In high intensity activity that lasts 1–3 minutes energy is provided through anaerobic breakdown of the body’s fuel supplies of carbohydrates.
Anaerobic breakdown is faster than aerobic breakdown and can provide a lot of energy very quickly. It does mean however, that carbohydrate stores are used up rapidly.
Think of short and fast when you think of anaerobic exercise.
Examples of anaerobic exercise include
- heavy weight lifting
- sprinting
- any rapid burst of hard exercise.
These anaerobic exercises cannot last long because oxygen is not used for energy and a by-product, called lactate, is produced.
Lactate contributes to muscle fatigue and must be burned up by the body during a recovery period before another anaerobic bout of exercise can be attempted.
The recovery period also allows the muscles to use oxygen to replenish the energy used during the high intensity exercise.