Anaerobic Exercise: What is it and How it Benefits Your Pro Cheer Fitness
Have you ever wondered if your body can exert more power, stamina, and endurance once you’re out of breath? It can! It’s called the anaerobic zone and you can achieve it through performing anaerobic exercises.
While the idea of accessing a backup energy source for pro cheerleading when needed is enticing, there are amazing benefits to doing anaerobic exercises regularly. Let’s explore them.
What is Anaerobic Exercise?
Anaerobic exercise is a type of physical activity that is short but done at a very high intensity. During an anaerobic exercise, your muscles use their glycogen stores instead of oxygen for a continuous supply of energy, unlike aerobic exercise. This part is also called the anaerobic zone.
You will experience a short moment of exhaustion and heavy breathing before reaching your anaerobic zone due to the increased demand for oxygen. But if you focus on pushing yourself further, the feeling of exhaustion will be gone once glycogen stores are expended for fuel. This is similar to gaining a second wind but is much shorter.
The Benefits of Anaerobic Exercise for Aspiring and Current Pro Cheerleaders
1. Aids in weight control
When you eat a little excessively without a follow-up workout, the excess glycogen stored in your body is converted into fat after four hours. By doing a quick anaerobic exercise after slight overeating, you quickly burn that excess glycogen before they turn into body fat.
Even if you haven’t overeaten, anaerobic exercising can burn more fat than ordinary workouts once your glycogen stores are depleted - this is called fat metabolism. This gives you the energy to stay in your anaerobic zone for more than 2 minutes which is a longer second wind.
2. Increased athletic ability
You get stronger with anaerobic exercises because they increase your muscle mass fast. Your lactic threshold also increases which allows you to lift heavier weights, run, and dance for longer durations.
Once you regularly get into your anaerobic zone, you’ll be familiar with the feeling of accessing your second wind. Using your glycogen and fat stores as fuel is then easier to do.
3. Boosts metabolism
Another benefit of anaerobic exercise is that it builds and maintains lean muscles. Leaner muscle burns more calories and fat during an aerobic workout. Not to mention that anaerobic exercises increase your calorie burn after your fitness session.
4. Increased bone strength and density
Because anaerobic exercises put stress on your bones such as impacts and tensions from high-intensity movements, it promotes growth and strength. This reduces your risk of incurring injuries from working out and pro cheer activities.
Anaerobic workouts also decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis, a benefit that you’ll be happy to have after life in a pro cheer squad.
3 Anaerobic Workouts That Help You Get Past Your Anaerobic Threshold
1. High resistance stationary cycling
You’ll need to exert a lot of leg force for high resistance cycling and breathing alone will no longer be enough to make the stationary bike’s wheel spin. But first, ease up into your anaerobic zone by starting at low to medium resistance levels.
Then, crank up the resistance knob of the equipment to get into your anaerobic zone. Sustain effort for two minutes before going back to medium resistance settings.
2. Weightlifting
Lifting heavy weights requires you to exert short bursts of intense force. Pick a weight that’s challenging yet not impossible to lift. Then do 10 to 15 reps of strength training within a maximum of 2 minutes. Remember to ask for a spot and breathe normally.
3. Jumping rope
Jump rope at a normal speed for a while. Then gradually increase the speed until you start breathing heavily. Keep increasing speed until you’re able to perform high speed jumping rope without the need to breathe a lot. Hold the speed for two minutes before going back to normal jumping rope speed.
There are more anaerobic exercises such as high-intensity interval training (HIITs) and sprinting in running, swimming, and outdoor cycling. In fact, any exercise can be anaerobic if set with increased difficulty and done in a faster manner. What’s important is, you must push through when you’re feeling tired or out of breath to be in your anaerobic zone.
Need a Great Workout Routine for Your Pro Cheer Audition Prep?
Pro cheerleaders stay fit, flexible, and strong so they can give out their best performance in the arena. However, achieving that wow-worthy, toned physique doesn’t happen overnight. You need to arm yourself with the right daily workouts.
Thinking of becoming a pro cheerleader?
We are offering you our fun, FREE (for a LIMITED time) POM FIT™ INTRO CLASS that teaches you beginner-friendly cardio moves.
To take your cheerleading fitness to the next level, we also have POM FIT™: GAMEDAY1™ - a series of challenging full-body cardio classes that include a body stretch class, kick stretch class, abdominal workout class, and more.
Join a POM FIT™ class below:
POM FIT™ INTRO CLASS (Free for a LIMITED time)
POM FIT™: GAMEDAY1™ (USD 27.00)
