Originally Posted by
work4bike
When does aerobic activity become strength training and vice versa?
At what point does an activity become aerobic or anaerobic? It's actually a pretty complicated question and after pondering it, you realize that there is no true line between the two, it's very murky, so when someone says you need to do aerobic exercise, do they even know what they're talking about....
It depends on the duration and intensity of an activity. Working at 90%+++ of max effort is strictly anaerobic and can only last for about 10 seconds. Aerobic work can be done for hours and hours.
1-4 seconds....anaerobic---ATP
4-10 seconds....anaerobic---ATP
10-45 seconds....anaerobic---ATP + glycogen
45-120 seconds....anaerobic glycolysis---glycogen
120-240 seconds....anaerobic + aerobic---glycogen + lactic acid
240-600 seconds....aerobic---glycogen + fatty acids
The first 10 seconds of a max effort is strictly anaerobic alactic also known as ATP/PC and after that your anaerobic lactic system kicks in and your body starts to use glycogen. After about 2 minutes it all starts to become more and more aerobic.... One thing to remember is that your aerobic system is always working and contributing to energy production even during maximal efforts, the percentage or the amount of energy that your aerobic system contributes is all dependent on the intensity and duration of whatever it is you're doing.