Energy Systems Overview

Energy Systems

• The alactacid system (ATP/PC) utilizes creatine phosphate for minimal energy production during 10-12 seconds of high-intensity movement.
• Depletion of CP supplies and heat are causes of fatigue within the alactacid system.
• The alactacid system's recovery process takes around 2 minutes.
• The lactic acid system is sourced from glycogen (carbohydrates), providing median ATP production for 10 seconds to 3 minutes of high-intensity movement.
• Lactic acid build-up and lactic acid is the cause of fatigue within the lactic acid system.
• The lactic acid system's recovery process takes 30 minutes to 2 hours.
• The 400m sprint event uses energy from the lactic acid system.
• The aerobic system sources energy from glycogen (crabs, fats, proteins) and can last indefinitely at moderate intensity
• Lack of glycogen, lactic acid, dehydration, fats and proteins are the causes of fatigue for the aerobic system, with Carbon Dioxide and Water as byproducts.
• The aerobic system's recovery process takes 2-3 days.
• The triathlon uses energy from the aerobic system.

Types of Training

• Aerobic training enhances cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
• Continuous training involves performing the same activity at the same intensity for at least 20 minutes.
• Running, swimming, and cycling are examples of continuous training.
• Fartlek training involves performing the same activity at varying intensities for a minimum of 20 minutes.
• Varying speed running or incline are examples of Fartlek training.
• Interval training involves switching between periods of intense work and rest in a 3:1 ratio.
• Marathon runners may run for 12 minutes at 80% MHR, then jog at 40% of MHR for 4 minutes as an example of interval training.
• Circuit training is a range of aerobic activities completed one after another.
• An example of circuit training is completing 700m on a rowing machine, 3 minutes on a treadmill, and a 200m sprint on an exercise bike, with short rest periods between each exercise.
• Anaerobic training enhances the performance of the ATP/PC and lactic acid anaerobic energy systems by allowing them to create energy faster and for longer.
• Anaerobic interval training swaps short periods of high-intensity exercise with more extended periods of complete or active rest, maintaining a work-to-rest ratio of 1:3 or 1:12.
• Flexibility training increases the range of movement around joints, and targets specific muscles to prevent injury, improve coordination, encourage muscle relaxation, reduce soreness, and maximize performance potential.
• Static flexibility is a safe, slow stretch held for 10-30 seconds (e.g., pike stretch, splits).
• Ballistic flexibility involves repeated movement, such as bouncing or swinging, and should only be used by advanced athletes.
• PNF flexibility involves static stretching with another person or immovable object providing resistance for an isometric contraction.
• Dynamic flexibility uses speed and momentum with movements experienced in a game.
• Strength training involves the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force against resistance and can be isotonic, which increases blood pressure through raising/lowering or pushing/pulling free weights, or isometric which develops strength by applying resistance without changing muscle length.
• Weights involve the targeted muscles overcoming and resisting the load of a weight being either free or fixed.
• Free weights like machine weights, are good for beginners learning correct technique.
• Fixed weights such as dumbbells and barbells, help strengthen major and surrounding muscles needed to stabilize the athlete.
• Elastic resistance bands involve the targeted muscles overcoming and resisting the load of a weight that provide an athlete with resistance.
• Hydraulics specifically target isokinetic contractions, exerting a force at all angles of joint movement.

Principles of Training

• Progressive overload occurs when the training load is greater than normal and progressively increased as fitness improves.
• Progressive overload is achieved through frequency and intensity, with changes in intensity having the greatest effect.
• Aerobic progressive overload increases intensity or distance, such as running for 1km for 1-2 weeks and then shortening the time to run or running for longer.
• Strength/resistance progressive overload involves increasing reps or weights, such as a bicep curl going from 8kg-9kg or 8 reps to 10 reps.
• Specificity involves exercising specific components of fitness, muscle groups, and energy systems being used in the activity.
• Specificity can be done in swimming to work on cardiovascular endurance for long-distance events
• Replicates movements as closely as possible to the activity used for specific muscle groups and energy systems
• Reversibility applies to aerobic, strength, and flexibility programs.
• If training is stopped, progress will be lost, applying equally to aerobic strength and flexibility training programs.
• Aerobic gains can be lost 4-6 weeks after training stops.
• Strength/resistance gains can be lost after 2 weeks
• Motivation can be maintained and boredom reduced by including variety in training.
• Varying drill type, strength, resistance and aerobic training are examples of variety.
• Training thresholds indicate the zone for athletic improvement.
• Maximum Heart Rate = 220 - age.
• Aerobic training threshold means the athlete works between 60-85% of MHR.
• Anaerobic training threshold means the athlete works above 85% of MHR.
• Warm-ups lasting no longer than 10 minutes should mentally prepare the athlete, stimulate the cardiorespiratory system by increasing body temperature, and reducing the risk of injury.
• Cool downs minimize muscle stiffness and soreness, disperse lactic acid concentration, and replenish the body’s energy stores.

Physiological Adaptations to Training

• Resting heart rate (RHR) is the number of beats per minute while the body is at rest.
• RHR is an indicator of how hard the heart is working.
• Trained athletes have lower RHR than untrained athletes.
• Stroke volume is the amount of blood ejected by the left ventricle of the heart during contraction, measured in ml/beat.
• Systole shows the maximum pressure when the heart is contracting, diastole shows when the heart refills with blood, measured by blood pressure.
• Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute and is derived by multiplying stroke volume by heart rate.
• Oxygen uptake (VO2) is the ability of the working muscles to use the oxygen being delivered.
• Oxygen uptake is the strongest indicator of an athlete’s ability in endurance events.
• Lung capacity is the amount of air that the lungs can hold, and the capacity of athletes undergoing training will remain the same post-training.
• Haemoglobin is the substance in blood that binds to and transports oxygen around the body.
• As oxygen uptake increases with training, so does haemoglobin content due to increased efficiency of the cardiorespiratory system.
• Muscle hypertrophy is muscle growth together with an increase in the size of muscle cells.
• Muscle fiber length does not change.
• Fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers are almost directly related to specificity.
• Fast-twitch muscle fibers are red and have longer, slower contractions that must be maintained otherwise the effects of training will be lost due to reversibility.
• Slow-twitch muscle fibers are white, fast, and enhance the aerobic energy production system.

Psychology and Performance

• Motivation is an internal state that activates, directs, and sustains behavior towards achieving a particular goal and can be either positive or negative.
• Positive motivation is driven by previous reinforcing behaviors (desire or reward) through crowd cheering, compliments, and rewards.
• Negative motivation has improved performance out of fear by physical punishments, self pity, humiliation and threats.
• Intrinsic motivation comes from within the individual as effort and personal achievement become their own reward through personal goals and self-worth.
• Extrinsic motivation is modified and derived by sources outside the person.
• Anxiety is characterised by fear or apprehension in anticipation of confronting a situation perceived to be potentially threatening and can be either trait or state based
• Trait anxiety is a characteristic of an individual, occurring on a daily basis and is the general level of stress characteristic to each individual being behavioral
• State anxiety arises in a particular situation through the response to fear or danger.
• State anxiety can be beneficial in sports, but unrestrained anxiety can hinder performance.
• Stress in the body has increased blood supply to skeletal muscles and oxygen to the lungs and glucose production, sweat production to cool the body, or tightened muscles
• Stressors are factors that produce stress and can be from personal, competition, social, or physical pressure.
• Arousal is a specific level of anxiety that can be experienced prior to and during a performance.
• Under-aroused performance has a lack of motivation, disinterest, poor concentration, and the inability to cope with distractions.
• Optimum-aroused performance has a balance between the level of motivation and the ability to control muscular tension.
• Over-aroused performance has feelings of anxiousness from concern of performance and leads to increased muscle tension and possible mental confusion.
• As arousal increases, performance also increases until optimum arousal is reached.

Psychological Strategies

• Concentration/attention skills focus on the ability to link movement and awareness.
• Improve awareness of external factors such as the environment and internal factors
• Focusing involves something an athlete focuses on during their performance
• Mental rehearsal imagines an entire task, which increases confidence from positive self-talk, aids the neuromuscular system without physical fatigue, and helps the athlete reach optimal arousal
• Relaxation techniques manage anxiety and calm athletes and correct arousal levels, like progressive muscular relaxation, mental relaxation, self hypnosis, centered breathing, yoga and meditation
• Goal setting allows athlete development and motivation by giving them an endpoint and improves performance, pride, self confidence and reduces stress.
• Goals are measured through the SMART system: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Nutrition and Recovery Strategies

• Adequate hydration helps performance by drinking a minimum of 2-3 liters the day before competition, 500mL the morning of the competition, and 250mL 30 minutes before competition.
• Carbohydrate loading is when loading the muscle with glycogen in preparation for an endurance activity of more than 90 minutes is performed.
• Endurance events greatly impact the body’s fuel supplies and need for electrolyte replacement and are dependent on intensity, duration, humidity, clothing type, and individual sweat rates.
• Maintain muscle glycogen, blood glucose levels, and stay hydrated during an endurance event.
• Proactive recovery emphasizes immediate refueling and rehydration until a pre-event state is obtained.
• Post performance should replace depleted muscle and liver glycogen stores and electrolytes.
• Vitamins and minerals are nutrients needed in small amounts and found in high concentrations in fruits and vegetables.
• Vitamin B optimizes energy production, building and repairing muscle tissue, vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption, while vitamins C and E help protect membranes from oxidative damage.
• Minerals like iron help provide hemoglobin and myoglobin shape, zinc is required for growth and repair, magnesium for muscular contraction, potassium sodium chloride for neural transmission, and calcium is needed for bone repair and vital nutrient for muscle contraction and nerve conduction.
• Protein is a chain of amino acids providing the building block for all cells in the body.
• Caffeine is an ergogenic acid that increases fat mobility and ATP production.
• Creatine products helps the body create phosphocreatine, which is stored for energy as skeletal muscle.

Recovery

• Physiological strategies focus on the removal of metabolic byproducts and a nutrition plan to replace lost fluids and energy-rich nutrients.
• Cool downs consist of low-intensity exercises to help remove waste products and return the body back to its pre-exercise state.
• Hydration aids the bodies physiological processes and assists in removing waste by drinking 500mL of a sports drink and plenty of water.
• Neural strategies aim to relax muscles that have been fatigued or damaged as a result of high-intensity exercise involving hydrotherapy which relaxes the nervous system and speeds up recovery via contrast or even temperature immersion or massage through waste product removal.
• Tissue damage strategies occur when damage is present and can be helped by cryotherapy which removes heat from damaged tissues and reduces with ice packs, cold water immersion of 4-12 degrees, cryogenic chambers and bandages.