Different Effects from Aerobic vs Anaerobic Exercise

[WhatNext]

About 5 months ago my son and daughter-in-law gave me their cast-off Schwinn stationary bike, having bought a new Pelaton. I’ve been doing two 30-minute workouts per week on it (when I can). This is in addition to my 40-minute weight-lifting workout, which I do 3x/week (when I can). I do about 20 minutes of easy yoga (stretching/balance) before I lift. I’ve been doing the yoga/lifting for a little over 10 years.

The workout I do on the bike – same workout every time – is a pre-programmed “cross-fit” workout: it’s a tough work-out for me. The only setting I specify is the distance I want to go, which I set to 7 miles. It works out to about 28 minutes plus a couple of minutes of easy cool-down at the end. Most of the workout is divided roughly into 1-mile segments, alternating easy and hard, starting with a half-mile easy segment and a including a tough 1.5-mile highest-resistance (highest of the workout, not highest possible on the bike) segment about 2/3 of the way through.

I don’t lift and ride the bike on the same day: I alternate, roughly. I’ve noticed that the effects of the two workouts on my mood/sense of well-being are very different. Lifting weights always lifts my spirits. If I’m feeling blah and don’t want to do it I know that’s when I need it the most: I talk myself into it and it always helps. The effect kicks in during the workout and lasts for the rest of the day. If something was making me sad, e.g., I realize it was the perspective I was putting on it or assumptions I was making: the sadness is gone.

I don’t notice any effect on my mood during or immediately after a bike workout but hours later I feel very good—very relaxed. It’s a delayed reaction. It’s not a happy vs sad feeling: it’s a physical feeling of well-being.

I’ve started to think that recently my short-term memory has improved slightly along with my sense of smell. I didn’t feel like I was having problems before, but a couple of times I’ve picked up scents that I didn’t notice before. I’ve been using Duolingo to learn Mandarin for a couple of years now (talk about a challenge…) and I occasionally think I’m remembering the new characters more easily.

So, this is another n=1 experiment and the data is in the form of “I kind of feel like this is having an effect”, for what it’s worth. I’m wondering what the difference in brain chemistry is for aerobic exercise (bike) vs anaerobic (lifting). I’ve Googled it but can’t find anything that nails it down. Searching this site for this topic, I found this quote in a post by Julie G (copied from a different forum): “While strength training is vitally important for both overall and cognitive health, current evidence suggests that aerobic exercise actually takes an edge in promoting cognitive health. Each strategy (aerobic & anaerobic) works by different mechanisms so I would encourage a combination of both.”

I’d love to see more information on how the mechanisms differ, if it’s here somewhere. I've searched a bit and haven't found it.

What Next
67 yo female 3/4

[Jmac]

So, this is another n=1 experiment and the data is in the form of “I kind of feel like this is having an effect”, for what it’s worth. I’m wondering what the difference in brain chemistry is for aerobic exercise (bike) vs anaerobic (lifting). I’ve Googled it but can’t find anything that nails it down. Searching this site for this topic, I found this quote in a post by Julie G (copied from a different forum): “While strength training is vitally important for both overall and cognitive health, current evidence suggests that aerobic exercise actually takes an edge in promoting cognitive health. Each strategy (aerobic & anaerobic) works by different mechanisms so I would encourage a combination of both.”

I just came across this and added it to my blog list, haven't done anything other than a quick scan...but there might be something of interest:
Potential role for regular aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease prevention
In a pilot study, researchers investigated the potential of regular aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease prevention.
https://medicalnewsbulletin.com/potenti ... revention/

[WhatNext]

I just came across this and added it to my blog list, haven't done anything other than a quick scan...but there might be something of interest:
Potential role for regular aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease prevention
In a pilot study, researchers investigated the potential of regular aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease prevention.
https://medicalnewsbulletin.com/potenti ... revention/

Thanks for the link. Per the title, this talks about aerobic exercise but doesn't mention anaerobic exercise. It says that aerobic exercise improves cardio-respiratory fitness -- no doubt about that--, which they say increases glucose metabolism in the brain. That's certainly important, although I wonder how they make the connection between cardio-respiratory fitness and glucose metabolism in the brain. Am I missing something obvious?

What Next

[mike]

It says that aerobic exercise improves cardio-respiratory fitness -- no doubt about that--, which they say increases glucose metabolism in the brain. That's certainly important, although I wonder how they make the connection between cardio-respiratory fitness and glucose metabolism in the brain. Am I missing something obvious?

Different types of exercise do different things. Your bike workout could actually involve both kinds, depending on how hard you are pushing the difficult parts. The aerobic exercise can run exclusively on fatty acids and ketones (or glucose if needed), whereas anaerobic requires glycogen stores and glucose. Ketone and fat metabolism is much less stressful than glucose (less oxidative stress) and can be protective to the Blood Brain Barrier. Pushing the zone 2 aerobic exercise to harder levels increases the level of exercise that can be done using just fats and ketones. Weight lifting is good for breaking down muscle and building new stronger muscle. I find that it helps me with deep sleep, which is when the brain clears out the trash. Building more muscle is better for glucose control.

[WhatNext]

Different types of exercise do different things. Your bike workout could actually involve both kinds, depending on how hard you are pushing the difficult parts. The aerobic exercise can run exclusively on fatty acids and ketones (or glucose if needed), whereas anaerobic requires glycogen stores and glucose. Ketone and fat metabolism is much less stressful than glucose (less oxidative stress) and can be protective to the Blood Brain Barrier. Pushing the zone 2 aerobic exercise to harder levels increases the level of exercise that can be done using just fats and ketones. Weight lifting is good for breaking down muscle and building new stronger muscle. I find that it helps me with deep sleep, which is when the brain clears out the trash. Building more muscle is better for glucose control.

Thanks for the response Mike. I didn't expect to have as much trouble as I've been having finding an answer to my question, which boils down to: how do the different types of exercise effect mood. Almost everything I've found is focused on aerobic exercise. Studies are done on people riding stationary bikes, or on people who run. An article I found that discussed the idea that exercise could be a treatment for depression only mentioned aerobic exercise. I was surprised that while suggesting this MIGHT be effective it also expressed skepticism.

I've found the description of "runner's high" but it's said to be an effect that kicks in when people run for a couple of hours. That could explain why I don't get that happy feeling during my 30-minute workout on the bike. It doesn't say anything, though, about why lifting weights lifts my spirits, and it doesn't take that long--my lifting workout is only 40 minutes long. About all I've found on resistance training talks about the importance of maintaining muscle mass, which declines with age.

What Next

[Plumster]

Weight lifting with your legs is particularly beneficial for the brain, I heard recently. When I find my source again, I'll be sure to link it here.

[Jmac]

Different types of exercise do different things. What Next

Again, I'm just skimming...lots of info, but there's a topic on this forum that relates (didn't see mood, but saw how impacts 4/4s, etc.). I am reading the thread for other area, saw this & figured it was worth zipping over & posting before I moved on & lost it..
https://www.apoe4.info/forums/viewtopic ... =30#p34795