Thread: Is Anaerobic exercise more healthy?

Since your cells don't take up as much oxygen during the process, thereby causing less free radical damage, why not just do heavy weight lifting, low sets? as opposed to aerobic running or jogging for long periods of time where you have more oxygen getting in, consequently more chance for highly reactive species to damage DNA...

Depends on what benefits you're after. A combination of both is the way to go for most benefits.

Originally Posted by inow

Depends on what benefits you're after. A combination of both is the way to go for most benefits.

But which one is healthier long term? I would think anaerobic because you don't take up as much oxygen thereby reducing the number of highly reactive oxygen species. But, in the long term I suppose heavy weight lifting is hard on the joints/ligaments.

Things which exercise your heart, your lungs, cause blood to flow, and cause neural stimulation are better for the long run. I think that would be aerobic if I had to choose, but as I mentioned previously... false dichotomy.

Regular exercise seems to improve antioxidant effects. Short irregular bursts of exercise may result in oxidative damage though. Also, the former decreases CRP while the latter increases it: CRP is important in the oxidation of LDL cholesterol that causes coronary heart disease.

Epidemiological studies show that people who exercise more regularly live longer, whatever the molecular pathways, so i wouldn't worry too much about it. Apparently there is a debate about whether athletes should receive anti-oxidative supplements, but i don't know much about that.

Bit of both seems sensible at the moment.

The general principle is the same as for diet. Variation is the spice.

Just as in diet you should eat a wide variety of foods, so in exercise, you should try for a variety of exercises. I agree that aerobic/anaerobic is a false dichotomy. My recommendation is that you try to incorporate exercises that ;

1. Build muscle mass - like pumping iron
2. Get your heart and lungs working, like brisk walking, cycling, jogging etc
3. Build flexibility, like yoga
4. Strengthen your back, like reverse crunches
5. Strengthen your abdominal muscles - like crunches

And there are more specialised exercises for specific reasons. I do exercises to improve balance, and I do a little juggling to improve hand/eye coordination, and I do a specific set of exercises to strengthen my ankles, to avoid accidental sprains. Not suggesting you do all these. Depends on individual need.

The most vital advice though, is to do it. If your exercise is not perfect, it is still a damn sight better than no exercise.

How about just sitting in a room with filtered, ionized air all day, and eating salads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Am I going to live forever? :P

"At present, it appears that all forms of exercise, both aerobic and anaerobic, possess the potential to result in increased RONS (reactive oxygen ad nitrogen species) production and subsequent oxidative stress in both human and animal models."

http://archive.biomedcentral.com/1476-5918/8/1

I hate how all dietary/health research is so uncertain, wtf.

A combination of both is beneficial for you.