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Newsletters>
Training your Energy Systems
January 17, 2008
Energy Systems
During exercise there are three basic energy systems our
body relies on…our anaerobic alactic system, our anaerobic
lactic system and our aerobic system.
In general, your anaerobic alactic system is limited to
bursts of high intensity work less than 10 seconds in
duration. This is generally used at the start of the race,
while initiating a transition between activities, starting
a passing effort or picking up speed, or changing
directions quickly (for switchbacks on a run trail or tight
turns around a swim marker). Recovery from this effort is
usually less than one minute. Training this system requires
practice activities such as very short sprints or
accelerations, drills involving quick direction changes,
transition practice, swim, bike and run starts, and sprint
finishes.
Your anaerobic lactic system is used for medium to high
intensity bursts of effort that last between 10 seconds and
2 minutes. This energy system is generally used for efforts
involving things like sprinting or hill climbing. Due to
the lactic acid that is produced when using this energy
system, athletes will experience a burning sensation in
their muscles which accompanies a shortness of breath. It
usually takes 5-10 minutes to recover from this type of
effort. Training this system requires practice of high
intensity efforts usually between 30 seconds and 2 minutes
in duration. This can include fartlek training or fixed
intervals during track runs, swim sprints, hill climbing,
or bike sprints on flats or on the indoor trainer.
The most utilized energy system is the aerobic system. As
the body has the greatest capacity to store fuel for
aerobic efforts, any activity that requires a sustained
effort longer than 2 minutes will utilize the aerobic
system. It is important to note, however, that even your
aerobic energy sources can be depleted with prolonged
activity. This is why it is important to learn to take in
fluid and solid energy sources during training which lasts
greater than 1 hour. This system can be trained while
performing any sustained activity greater than 2 minutes.
As such most of your training will be aerobic in nature.
Every individual also has a personal “Lactate Threshold”
which is the maximal intensity of work that can be
sustained using your aerobic system before the body will
switch over to the anaerobic lactic system. The higher the
Lactate Threshold, the greater intensity a person can train
and race at. It is important to train all three systems in
order to improve this threshold however ensuring your
training includes aerobic workouts that maintain your
effort just below your Lactate Threshold will likely
improve your aerobic capacity most effectively.
Regardless of your race distance, whether you are doing a
sprint triathlon or an Ironman distance event, it is
important to train all of your energy systems to maximize
your racing potential.
Andrea Score
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