Exercises That Cause the Body to Use More Oxygen
It's no secret that oxygen is one of the main driving forces that propels your body during exercise. Generally, the more oxygen you take in during a workout, the harder and more intense that workout is for your body. If you aren't pushing yourself, you won't see the results you want from your exercise routine. Higher-intensity exercises cause your body to use more oxygen and burn more calories than lower-intensity exercises.
Heart Rate and Exercise
Although most people don't carry equipment around that tells them their level of oxygen uptake during and following exercise, your heart rate is a good indication of how hard your body is working. Usually, the higher your heart rate is during a workout, the more oxygen you'll consume. Aerobic exercises such as jogging and cycling keep your heart rate between 60 and 80 percent of its maximum.
Anaerobic exercises cause your heart to beat faster than aerobic exercises. This is because they tend to be more intense and require your body to generate energy faster than the cardiovascular system can provide it. Sprinting, kettlebell training and high-intensity interval workouts are examples of anaerobic exercises that force your body to use more oxygen than your average trip to the gym. Although resistance training increases your heart rate, it doesn't increase your level of oxygen intake more than aerobic exercise.
Anaerobic workouts cause your body to break down glycogen stores in your muscles to convert into instant energy. But at some point, you need to pay back the oxygen deficit you incur during intense exercises. Because of this, you'll go through a period of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption where your heart rate will be elevated for several minutes following a vigorous workout.
Although traditional cardio exercises such as jogging and cycling don't require as much oxygen as anaerobic exercises, your heart rate will still increase over time throughout a long workout. This is a phenomenon known as cardiac drift, and it's believed to be a byproduct of increased core body temperature during exercise. More intense exercises use more oxygen and burn more calories, but you can't perform high-intensity workouts as long as low-intensity ones, so you need to strike the right balance between intensity and duration of exercise.
- Brian Mac Sports Coach: Heart Rate Training Zones
- San Diego State University: Oxygen Consumption (VO2)
- Sports Fitness Advisor: The Cardiovascular System and Exercise
- American Council on Exercise: Q: Why is an Elevated Heart Rate Alone not Always a Valid Indicator of an Effective Aerobic-Training Stimulus?
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