Aerobic and anaerobic exercises.
There is a division of sports exercises intensity to aerobic (aka cardio), anaerobic and mixed. The difference between this tipes of exercises are in the way to supply muscules with oxygen. During the aerobic training there is enought oxygen entering the body to the muscules, and during the anaerobic - there is a lack of it. From this differense we have an important consequenses:
During the training the energy of the body is taken from ATP (adanoisine triphosphate) but for the synthesis of ATP in different types of trainings different substanses are used. During the aeribic exersises this substances are glucose from the blood and fat from the adipose tissue. During the anaerobic - only glucose from blood. That's why it is belived that anaerobic exercises are useless in trying to get slimmer.
How to distinguish aerobic and anaerobic exericises?
The main thing is a pulse rate, more precisely, it's percentage of the maximum heart rate. To get this number for yourself, substract your age in years from 220. Anaerobic training is 50% of this number and more.
What types of exersices are aerobic an anaerobic?
Aerobic: running, swimming, biking, aerobics (which is why it is called so).
Anaerobic: power loads - bar, fitness equipment.
And of course running and swimming may become anaerobic too if you'll try to hard. It is worht remember if your goal is to loose weight.