SO please read all the way through and not on your phone while you are driving! Take the time to read and understand it so that you can apply it!
I cannot begin to explain the controversy that rests around fat burning vs. sugar burning. It has caused SO MUCH CONFUSION for EVERYONE!!! Even most trainers are confused about it at this point. So I will revert back to what a mentor of mine and Exercise Physiology Professor told me... Go by the latest research from Tier 1 research journals. DO NOT BELIEVE MAGAZINES!!! they are meant to sell the latest and greatest fads ... Sure there is some truth to some of the articles, but it is marketing at it's finest and written mostly by individuals that do not truly understand the science of the human body and go by what either another article said or what a company says about it own products which can be a little biased.
So I'm sorry to break it down this way again, but it's the easiest way to understand. I will try my best to make Exercise Physiology easy to understand.
First, you have to remember that only God can create energy. Right? Good!
On earth, all it can do is change forms.
In our body, how we fuel ourselves directly impacts what fuel we use for energy in any form...
Here are the FACTS!
We ALL have the same 'Energy systems' or pathways if you will.
First, you have to remember that only God can create energy. Right? Good!
On earth, all it can do is change forms.
As it relates to training, energy 'production' is both time and intensity related (technically it is related to nutrition also, but I'm not going to open that Pandora's box just yet). If you run/sprint as hard as you can, you can only do so for a very short period of time before you collapse, throw up, pass out, etc... On the other hand, walking or slow jogging allows you to go as long as you want (within reason). Why is that? These pathways, like the repetition continuum, do not switch on and off when one is exhausted. They are all always running at the same time, but one is emphasized over the other at certain times and is directly influenced by time and intensity.
So, this is what happens in energy production:
How many fat burner commercials explain their products and how they effect us on the cellular level? This diagram is probably top 5 if not the most important process that happens in the body! YOU CANNOT ARGUE WITH THE KREB CYCLE..
So here is a summary of what I believe is true about the anaerobic threshold and 'fat burning' vs. sugar burning!
The term 'Threshold' gives the connotation that it is a specific point, a
magical point where your body shifts from aerobic to anaerobic production. But
this isn't the case and I will try to explain. First, a little background on
Anaerobic Threshold, or as it's also called, Lactate Threshold by some. There are two
main avenues the body has to produce energy. One is the aerobic pathway where
fat and sugar are broken down into ATPs which fuel the muscles. Then there is
the anaerobic system which produces ATP from sugar in the absence of
oxygen. Without oxygen, sugar is incompletely burned and lactic acid is left as
the end product. This creates an acidic condition in the body that interferes
with further exercise. (There is a third energy system, the Creatine
Phosphate (CP) system at the upper end of the anaerobic pathway, which produces energy for very short periods but doesn't
contribute a lot to overall endurance swimming, running, or cycling compared to the other
two.)
Let's not think of your energy systems as having an on/off switch like a light switch. Instead think of them as having a dimmer switch. They are all on but at different levels and increase on a continuum.
Conventional thinking is that aerobic energy
production occurs during low and moderate exercise but when we pass the
anaerobic threshold, we switch over to anaerobic energy production. This is not
necessarily correct.
Both aerobic and anaerobic energy production are occurring at all times in the body.
-At low intensity activity, aerobic energy production predominates and anaerobic production occurs at a very low level, low enough that the resulting lactic acid is easily removed and processed.
-As activity level increases, your aerobic energy production continues but your anaerobic system increases its contribution to energy production.
-Your anaerobic system doesn't suddenly kick in once you've reached some discrete threshold. It's on all the time.
-As you exercise harder, it's contribution to energy production increases and along with it lactic acid.
-As your intensity increases, your production of lactic acid outpaces your body's ability to remove it and you will eventually have to ease off and slow down.
Commonly, the anaerobic threshold is defined as the rate of maximum exertion you can maintain for one hour. Above this pace and you will build up acidity at a rate which will force you to slow down.
Here is an example:
The rate of maximum effort is dependent on time. You can run faster for 1 minute than you can for 5 minutes, faster for 15 minutes than you can for 30, and faster for 30 minutes than you can for 60. This is because you can operate at and tolerate a higher level of oxygen debt and lactic acid for short periods of time. If you do a 15 minute time trial, you will be doing this at a more anaerobic level than if you do a 30 minute time trial.
If we redefined the anaerobic threshold as the maximum level you can work for 15 minutes instead of one hour, you would have a higher threshold value. At your hardest, fastest efforts, such as in sprints, you will be using your anaerobic system at it's maximum level. You are also using your CP system and you are still depending on the aerobic system as well because you are still bringing oxygen into your body, just not as fast as you need it to continue at that intensity.
SOOOO.... What the heck does all this mean?
Basically, when you walk, you are breathing in oxygen... It is then delivered to your cells and you expel carbon dioxide. So all that oxygen is being delivered to the cells and they have plenty for the amount of energy your are demanding.
When you are breathless, you are breathing in oxygen and most of that oxygen is coming right back out. What happens when you don't have enough oxygen? You do not pass go and you do not collect 200 dollars, you are forced to stop or slow down and recover. You cannot train yourself to be able to hold 'anaerobic intensities' longer than the amount of fuel your body has for them which has been shown to be pretty standard... What you CAN do is train your body to be more metabolically efficient, teaching your body to use the "aerobic" energy system predominantly at higher intensities.
THAT IS WHAT ENDURANCE TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT...STAYING POWERFUL!!!
Remember, you cannot stay powerful without a strong aerobic foundation.
I hope this helps! I will elaborate on how to train the energy systems later on.
Coach Lee
Both aerobic and anaerobic energy production are occurring at all times in the body.
-At low intensity activity, aerobic energy production predominates and anaerobic production occurs at a very low level, low enough that the resulting lactic acid is easily removed and processed.
-As activity level increases, your aerobic energy production continues but your anaerobic system increases its contribution to energy production.
-Your anaerobic system doesn't suddenly kick in once you've reached some discrete threshold. It's on all the time.
-As you exercise harder, it's contribution to energy production increases and along with it lactic acid.
-As your intensity increases, your production of lactic acid outpaces your body's ability to remove it and you will eventually have to ease off and slow down.
Commonly, the anaerobic threshold is defined as the rate of maximum exertion you can maintain for one hour. Above this pace and you will build up acidity at a rate which will force you to slow down.
Here is an example:
The rate of maximum effort is dependent on time. You can run faster for 1 minute than you can for 5 minutes, faster for 15 minutes than you can for 30, and faster for 30 minutes than you can for 60. This is because you can operate at and tolerate a higher level of oxygen debt and lactic acid for short periods of time. If you do a 15 minute time trial, you will be doing this at a more anaerobic level than if you do a 30 minute time trial.
If we redefined the anaerobic threshold as the maximum level you can work for 15 minutes instead of one hour, you would have a higher threshold value. At your hardest, fastest efforts, such as in sprints, you will be using your anaerobic system at it's maximum level. You are also using your CP system and you are still depending on the aerobic system as well because you are still bringing oxygen into your body, just not as fast as you need it to continue at that intensity.
SOOOO.... What the heck does all this mean?
Basically, when you walk, you are breathing in oxygen... It is then delivered to your cells and you expel carbon dioxide. So all that oxygen is being delivered to the cells and they have plenty for the amount of energy your are demanding.
When you are breathless, you are breathing in oxygen and most of that oxygen is coming right back out. What happens when you don't have enough oxygen? You do not pass go and you do not collect 200 dollars, you are forced to stop or slow down and recover. You cannot train yourself to be able to hold 'anaerobic intensities' longer than the amount of fuel your body has for them which has been shown to be pretty standard... What you CAN do is train your body to be more metabolically efficient, teaching your body to use the "aerobic" energy system predominantly at higher intensities.
THAT IS WHAT ENDURANCE TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT...STAYING POWERFUL!!!
Remember, you cannot stay powerful without a strong aerobic foundation.
I hope this helps! I will elaborate on how to train the energy systems later on.
Coach Lee
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