Purposeful Training: Understanding and Improving the Energy Systems

“Mind over matter,” or “matter over mind?” Sometimes the mind is willing and the body isn’t or vice versa. Whatever the training, intensity is a very real variable that must always be considered. Breaking through barriers safely is not easy but a great way to chart training progress is to understand how to program toward your goal. Aerobic exercise is with oxygen (think of prolonged steady paced activities such as distance running) and anaerobic exercise is without oxygen (an activity that is brief due to its strenuous effect on the body include sprinting or heavy weight lifting). 

How do you use this information? Simple, depends on the goal.

Since aerobic and anaerobic are different energy systems, anyone can benefit from this training methodology. However, it especially holds a lot of value for athletes due to the type of energy requirements needed for their particular sport. The aerobic system will require lower intensity exercise of four minutes or more. The lactic acid energy system, a form of anaerobic exercise is less than two minutes of higher intensity training. If your sport requires performance at extreme bursts of max effort, than you will need to develop the alactic energy system, which is less than 15 seconds. With this information, you can now pick exercises that 1) fit your skill-set and 2) can be performed safely for the amount of sets, repetitions, or time needed to improve that particular energy system. Some sports require a combination of energy systems to be worked in order to improve, and this is the heart of Strength and Conditioning training. 

The Polar FT60 is easy to use

Whatever the exercise or program, you are trying to stimulate a change to the body. How the body responds to this change can be cardiovascular exercise if it produces enough stress to the body. But what is cardiovascular exercise? Cardiovascular exercise is anything that pertains to the heart and blood and vessels. In most cases, "cardio" machines are being use low levels of cardiovascular exercise and is doing very little to illicit a change. If this is the case, how do you expect to stimulate a change? A better question, since you have improved the aerobic system and worked on in this system, how adaptable are you to shorter bursts of intense training such as resistance training (lactic or alactic work)? One suggestion might be to use a heart rate monitor because it will help to ensure that using the machine is more purposeful. Remember, treadmills, rowing machines, ellipticals, etc., are no more cardiovascular tools than resistance equipment such as kettlebells, TRX Suspension and RIP Trainers, or Sleds. 

Some helpful Heart Rate Monitor features:

      1) VO2 Max Test

      2) Zone Training Intensity (60-69%, 70-79%, 80-89%)

      3) Caloric Expenditure (for weight loss or weight gain purposes)

At this time, I recommend the Polar FT60 because it incorporates these important features and it also offers more information and guidance than other similar models.

Overtraining is common and can be the cause of setbacks to achieving goals. When and how long a rest period during sets and days off is not easy to determine. If the desired goal is fat-burn and training intensity is too great for an extended amount of time, the training will be counterproductive because of the lack of sufficient rest. The body needs time to recover in order to replace the energy used because of the training intensity. If training is the yin, rest would be the yang. More is not better, it's just more. Not only that, the body more than likely, can not maintain the integrity of the movement pattern and the risk of injury is higher because of the de-emphasis on moving well. 

Exercise is a science. I like to think of the body as an ever changing chemistry set. As the body evolves, so will the training intensity. Take the guesswork out of the equation and reap the benefits of more productive, effective and efficient training results. Best of luck in your training!