"Aerobics," "warm up," and "stretch" have become household terms, the buzz words of the fitness generation. What effect do these activities really have on the body? What is the science behind these words?
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise has been popular for many years, but what does "aerobic" really mean? Aerobics is an abbreviated term for aerobic cellular respiration, which is a series of oxygen-requiring reactions which produce a molecule in the body known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This molecular structure is basically the energy cell of all living creatures.
When combined with water, ATP releases energy to power internal activities such as muscle contractions, cell division, movement within cells, transport of substances within the body, and synthesis of molecules. ATP is supplied mainly by the breakdown of glucose in the body, a process known as cellular respiration. This process can either be aerobic or anaerobic; aerobic requires oxygen and anaerobic does not. Of these two processes, aerobic cellular respiration yields many more ATP molecules.
- Warm Up Aerobic Exercise
- Anaerobic Energy System Tests
- Anaerobic Microorganisms
A facultatively anaerobic microorganism of a strain of Klebsiella oxytoca is disclosed for degrading toxic waste materials into more environmentally acceptable materials.
- Free Step Aerobic Video
- What Is Anaerobic Training