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Foundation training can never be overemphasized.

For retired sportsmen or sportsmen whom have not exercise for some time, it is tempting to go straight back to exercising at the same level intensity as before.

Even for active professional athletes, it is important to note that you cannot be training at high intensity 365 days a year. During off peak season, you would benefit from a systematic, properly planned aerobic training.

For many people (including myself), we like to skip the aerobic phase and go straight to the intensity phase. After all, that’s where we experienced all the adrenaline, not some low intensity boring routines.

Unfortunately, if you have not exercised for a long time, you are probably going to be injured if you jump right in high intensity exercises before building a strong aerobic base.

This article is suitable for ex-athletes who have not trained regularly for a period of time, and would like to go back to competitive training.

To let us understand the importance of building a strong aerobic base, lets first explore the definition of Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise.

Definition Of Aerobic & Anaerobic Exercise

I like to explain definitions in terms of English vocabulary. Learning new words by understanding its relationships to the prefixes, suffixes and roots, could aid you in understanding similar words in the future.

aero - prefix, means air or oxygen

an - prefix, means without

ic - suffix, means relating to

Hence aerobic exercise means exercises that involves or improves intake of oxygen. While Anaerobic means exercises that does not involve oxygen.

Key Difference Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercises

The key difference lies in the manner which energy is produced. During aerobic exercises, glycogen in our body is broken down into glucose, which is then broken down by oxygen to generate energy. Anaerobic exercise however, is simply the conversion of glycogen into energy without use of oxygen, a far less efficient process.

Aerobic exercises are usually exercises that are moderate in intensity and usually over a long period of time. Activities such as long distance running, leisure or distance swimming, cycling and walking.

Anaerobic exercises are usually high intensity exercises, like basketball, soccer, track events like 100m, 200m, 400m, swim sprints.

How do you know you are performing Aerobic Or Anaerobic Exercise?

The simplest test is to see whether you are able to talk when you are exercising. Generally speaking if you are able to talk to a friend when you are performing the exercise, it should be an aerobic exercise. Your breathing should be steady and audible but not labored.

>> Click Here To Read about Benefits Of Building a Strong Aerobic Base