How Does Exercise Affect the Rate of Cellular Respiration?

Cellular respiration includes the reactions in the cells of your body when they convert the food you eat into a molecule of energy in a form your cells can use. This energy is called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. There is a direct correlation between cellular respiration and exercise intensity.

Light household activities or sitting down to watch TV requires a steady supply of ATP. When you transition from daily activities to exercise or when you have to carry laundry up several flights of stairs, your body needs a rapid burst of ATP.

A February 2017 study published in the World Journal of Cardiology explains that your cellular respiration or cellular metabolism can be aerobic or anaerobic. These are processes in which energy is converted from the food you eat into energy molecules that the cells of your body can use.

Aerobic respiration occurs in the presence of oxygen, while anaerobic metabolism occurs in the absence of oxygen. The type of respiration you use depends on the intensity and duration of your exercise. In both types of cellular respiration, the first thing that occurs is breakdown of glucose through a process called glycolysis.

Read more: Why Does Your Breathing Rate Increase During Exercise?

Anaerobic respiration takes place at the onset of exercise for up to 90 seconds. The American Council of Exercise explains that repeated bouts of short and intense exercise, such as sprinting, power lifting or high-intensity interval training, increases the rate of anaerobic respiration.

If exercise continues beyond 90 seconds, the cells rely on aerobic respiration to make energy, increasing the rate of aerobic respiration. Weight training and sprinting rely on anaerobic respiration, while running a half-mile or longer race or taking an aerobic dance class engages aerobic respiration.

Anaerobic respiration occurs in the watery fluid inside the cell. Aerobic respiration takes place in an organelle or structure inside the cell called the mitochondria.

Read more: Lactic Acid in Exercise Aerobic Respiration

The anaerobic process relies solely on carbohydrates to make energy. The aerobic process uses carbohydrates and fats to produce energy. If most of your training consists of highly intense exercises, you must consume enough carbohydrates to fuel anaerobic respiration.

If most of your training lasts more than 20 minutes, you can reduce your carbohydrate intake for your body to break down stored body fat to fuel aerobic respiration. Performing more anaerobic exercises compared to aerobic exercises will enhance the rate of anaerobic respiration; doing more aerobic exercises will increase the rate and efficiency of aerobic respiration.

Long duration aerobic exercise burns fat to produce energy. Incorporate a combination of intense anaerobic exercise and low-to-moderate-intensity aerobic exercise within your training week to take advantage of the benefits of both types of cellular respiration.

In order to maintain a healthy weight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. Activities that use both aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration can help you meet this goal.