best response will get $75 in credit, and second place will get $50 in credit to use in our online store and will have their workout posted on our main site for the world to see!

Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com

[MotoForce]

I would suggest uphill sprints, or if you got a buddy with you, throw him on your shoulder and fireman carry him up. Alternate with you and your friend.
When its your turn to be carried make sure he holds your right hand, your left hand should be planted firmly on his lower back for support.
There really is no set mark I would aim for. Do it until you run out of breath or just cannot take it anymore. Or if you come close to puking. I would do these drills 2 or 3 times a week.

But you see, one of the keys to endurance is intensisty. Hell, you can turn anything into a ball busting cardio type workout if you try hard enough.
Just improvise, less breaks, less time in between sets, no time in between sets, really get those lungs going and start sucking that air.

Take the Marines for example, one drill they do is something called "IT" standing for intense training, your going from pushups, crunches, mountain climbers, leg lifts, running in place, etc. etc.. all in a matter of seconds, lasting upwards to 10-20 min.
Im not saying you have to do that, but just applying those principles to your workouts will work wonders on your endurance.

[IronOn]

Question:

Great endurance is very desirable. But endurance is not just aerobic endurance from your lungs and heart, but also anaerobic endurance (aka muscle endurance).

What is the best workout for improving overall aerobic/anaerobic endurance? Be specific. Include exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, etc.

How should weight training, cardio, and stretching, all be combined to create a workout to help increase aerobic/anaerobic endurance?

BONUS QUESTION: Do you have better aerobic or anaerobic endurance?

Answer:

When it come to endurance, the word tends to conjure up images of the marathon athlete, running mile after tiresome mile, the bicyclist riding on through the night, the swimmer crossing the English channel, etc. In truth, however, endurance is simply a measure of how long and hard you can apply yourself to any activity – whether it be running a marathon, climbing the stairs in the office building, or lifting a heavy barbell.

That means everyone needs a certain amount of physical endurance – yes, even those who do nothing but pump iron, and for whom 'cardio' is a cuss word. Without a degree of endurance, you'll feel tired before you should. A few reps of curls will leave you breathless. A set of squats will have you gasping for breath. You'll never be able to lift as much, or for as long, as those with greater endurance – and that will cripple your growth, big time.

So now that we've established what endurance is and why we want it, let's get down to the process of endurance acquisition:

THE KEY WORD: INTENSITY

If you were fearing the next couple of paragraphs, don't worry – they don't contain the words 'cardio', 'running', 'treadmill', etc. While running half-an-hour on the treadmill is great exercise, it won't increase your ability to lift weights. We already know that half-an-hour of moderate aerobic activity per day is going to go a long way towards burning fat, and increasing the endurance of our lungs and heart. What we really want is a way to lift more than ever before.

Any exercise can increase endurance. The key to achieving a maximum of endurance in any exercise, however, is the intensity with which it is performed, as well as the intensity of the exercises preceding and following it. When you're training to lift heavier than ever before, you'll take long breaks in between each set – sometimes even between each rep. When you're training for endurance, however, you'll want to lift light, fast, and often.

That might mean cutting the weight you lift down a bit. If you can't squeeze out 12-16 reps per set, with at least 3 reps back-to-back – then you'll get only marginal results as far as increasing endurance goes. I suggest modifying your program for one or two days a week, so that you're lifting heavy on 'off' days, and on your endurance days, lifting lighter weights that you can do a greater volume of reps with, without taking a break between each set.

The great thing about this is it means you don't have to have a special 'program' in order to increase your endurance. All you have to do is modify you're existing program so that you can keep lifting without having to stop in between each exercise. To increase endurance, you'll want to take exercises back-to-back (straight from 3 sets of barbell curls into military press into bench press into whatever), superset exercises (alternate sets of dumbbell curls with dumbbell flyes, etc.) and simply NEVER STOP. After forty-five minutes to an hour of continuous, vigorous effort, the lighter weight won't be feeling so light anymore – in fact, you'll likely be more tired than if you'd been lifting heavier weights.

You'll soon see the results of this on your heavier lifting days – you might not be able to lift more per rep, but you'll find you can start squeezing out a few extra reps on the end of each set, and that can only be good.

So drop a few pounds of those barbells, run through your program fast and hard – you'll thank me for it later.

Bonus: Personally, I have better aerobic endurance - as a sprots fanatic, I've been running and doing cardio since I was eight years old, and I've only been lifting weight for the last two years. Its starting to equal out, though, and I attribute that to just what I've described above - a day or two of fast, hard training goes a long way!

[rishab_ind18]

Great endurance is very desirable. But endurance is not just aerobic endurance from your lungs and heart, but also anaerobic endurance (aka muscle endurance).

What is the best workout for improving overall aerobic/anaerobic endurance? Be specific. Include exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, etc.

How should weight training, cardio, and stretching, all be combined to create a workout to help increase aerobic/anaerobic endurance?

BONUS QUESTION: Do you have better aerobic or anaerobic endurance?



Ever dream of hitting that perfect balance between aerobic and anaerobic endurance? If you answered yes, this might be just what you need.
Now before we go about creating a detailed schedule for you to follow, i think it is important to understand just what aerobic and anaerobic endurance are and how they can be acheived.

Cardio-vascular / Aerobic Endurance : This type of endurance deals with the ability of the heart and the circulatory system to supply oxygen to a muscle, therefore fuelling more contractions. Its secondary task is to remove waste products created from the usage of oxygen (such as lactic acid).
This type of endurance is required for activities such as running, swimming, cycling, etc.

Benefits of good Aerobic Endurance :
- Improvement of Circulatory System.
- Lowering of Body fat.
- Improvment in the size and number of capillaries that carry blood.

Muscular / An-aerobic Endurance : This type of endurance deals with the ability of a muscle to contract repeatedly. In order to be able to do this it must have the ability to recruit new muscle fibres to replace the fatigued fibres. It also deals with the ability of a fatigued fibre being able to recover quickly before it is called upon.

Benefits of good Muscular Endurance :
- Improves ability of muscle to store glycogen (Energy source for muscles).
- Increases the development of muscle fibres that are used.

Understanding Muscle Fibre :
There are basically two types of muscle fibre :
- Fast Twitch : These are used in lifting heavy weights, they have high contracting power and low endurance.
- Slow Twitch : They are less powerful , however they have the ability to contract repeatedly for long periods of time.

__________________________________________________ _______________
What is the best workout for improving overall aerobic/anaerobic endurance?

Inorder to acheive the perfect balance, a very specific workout should be created such that you do not lose strength,mass and agility.
Some exercises which maybe performed to acheive this are :


-Skipping : A fantastic cardiovascular workout which not only help in increasing cardio vascular endurance but also aid in improving muscular endurance (in the calves) and agility.

-Spending sometime going wild on a heavy punching bag always feels great. It helps increasing muscular endurance of the arms and deltoids if performed over a period of time.

-Circuits : This is one of my favorites. It involves a combination of Sprints and certain bodyweight exercises such as Pull ups, Push ups, Squats , Jump Squats, Crunches, Reverse Crunches and Dips.

-Power Training : Remember not to ignore the 3 basic Power lifts (Squats , Dead Lifts, Bench Press). Combine these with your program as they involve a complete body workout and also help maintain strength and size.


__________________________________________________ _______________

Diet :
Remember, since the number of calories you will be burning is very high , even for maintainance of body weight you will have to up the calories consumed.
Try keeping the Protein and Carbohydrate consumption a little more than normal. Dont ignore the Fats (dont overdo it either).
__________________________________________________ _______________

How should weight training, cardio, and stretching, all be combined to create a workout to help increase aerobic/anaerobic endurance?


Stretching : In this program, stretching is of especially high importance because of the role it plays in improving muscular flexibility and endurance.
Recollect that muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to keep recruiting new muscle fibre to replace old fatigued ones. Stretching before a workout increases the number of fibres made available for use, thereby increasing muscular endurance.

Some basic stretches are :

Hanging Stretches : for Arms and Torso.

Forward Bends : Lower Back and Hamstrings

Quadricep Stretches.

These 3 stretches involve the entire body.


Sample Schedule :

Day 1: Skipping (10 mins)+ Circuits + Punching Bag(5 mins).
Day 2: REST.
Day 3: Power Lifting(5*5 for all lifts)
Day 4: REST.
Day 5: Skipping (10 mins)+ Circuits + Punching Bag(5 mins).
Day 6: Conventional Cardio(Running,Swimming,cycling,etc.)
Day 7: REST.

While doing circuits, perform all exercises in the range of 12-15 reps(4 sets). As this gets easier you may do one of the following :
- Reduce rest time between each set.
- Reduce rest time between each exercise.
- Add weights (using a weight jacket).

Stretching must be performed before and after every workout in order to maximise results and prevent injuries.
__________________________________________________ _______________
BONUS QUESTION: Do you have better aerobic or anaerobic endurance?

I'd love to think that i have the perfect balance, but in reality i know that i possess better aerobic endurance. I have the ability to perform cardiovascular activities and med-high intensity for long periods of time.
Whenever i feel the need to stop, i realise that it is not as a result of lack of oxygen but more as the result of muscular failure
__________________________________________________ _______________

[<Deadlifter>]

Endurance!

[lc5315]

This is my pick on this week's TOTW!!

[RC26]

Good luck to everyone this week

[adoniscomplex]

What is the best workout for improving overall aerobic/anaerobic endurance? Be specific. Include exercises, sets, reps, rest periods, etc.


What is the best work out to improve endurance both aerobic and anaerobic? Before we answer that, we must dive into what is endurance , how does our body work aerobically and anaerobically . Endurance is a measure of our bodies ability to continue to act against a work load, whether that be continue to run at a set pace or contract with maximal force repeatedly. Our body uses the aerobic system when it is at a level of performance low enough that the oxygen supplied to the muscles is enough to convert glucose to ATP, ATP is our muscles chemical source of energy. If our body is acting out at a level too high for the oxygen coming in to keep up, it goes into oxygen debt. At this point the muscle still needs the ATP but needs another way to convert the glucose to ATP, the citric acid cycle comes into play here and our body is now working anaerobically. When the citric acid cycle is being used to convert glucose to ATP a by-product is created, that by-product is lactic acid. The body uses this method
9citric acid cycle) to transfer glucose to ATP because it is the most efficient, turning one molecule of glucose into 36 molecules of ATP. Unfortunatally the lactic acid causes a burning sensation and fatigues the muscle. The lactate acid has no way to leave the muscle until enough oxygen is in the muscle to pay off the oxygen debt. If this continues with out oxygen the muscle will eventually ceases to contract. Studies have shown that fit individuals create less lactate acid when training anaerobically. so to reiterate for anyone who might of not have understood the overall point. aerobic energy is ATP converting through the use of oxygen and anaerobically is the same thing without oxygen.
Now that you understand how they work we will go over some basics of the two forms of training, starting with aerobic. The purpose of aerobic training is to increase VO2 max which is a measurement of the amount of oxygen the heart is pushing out to the muscles and the ability of the muscle to extracted that oxygen. Importantly, VO2 max is a calculated measurement of aerobic endurance. In aerobic training there are many adaptations that occur to improve the bodies VO2 max, one cardiac output, which is how much oxygen is being pushed out and two is extraction , which is the ability for the muscles to pull in. The major cardiac output adaptations are; decreased resting heart rate , increased stroke volume and increased maximum cardiac output. The major extractions adaptations are increased capillary density, increased mitochondria density and increased activity of the enzymes in the mitochondria. (source from the ACE manual 2001) The aerobic system can be trained through a few methods, anything cardiovascular activity that has a work load that causes a heart rate between 50% and 80% of the maximum heart rate for that person , weight training using very high reps and much of the time spent playing a medium intensity sport. To increase VO2 max requires a little more work then just a heart rate of 50% of MHR though, studies have shown that training needs to be a very small step below reaching the level of anaerobic training, this will put you at 75 to 80% of your MHR. (http://www.tcnj.edu/~gerbehy2/project/running/project-distance.html)
The purpose of anaerobic endurance training is to train your body to minimize the effects of lactate acid and minimize the lactate acid created by the citric acid cycle it self. Our body generally reaches oxygen debt and has to turn to anaerobic means for energy at levels above 80% of maximum heart rate. Also now that we are in the anaerobic portion of energy sources the body is using fast twitch type A fibers which have a much lower mitochondria density then the slow twitch fibers used in the aerobic work loads. The lower the mitochondria density in the muscle the less endurance that muscle is going to have since ATP production is done there. Operating your body at levels close to your anaerobic threshold will improve your bodies ability to minimize the amount of lactate acid produced, remove what lactate acid there is that is being produced and most importantly its increasing your bodies ability to tolerate lactate acid. All of those things make understanding anaerobic endurance simple, keep pushing your self at levels that use your anaerobic capacity and your body will adapt for the better.
Building the program
Now that we have rounded all the bases on understanding how endurance works, we can start to build a proper program for endurance improvement. There are four types of cardiovascular training that should be utilized and a weight training system that is very easy to customize to ones schedule or particular sport. The four types of cardiovascular training are Long slow distance, Farklet , interval and tempo.
Long slow distance is training that stays around 65% of MHR its generally performed for thirty minutes to sixty minutes and solely works in the aerobic energy system. It's most often done by beginners, those trying to lose body fat and people who want to improve long duration endurance. It helps increase all the fore mentioned aerobic training adaptations. Long slow distance training is more or less jogging as done by most of America.
Farklet is a method of training created by the swedish which means varying speeds. The athlete will train a given duration going from walking to sprinting to tempo running to jogging in however routine he feels. With farklet training both forms of endurance training are met because the heart rate will vary in degrees from 50% to 95% of mhr based on how the athlete is choosing to spend the duration of the exercise.
Interval training is a method that is of recent popularity you go from doing sprints or very high speed high heart rate activities back to slow paced activities for resting in set intervals. For example the athlete will run full speed for 30 seconds and then walk for 2 minutes, as conditioning improves the rest intervals become smaller and the high intensity intervals become longer. This type of of cardiovascular training effects mostly the anaerobic energy system.
Tempo training is the pace between a jog and sprinting, it keeps your heart rate in the 80% of mhr area which trains your body at its anaerobic threshold for longer periods of time then interval training does. Tempo training is a newer style training that is getting a lot of positive press in the business of sport specific training.
For weight training we are going to utilize the method of circuit training. Circuit training is taking a group of exercises and performing them in a row with no rest in between each exercise. Circuit training causes adaptations in both anaerobic and aerobic endurance. Here is a study showing the aerobic endurance improvements made on circuit training using the increase in VO2 max as the guideline to judge improvement. http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/circuits05.html Circuit Training can by customized for the individual but for overall endurance improvement we will use a push, pull and legs split.The rep scheme being used will be in the 12-15 range which will train a combination of fast twitch and slow twitch muscles for the purpose of endurance.

Other things to consider in your endurance work out routine are stretching and core stabilization. Your stretching for muscle health should come in three forms in any work out plan, static, which is the standard stretch and hold , dynamic which is similar to static but you do the movement in motion (example glute stretch would be high knee walking were with each step you would pull your leg up higher then normal range of motion) and the final method of stretching is self myofascia release, using a foam roller to release built up tightness in the fascia casing of the muscle. The self myofasica release will be the first thing you do before you work out everyday, it's suggested to do the trouble areas generally people have tightness in their calves, hamstrings and hip flexors. After that you will move on to dynamic stretching of the muscle groups being worked that day. Static stretching will only be used after your work out and needs to be done everyday of training. After the dynamic stretching will come isometric core work, the exercies used will be prone bridges , iso-ab bridges and side bridges, each of these will be held for one set of thirty seconds. The reasoning for this is to strengthen the multifidus and transverse abdominals, without core endurance and isometric strength in this area everything else is libel to fall apart. Next you will start your actual work out. To properly train both aerobic and anaerobic systems through cardiovascular training it is best to use all four of these methods a week on top of the three days of weight training. The weight training will need to be on monday, wednesday and friday each day after weight training will be followed with long slow distance running for 45 minutes except on friday which will be farklet training. On Tuesday the athlete will perform tempo runs for thirty minutes and thursday will be intervals.

[adoniscomplex]

How should weight training, cardio, and stretching, all be combined to create a workout to help increase aerobic/anaerobic endurance?

The weight training and review of the full plan will go as follows.
Circuit reps will be done for 12-15 reps.
Stretching and core work will be referred to as warm-up
Monday
warm-up
push day
barbell bench press
dumbbell flies
dips
triceps pull downs
1 minute rest
For advanced trainees seeking more of a challenege can instead of resting use active recovery,this is where you would jump rope for the 1 minute break from lifting, this goes for everyday of lifting.
After 3 circuits
Long Slow distance for 45 minutes

Tuesday
stretching
Tempo training for 45 minutes

Wednesday
warm-up
pull day
dead lifts
barbell rows
chin-ups
barbell curls
1 minute rest
After 3 circuits
Long Slow distance for 45 minutes

Thursday
stretching (dynamic)
intervals training for 30 minutes
as weeks go by increase intensity not duration
static stretching

Friday
warm-up
legs
squats
sled pulls
stiff leg dead lifts
hamstring curls
calf raises
1 minute rest, repeat
After 3 circuits
Farklet training for 30 minutes

Saturday and sundays will be off days for recovery

Nutrition for endurance
The primary concern for those seeking to improve endurance is pre and post work out nutrition. With out the proper carbodyhdrates ingested prior to working out the body will fail early causing the athlete not to be able to generate to proper adaptations to training. Three hours prior to training you should ingest 80-100 carbs to fuel the body for the work out . Consuming pre-work out nutrition this way can delay muscle fatigue and help continue the work out. With in 60 minutes no carbs should be ingested as it can cause adverse affects such as hypoglycemia and rapid carb depletion. Post work out nutrition should consist of 50 carbs and at least 20 grams of protein to replenish muscle stores with glycogen. Another aspect of nutrition is hydration, the body should take in a minimum of 96 ounces of water a day not including the fluid consumed during training. You should consume at least one liter of water pre-workout and two liters for every one hour of training. Besides the meals around the work out you should be taking in at least six clean meals with protein, complex carbs and healthy fats a day to perform at optimum levels.

Supplementation for endurance
Supplementation can help break plateaus and help boost weak points in nutrition or fill a need that can not be filled with regular food. On the last statement you might be wondering what I am taking about, how can a supplement replace real food? For example if you are training for over an hour and a half your body will most likely start to seek out your muscles for amino acids to refill the blood stream and for energy uses, the form of aminos they will need is branch chain amino acids. Now yes you can get those from food but i doubt you will want to be at the gym or on the track trying to chow down a chicken breast or can of tuna as you finish up your work out.
Now we will go over some helpful supplements,

Stimulants will help boost your energy levels and help sustain them through out your work outs.
here are some helpful stimulants.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/prima/syn.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ax/ram.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/get/ready.html

Amino acids help to prevent catabolism, which is good for the athlete who doesn't want to lose muscle mass while gain endurance
Here are a few helpful amino acid supplements .
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/purple.html

Creatine is an energy source used during anaerobic work loads supplementing creatine is believed to help that final level of endurance, increasing the time until muscle failure .
Here are a few types of creatine
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ast/microcreatine.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/dym/creatinecaps.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/axis/cee.html

Rest time
Your time away from the gym is important, that is where your body improves. Your body is constantly working to create a better version of yourself , with this in mind 2 off days is optimal and plenty of sleep is most important. It is recommended that you sleep for a minimum for 8 hours every night, there are many chemical reactions for repair that can only go on at complete rest so this is a very important part of building great endurance.

BONUS QUESTION: Do you have better aerobic or anaerobic endurance?
Aerobic!
Over the years I have been training my cardio has been based in the 70% heart rate rate and much of my lifting has been in the 5 rep range so my anaerobic endurance has not been properly trained but since most of my cardio has been done in the form of long slow distance running i do have great aerobic endurance.

[Aussie LTD]

anaerobic workout :)

- probably not my best article