During exercise, your body relies on three basic energy systems: the a-lactic anaerobic system, the lactic anaerobic system, and the aerobic system. Depending on the sports practiced, athletes trust one system more than others. Understanding the energy systems involved in a particular sport provides valuable information about the strength qualities needed in that sport. This information gives clues to the personal trainer or strength coach on how to carry out strength training.

THE THREE BASIC ENERGY SYSTEMS – AN SUMMARY

A-Lactic Anaerobic Energy System (ATP-CP)

The a-lactic anaerobic (ALA) system, also known as the ATP-CP, or adenosine triphosphate – creatine phosphate system, provides high bursts of initial energy for activities lasting less than ten seconds. Athletes who compete in sports that require a large amount of short-duration acceleration (shot putters, powerlifters, football linemen, gymnasts, or sprint speed skaters) use the alactic anaerobic system. The ALA system does not generate power long enough to generate a large amount of waste products.

Lactic anaerobic (glycolytic) energy system

The lactic anaerobic (LA) system (also known as fast glycolysis) provides energy for bursts of medium to high intensity activity lasting from ten seconds to two minutes. Some football skill positions, baseball players, soccer players, judokas, middle distance runners (400m-800m), and sprinters rely on this system. The lactic anaerobic system, as well as the ATP-CP system, are capable of high intensity levels and are not dependent on oxygen for fuel.

The main difference between the two systems is in the capacity of the system. You can think of capacity as the amount of time the system can run at peak performance before it stops working. While the ATP-CP system will only produce energy for 10 seconds, fast glycolysis works at full capacity for two minutes. As a result, waste products such as lactic acid accumulate in the blood and muscle cells. A burning sensation in the muscle, shortness of breath, and fatigue are symptoms of lactic acid buildup.

aerobic energy system

The aerobic system is the most widely used of the three. It provides energy for low-intensity activities lasting from two minutes to a few hours. Unlike the other two systems, the aerobic system requires oxygen and takes much longer to overload. Sports and activities that use continuous sustained effort, such as long-distance swimming, team rowing, and sea kayaking, rely on the aerobic system.

In reality, most sports use a variety of energy systems, or at least the power (time to reach peak performance) and capacity (duration for which peak performance can be maintained) of the system. The only real exceptions are Olympic weightlifting and certain field events, such as the hammer throw or shot put. Which energy system is most prevalent in a given sport dictates the intent of the training.

PURPOSE OF THE TRAINING

Training intention refers to the athlete’s desired training outcome, whether it be relative strength, hypertrophy, or strength endurance. Each athlete has a training intention that is specific to their sport, which is shaped and defined by specific load parameters.

relative strength

Relative strength is defined as strength relative to body weight. For example, if a 150-pound person and a 200-pound person lift 300 pounds on a given lift, the 150-pound person has a higher level of relative strength on that lift. Relative strength is critical for athletes who use the a-lactic anaerobic system and the lactic acid anaerobic system as their primary sources of energy. Maximum strength and limit strength are synonymous with relative strength.

Hypertrophy vs. Hypertrophy Strength: The Important Difference

Strength hypertrophy, also called functional hypertrophy, is the increased capacity to exert force as a direct result of increased functional mass or muscle tissue. The term hypertrophy refers to an increase in the size of muscle cells, as well as an increase in the number of contractile (muscle) fibers.

Good examples of athletes who benefit from hypertrophy strength training are American football and rugby players. The high-contact nature of their sports demands that they have extra muscle tissue to serve as body armor. Bodybuilding is a sport that is completely based on hypertrophy training.

Hypertrophy is based on the principle of progressive overload, which states that the body adapts and becomes resistant to the same training load over time. In order to grow and progress, one needs to constantly change the weights, repetitions, sets, and rest period.

It is important to understand that hypertrophy occurs, to some degree, at all levels of resistance training, BUT, the amount of hypertrophy an individual experiences at any given level of intensity is a function of their genetic predisposition and fiber type. Therefore, the greatest amounts of hypertrophy do not occur in the same intensity range that the greatest increases in strength or greatest increases in endurance occur. This factor, and the ability to manipulate it for athletic advantage, is the most important concept in strength training today. ***

Hypertrophy strength is a function of the anaerobic lactic acid energy system.

resistant force

Endurance athletes, such as marathon runners and rowers, must overcome relatively low resistance for an extended period of time. The aerobic system is an efficient energy system that depends on oxygen for fuel. In reference to weight training, resistance to force is the ability to produce repeated muscle contractions with less than maximum weight, generally with loads below 75% of 1RM.

There is great variation in loading parameters for relative strength, hypertrophy, and resistance to force. The chosen loading parameters should enhance the strength of the athlete’s involved energy system, thus producing an athlete who is fit for his sport.

LOAD PARAMETERS – FUNCTIONAL DEFINITIONS

representatives

Reps is short for repetitions, or the number of times a movement is repeated at a time. For example, one set of 10 pushups equals ten repetitions on the pushup. The number of repetitions performed during a specific set of a workout determines the training effect. Neurological efficiency is achieved through training in the lower repetition range and metabolic (muscular) adaptations are achieved through training with higher repetitions. The number of repetitions dictates all other aspects of strength training, namely the sets, the pace, and the rest period.

After the initial evaluation of an athlete/client, the qualified personal trainer will prescribe a repetition range based on the client’s needs and goals. For novice lifters, higher repetitions (12-20) and lighter loads are prescribed to teach the body new exercise movement patterns.

sets

Sets describe a group of repetitions. For example, 3 sets of 10 repetitions in the push-up is equivalent to three individual efforts of ten repetitions each. There is an inverse relationship between the number of sets and the number of repetitions in any given workout; the higher the number of repetitions, the fewer sets needed to get the proper training response. A lower number of repetitions requires a higher number of sets.

For a beginner, 2-3 sets of 12-20 repetitions should be enough to teach the body to move through different planes of motion. After the first 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the client’s learning curve, the personal trainer or strength trainer should increase the number of training sets. The client should then perform several sets of the prescribed exercise if strength is a primary goal.

There is also an inverse relationship between the number of sets and the time under tension.

time under voltage

Time Under Tension (abbreviated TUT) is the amount of time a muscle or muscle group is placed under stress during a single repetition, set, or workout. For example, if a client performs a biceps curl and lifts the weight in 1 second and lowers it in 4 seconds, the time under tension for that repetition is 5 seconds. In this particular example, the TUT would be written as 4010, where 4 seconds is the time it takes to eccentrically lower the weight, 0 seconds is the rest time at the bottom of the curl, 1 second is the time it takes to lose weight. concentrically lift the weight, and the last 0 seconds is the pause at the top of the movement.

Time under tension is inversely proportional to both reps and sets. The longer a muscle is stressed in one repetition, the fewer repetitions and sets are required to produce the same training effect.

rest intervals

Rest intervals, the rest time between sets, are determined by a number of factors:

* training goals
* training intensity
* client’s fitness level

Training goal, training intensity and rest period

The training goal is simply the desired training effect. It is closely related to the intensity of the training, since the goal dictates the intensity, which in turn dictates the rest period.

Training intensity can be described as the percentage of 1RM, or repetition maximum, that one exercises at. The more intense the training, the greater the percentage of 1RM one works, and the longer the corresponding rest period must be for the central nervous system to recover.

There is a lot of misunderstanding in the fitness industry about intensity, which is a word often used to describe workouts that are hard. A workout can be very difficult without being intense: Circuit weight training is very difficult and taxing on the body, but it is not intense, by the strict definition of the word.

Lastly, the client’s fitness level cannot be overlooked when assigning rest intervals between sets. An untrained person needs more recovery time than an experienced lifter. Conversely, an experienced trainee can go further once he has reached his appropriate level of strength by gradually reducing his rest period, so that he produces the same amount of work in less time.