Interval Training – Challenge Any of the 3 Energy Systems

Interval Training – Challenge Any of the 3 Energy Systems

At the root of all training routines is the need to make the body more efficient at producing energy for your given activity, whether that is a sport, general health or life.  If you are not training specific to the energy requirements of your activity you may be wasting your time.  This article will look at what those energy systems are and give a better idea of what you may need to do to challenge those energy systems.
All of the body’s energy requirements are supplied by a chemical called ATP.  The breakdown of ATP produces an enormous amount of energy but the body can not store a large quantity of it.  It must replace the ATP that is used in a fast and efficient manner.  It does this in 3 major ways.  Though protein can be used to produce energy, it eventually ends up in one of the 3 major pathways and will not be discussed.
1.  Creatine phosphate system (PCr) – By far the fastest source of energy, the PCr system will only sustain energy requirements for a matter of seconds, not usually more that 10-15 seconds.  Think of the tip of a match, it will only burn for a few seconds but is enough to start the next system.  The PCr system is will suited for high intensity, short duration activities.  It can operate independent of oxygen supply (anaerobic).
2.  Glycolytic system – This system is somewhat like the kindling of a fire.  The glycolytic system relies on carbohydrate breakdown to “rebuild” ATP.  This carbohydrate is stored in the muscle and liver as glycogen.  The breakdown of carbohydrate can sustain energy requirements for a much longer period of time than the PCr system, up to 2 minutes according to some sources, and can also function without oxygen (anaerobic).
Two end products are produced through the glycolytic process: pyruvate and lactate.  The production of pyruvate is known as slow glycolysis and can be combined with oxygen to produce more ATP.  The production of lactate is known as fast glycolysis and can later be converted to pyruvate.
3.  Oxidative system – This may be compared to the oak log on the fire that can burn for a long period of time but takes some time to get started.  The oxidative system can use pretty much any substrate (fat, carbohydrate, protein) to rebuild ATP molecules.  It takes a much longer time but is very efficient.  The processes involved in the production are very complicated and are outside of the scope of this article.  However, this is the system that burns the fat that we want to get rid of.
Simply put, our energy systems are very similar to the building of a sustainable winter fire.  First we need a fast source of energy to ignite (a match), and slightly longer source to continue the fire (the kindling) until the logs will burn and put out the heat (the log).  To learn how to train these energy systems so that they will become more efficient go to training your energy systems.