What Anaerobic Exercises Actually Mean for Your Training Plan
This is Your Quick Training Tip, a chance to learn how to work smarter in just a few moments so you can get right to your workout.
Endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes, etc.) often have an aversion to strength training. They think the added muscle that comes from lifting weights and engaging in other “anaerobic” activities will slow them down in sports that depend on being light and quick.
To break it down most simply, activities that require your body's energy systems to use oxygen are considered aerobic. That includes pursuits in which you engage in movements for more than just a brief burst of action, like distance running, swimming, or cycling. On the other hand, anaerobic activities only require brief expenditures of energy, like lifting weights and even short sprints, and don't require your body to use oxygen.
But science has a different opinion than the prevailing attitudes of race-day warriors noted above. Adding anaerobic workouts to a largely aerobic training plan can actually help you cross the finish line faster.
To be clear, the foundation of your endurance-focused program should always be aerobic (cardio-based) exercise. That’s what builds cardiovascular endurance—the fortitude you’ll rely on most to carry you through a race. But research shows that adding anaerobic (oxygen-independent) exercise such as strength training to your weekly routine can increase both power output and time to exhaustion (not to mention running economy, if that’s your thing). What’s more, the fatigue-resistance benefit is most pronounced in the final sprint of a race—right when you need it most—according to a small study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Need another reason to take a break from pounding the pavement to pump some iron? A study review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that strength training can reduce sports injuries by a third, and overuse injuries by a half. If you’ve ever been sidelined by a plantar fasciitis, iliotibial bend syndrome, or a stress fracture, you know how significant any increase in injury-resistance can be.
Your move: Endurance athletes can reap the benefits of strength training by performing as little as one or two total-body (i.e., not entirely legs-focused) resistance-based workouts per week.
But that’s not the only form of anaerobic conditioning you should be doing. Some research shows that doing speedwork (e.g., sprint and interval training) can increase not only endurance, but also aerobic capacity (a.k.a. VO2 max).
Need some inspiration? Check out the perfect strength training plan for runners.
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