Relating to exercise or biological processes that occur without oxygen or with insufficient oxygen supply. In sports, it describes high-intensity activities lasting seconds to a few minutes that rely on stored energy rather than oxygen-dependent metabolism.
From Greek 'an-' (without) + 'aer' (air) + 'bios' (life), literally meaning 'life without air.' The term was first used in biology in the 1880s by Louis Pasteur to describe bacteria that could live without oxygen, later applied to exercise physiology in the mid-20th century.
Your anaerobic system can produce energy about 2.5 times faster than your aerobic system, but it can only sustain this for about 2 minutes before fatigue sets in dramatically. This is why a 400m sprint feels manageable for 300m, then becomes agonizing - you've exhausted your anaerobic capacity and your aerobic system can't keep up with the demand!
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