Fitness Carter: Fitness buzzwords: What do they mean?

KUSA - From CrossFit to Zumba, in the past few years, the fitness world has been shaken up with new exercise routines.

But do you know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise and what is Tabata?

Fitness expert Saralyn Ward spoke to 9NEWS Monday morning to break down the top buzzwords in the industry right now.

High Intensity Interval Training - an enhanced form of interval training, an exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from four to 30 minutes. These short, intense workouts provide improved athletic capacity and condition, improved glucose metabolism, and improved fat burning.

Aerobic versus Anaerobic Exercise - strictly speaking, the terms "aerobic" and "anaerobic" refer to the presence and absence of oxygen, respectively. Most of our cells prefer to get their energy by using oxygen to fuel metabolism. During exercise with adequate fuel and oxygen (i.e., aerobic), muscle cells can contract repeatedly without fatigue. During anaerobic or non-oxygen conditions (i.e., higher intensity exercise), muscle cells must rely on other reactions that do not require oxygen to fuel muscle contraction. This anaerobic metabolism in the cells produces waste molecules that can impair muscle contractions. We call this deterioration in performance fatigue.

MetCon - MetCon is shorthand for Metabolic Conditioning. Think training modalities of the aggressive, sweaty, heart-pounding persuasion. Traditionally, we think of MetCon circuits - two to three resistance exercises done in sequence with little to no break in between.

Tabata - the name of a particular type of workout program that provides similar health benefits to that of cardio workouts, but Tabata has a bit more spice. Instead of hours upon hours or exercise, Tabata can be completed in 4 minutes. Tabata falls under the category of high intensity training or high intensity interval training.

Loaded movement training - combines task-oriented movement patterning with resistance training. Agility and strength come from moving the body in a multitude of purposeful tasks with load, just like back on the farm.

Plyometrics - exercises based around having muscles exert maximum force in as short a time as possible, with the goal of increasing both speed and power. This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to a contraction in a rapid or "explosive" way, for example with specialized repeated jumping. Plyometrics are primarily used by athletes, especially martial artists and high jumpers, to improve performance, and are used in the fitness field to a much lesser degree.

Bodyweight training - no longer satisfied with being defined by how much they can bench press, bodyweight athletes prefer to focus on how well they can fight gravity. They challenge their bodies to be both their gym and their resistance. They are committed to progressing with each workout - resulting in a perfectly symmetrical physique that appears to be carved from stone.

Fitness Carter