I thought it would be easy. I actually thought I would dominate. I assumed that my bodybuilding background and strength advantage would give me an edge over my opponents. I was right about my strength advantage but I was wrong by thinking I would dominate. See, it was my first Sambo class - which is a Russian martial art that implements Judo throws with ground-fighting techniques. After the warm up, we paired off and started to grapple - basically wrestling with submissions. I immediately tapped my opponent out via arm-bar. We slapped hands and started again from a neutral position. This time it took me a little longer but I managed to pull off a choke-type submission hold and once again, force a tap-out. After yet another sportsman-like hand slap and another re-start, it felt like my opponent had vastly improved. I had spit out my mouth-guard, was breathing heavily, and could no longer fend off his attacks. I was gassed, plain and simple. The training session had just begun and already I felt like I couldn’t move. Fatigue had set in and I was getting submitted over and over again. It was embarrassing. There I was - a guy that could bench 400 pounds, and I was getting submitted by a guy who possessed only half of my physical strength. As a bodybuilder, I had completely overlooked the most important muscle of all - my heart. My lack of cardiovascular training inhibited my recovery. Luckily, I saw the positive in my defeat as I had just received the rude-awakening I needed. The experience made me realize the importance of aerobic training and the ever-so-talked-about principal of specificity. Since then, I have analyzed the demands of the sport and have made the appropriate variations within my training regime. One of the major factors that needs to be analyzed when it comes to program design is the predominant energy system. A basic understanding of exercise metabolism can go a long way in your athletic success.
There are three systems from which the body can generate ATP - a high energy phosphate compound that fuels muscle contractions.
- Phosphagen System
- Glycolytic System
- Oxidative System
Phosphagen System
The phosphagen system supplies the required energy during the initial phase of high intensity activity. High weight, low rep bench presses and explosive double-leg wrestling-style takedowns would both be good examples. This system relies on the ATP stored within the muscles (near the heads of the myosin filaments) and creatine phosphate for immediate energy. Once the stored ATP becomes depleted, which happens almost immediately, the creatine phosphate forms additional ATP through a complex process. This helps sustain ATP levels but the creatine phosphate level quickly declines. Creatine phosphate levels are usually exhausted after 10-20seconds. This explains the breakthrough behind creatine supplementation. Additional creatine phosphate equates additional ATP during high intensity activity. The phosphagen system is considered to be anaerobic because it can function with or without the presence of oxygen.
Training the Phosphagen System
A well designed program that includes activities requiring a high power output can have beneficial effects on the phosphagen system. These benefits are delivered in the form of enhanced ATP and creatine phosphate storage. Ultimately, this will increase the duration for which the system is effective. A good training program will also enhance the rate of ATP re-synthesis. This is especially beneficial when an explosive burst of energy is needed to finish out an event - the final 50 yards of a marathon for example.
Glycolytic System
Glycolysis - which is a process that breaks glucose & glycogen down into ATP, is the next step during medium to high intensity activity. If the high intensity from the phosphagen system carries over, the glycolytic system will take effect with minimal oxygen presence. This is termed as fast glycolysis. During fast glycolysis, the glucose/glycogen goes through a series of chemical alterations until an end product known as pyruvic acid is formed. This pyruvic acid forms lactic acid, which in high concentrations, can be detrimental to performance. High concentrations of lactic acid can reduce the contractile strength of your muscles. This probably explains why I was getting progressively weaker while I was grappling. Being as untrained as I was, I wasn’t able to buffer this lactic acid build-up and the accumulation made me a lot weaker. This occurs as a result of a decrease in the calcium-binding capacity of the muscle fibers as calcium, as many of you know, plays an important role in muscle contraction. Inability to effectively buffer lactic acid accumulation can also cause the athlete to throw-up. This almost happened to me near the end of my Sambo class. A lot of coaches and trainers have the misconception that vomiting is the sign of a good workout. While it does indicate that the athlete pushed him/herself hard throughout the session, it also indicates that proper progression strategies weren't adapted into the program. There are now products on the market that are formulated to help buffer this lactic acid accumulation. One that comes to mind is called "First Order" by Bodywell. Look for a detailed review in the future. In the meantime, you can get additional information by clicking here.
The second stage of glycolysis takes effect at a lower intensity - a light jog for instance. This is termed slow glycolysis and occurs in the presence of oxygen. The increased oxygen presence reduces the accumulation of lactic acid. Instead of lactic acid, the bi-products of the process are carbon dioxide and water - neither of which are toxic. The carbon dioxide is simply exhaled and the water is lost through sweat or used elsewhere in the body. This process can generate a large amount of energy, much more than the phosphagen and fast glycolysis systems.
Sponsored Ad
Training the Glycolytic System
Training for extended periods at a high intensity will gradually increase the body’s tolerance to the lactic acid. Since lactic acid accumulation causes the muscles to become weaker, a trained individual will be able to maintain a high power output for extended durations. Since my first Sambo session, I’ve noticed a gradual improvement in my endurance. As a matter of fact, I was grappling with a new student the other night and he fatigued long before I did. That just goes to show that pushing myself, night after night, has been paying off. It typically takes 6-8 weeks of proper training before the body is able to effectively buffer acidic conditions and maintain an acid-base balance. I’m on week 3, so I can only imagine the level I’ll be at in a month or so. This adaptation can also be seen by comparing bodybuilders to power-lifters. Power-lifters are known for lifting impressive maximal loads while bodybuilders train till failure using sub-maximal loading (between 8-12 reps). The low repetition, high load training protocol utilized by power-lifters primarily taxes the phosphagen system while bodybuilding protocols place more emphasis on the glycolytic system. That being said, if you pair up a power-lifter and a bodybuilder for a bodybuilding-style workout, the bodybuilder will actually out-lift the power-lifter throughout the training session. The power-lifter may start out stronger, but as the workout progresses, the lactic acid accumulation will have a major impact on his strength. The bodybuilder is more likely to have adapted to the acidic conditions caused by the specific training parameters. To increase your lactate threshold, your training should aim for a work/rest combination of 1-to-1 or 1-to-0.5. For example, if I was to sprint for 30 seconds, resting for 30 seconds would be a 1:1 work/rest ratio. Even more advanced would be the 1-to-0.5 ratio which would only allow 15 seconds rest following a 30 second sprint. In this case, the key to performance enhancement is volume so the intervals should be repeated over and over.
Since slow glycolysis is the primary system used to generate energy during medium intensities, training should be done at, well... medium intensity. A light jog for an extended period of time is perfect. The goal for this type of training is to improve your Vo2 max - which is your ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Training aerobically can also help reduce the recovery time required between bouts of anaerobic activity.
Oxidative System
The oxidative system uses fatty acids as a fuel source. It is the most complex, yet the most efficient method of generating ATP. Fatty acid oxidation is the predominant system for generating energy during low intensity activity. Since the intensity is low and oxygen is present, there is no toxic bi-product accumulation that will hinder performance. The lack of limiting factors means that fatty acid oxidation can provide energy for extremely long periods of time. Technically speaking, the oxidative system has the capability to provide someone with enough energy to walk several laps around Manhattan, N.Y. Since this is basically a fat burning system (breaks triglycerides to fatty acids for energy), the logical assumption would be that training at low intensities is the best way to stimulate fat loss. Unfortunately, as nice as it would be to get ripped by going on nice brisk walks, it just doesn’t work that way. This is because fatty acid oxidation is so energy efficient. A single unit of fatty acids generates 100 units of ATP, compared to the 2 units of ATP per unit of glucose during fast glycolysis.
Training the Oxidative System:
Even a lean individual has enough fat stored in the cells and muscle fibers to supply around 75,000 calories. To put that number into perspective, count how many calories you burn off the next time you’re on the treadmill. Even intense training sessions aren’t likely to burn off more than 900 calories per hour. Since the oxidative system is so efficient at generating energy and it is done at low intensities, with no toxic bi-products, specific training isn’t always necessary. You’re better off to get your heart rate up by training within the glycolytic systems. This will increase your Vo2-max - something that low intensity training just won’t do.
Sponsored Ad
How It All Comes Together
The system used to generate energy depends on the intensity of the activity. We’ve already established that...
| High Intensity | = Phosphagen & Fast Glycolysis |
| Medium Intensity | = Slow Glycolysis |
| Low Intensity | = Fatty Acid Oxidation |
So does this mean that if the sport you’re training for consists of only high intensity bursts, you don’t need to train specifically within the intensity ranges of the other systems?
Your main priority should always be on training specifically within the demands of the sport. However, when it comes to generating energy, rarely does a single system meet the entire requirement. Instead, the main system, which generates the majority of the energy, is assisted by another. For example, the primary energy systems during a play in football are phosphagen and fast glycolysis. This makes sense considering the high intensity of the sport. However, it is important to keep in mind that these all-out bouts are repeated over and over throughout the course of a game. Full recovery between plays is extremely important. This is where aerobic metabolism comes into play. The aerobic systems - both slow glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation - have been shown to be involved in the recovery of the anaerobic energy stores. Therefore, these systems need to be addressed through training in order to enhance their efficiency. Their contribution during anaerobic metabolism isn’t limited to just recovery. After the initial 20-30 seconds of high intensity activity, aerobic energy production increases to help maintain the power output of the anaerobic system. The energy system transitions during my Sambo class would be something like this..
Initial Warm Up (Medium Intensity)
Primarily fuelled by glucose/glycogen in the presence of oxygen (slow glycolysis)
1-on-1 Submission Wrestling (High Intensity)
Initiated by the phosphagen system, then shifts into fast glycolysis which generates ATP with minimal oxygen. As the duration of the match continues, aerobic metabolism kicks in to help maintain the power output. At high intensities, oxygen supply rarely meets oxygen demand and lactic acid concentrations are increased. The accumulation of lactic acid will eventually cause the muscles to become progressively weaker.
Brief Intermission (Low Intensity)
Once you submit your opponent, or vice versa , you get a brief recovery period of around 20 seconds before you start up again. This short break provides a period in which you can replenish your depleted energy stores - to an extent. This is where a strong cardiovascular system becomes very beneficial. As mentioned above, aerobic metabolism plays a major role when it comes to the replenishment of the anaerobic energy systems.
Cool Down (Low Intensity)
After about an hour of grappling & intermissions, we usually finish up with a light intensity cool down. The cool down is basically designed to gradually bring down the heart rate, prevent blood clotting and flush out the lactic acid that has accumulated throughout the workout (the same reason why you see NHL players riding the stationary bikes during their post-game interviews). Since the intensity is so low during the cool down, fatty acid oxidation is the primary system that supplies the energy.
In Summary
- Your training routine should always mimic the specific demands of the activity that you’re training for.
- There are three systems that the body utilizes to generate ATP (energy).
- Phosphagen system utilizes immediate ATP stores and creatine phosphate to generate energy.
- Fast Glycolysis breaks down glucose & glycogen to generate ATP. Since this process occurs with minimal oxygen presence, the accumulation of lactic acid occurs and the athlete progressively becomes weaker.
- Slow Glycolysis also breaks down carbohydrates to generate ATP. Since this system is most active at medium intensities, oxygen supply meets oxygen demand and lactic acid is not formed.
- Fatty acid oxidation breaks down triglycerides to generate ATP. This system is primarily utilized at low intensities and can fuel activity for the longest period of time.