Guide to Anaerobic Fitness

[Nat_H]

Anaerobic Fitness

OK, everyone's had that burning feeling after a few seconds of sprinting, or felt drained of energy just after practice starts. You thought you were in better shape than that. Right? High intensity sports such as soccer require a specific type of preparation. I'm going to offer some (hopefully) helpful information on anaerobic fitness.

Anaerobic fitness is:
The ability to perform high-intensity exercise (such as sprinting) for periods of time: up to 1-2 minutes, and to recover quickly.

The word "anaerobic" means "without oxygen" (as compared to aerobic exercise). When you are performing a sprint, your body creates energy without synthesizing oxygen. This is necessary for sprinting because your body does not have time to circulate and burn oxygen quickly, but since energy created without oxygen is less efficient, high-intensity exercise cannot last very long. This is why eventually you must switch from a fast sprint to a slow jog.

However, with the proper training and understanding, you can develop your anaerobic energy system to become more efficient and allow greater exercise duration at higher intensity.

Biochemistry

In the process of performing muscle movements at high intensity, your body needs to utilize anaerobic energy systems to fuel your muscles. There are two phases to this process:

1. The phosphate system
This system uses the little energy your body has already stored (in the form of ATP), and when the ATP is burnt out, it uses the creatine phosphate your body has stored to synthesize more ATP for use. This system relies solely on the levels of ATP and creatine phosphate your body has when you begin exercise, and as such can only provide about 10 to 15 seconds of energy. It's the first one that kicks in, using your reserves of available energy before the main anaerobic system needs to convert energy from carbs.

2. Anaerobic glycolysis
This system is the main anaerobic energy pathway. It synthesizes energy (ATP) from carbohydrates (glucose). This process is called glycolysis. Since your body can store more carbo's than it can chemicals like ATP and creatine phosphate, the glycolysis process can provide energy for longer periods of time. In fact, the two factors that determine the "shut off" point for this pathway are:

-------a. Lactic acid build-up
Because this glycolysis is anaerobic, and there is no oxygen as a
reactant, one of the byproducts of the chemical reaction is lactic
acid. Your body cannot tolerate high levels of lactic acid, so after too
much high-intensity exercise, you must slow down or stop and get
some oxygen and let your body rid your system of the lactic acid.

--------b. Lack of carbohydrates
Obviously, if you don't have any more energy stores, you must stop
all high-intensity exercise and slow down. Your body will tap into
fat reserves in order to produce ATP aerobically. This process
can only be done at low intensity.

Therefore
----After 1-2 minutes of sprinting, you must allow your body a few minutes of rest (or low-intensity running) to get oxygen into your system and resupply your phosphate energy system and rid the body of lactic acid.

----To carry on high-intensity exercise for longer periods of time, i.e. improve anaerobic fitness, you must train your body to:
1. Synthesize creatine phosphate quickly
2. Rid itself of lactic acid
3. Tolerate high levels of lactic acid

----You must be sure to load up on plenty of easily digestible carbohydrates before any mid- to high-intensity exercise.

Nutrition

OK, now how do you fuel these systems? The sources of energy (calories) you get from food are: fats, carbohydrates, and protein. As stated before, carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy for exercises at mid- to high-intensity. Here is a run-down of the basics of proteins and fat:

---Protein
Building block of cells and muscles. Absolutely essential for the body to function and grow. Nevertheless, sufficient amounts of protein for these reasons are all you need. Proteins give you energy when you are out of calories from carbs and fat; focus on carbs and fat for energy. Recommended amount per day is 60g, and more for athletes (such as you!) and weightlifters.

---Fat
Efficient source of energy-gives 9 calories per gram. But slow to break down and convert, so not effective for mid- to high-intensity exercise. Still, fats are vital to the body's functioning. Because excessive amounts of fat are dangerous (or unwanted), it is recommended that you get no more than 65 grams of fat per day.

So. Fat and protein, while essential, are not what your body will be using when you are playing soccer or romping around. Carbohydrates are your main fuel for these mid- to high-intensity activites. Make sure you are getting complex carbs from breads, pastas, beans, grains, and potatoes, not simple carbs from sugars (i.e. ANYTHING THAT TASTES SWEET). Simple, refined carbs (fruits are OK) will cause your blood sugar to go crazy and even lead to overeating. Complex carbohydrates are best for you. They are necessary to from glycogen (another complex carb) that is the chemical your body stores and burns and converts to ATP during glycolysis. So therefore they are your source of energy!

Training

As I said earlier, you can train your body to perform at high intensities for a longer period of time. Technically, you need to train your energy systems to be more efficient and your muscles to tolerate the lactic acid buildup. Practically, you are doing a lot of sprinting and pushing through the pain. Specific types of training are designed to help your body improve in each biochemical area, so that you get real results.

Areas you need to improve:

The phosphate system
Remember, this provides energy for only 10-15 seconds before glycolysis needs to begin. If you have not been training for anaerobic fitness, the system may not be able to provide energy for even that long. To train to improve this, you need to push your body to work as hard as possible (flat-out sprint) for up to 15 seconds. Then provide rest time (slow jogging), so that the system can recover. Your phosphate system may not be efficient at recharging creatine phosphate, so that's the point of the training.

Sample routine:
Sprint 15 seconds--->Jog 4 minutes---->Repeat up to 4 times

The anaerobic glycolysis system
Remember, this provides energy for the remainder of your high-intensity exercise. Someone with top anaerobic fitness can be fueled by this system for up to 2 minutes. Remember, as long as you are fueled with enough carbs, the only thing that shuts you down is the level of lactic acid. Improving your body's anaerobic glycolysis system takes 2 phases:

-------1. Training your body to become efficient at removing lactic acid.

Sample routine:
Sprint 1 minute---->Jog 4 minutes---->Repeat up to 4 times

-------2. Training your body to tolerate high levels of lactic acid.

Sample routine:
Sprint as long as possible---->Jog 4 minutes-----Repeat up to 4 times

Ideally, you need to be training both of these systems and all three of these facets. Only make your routine as intense as you can handle, but remember if your aren't pushing yourself, then your body doesn't need to compensate and adapt, so there's no point in training at all!

Anaerobic training can be done every day, or even several times per day, as long as sufficient rest time is given between repetitions of intense exercise. You aren't working on muscle development as if you were running long distance (in that case you are working on developing your heart). You must also keep yourself fueled properly with complex carbo's.


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Thanks guys I hope this was informative!!!! Comments appreciated and criticism is expected!

Nat_H

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Sources used throughout:
www.expertfootball.com/training/anaerobic_fitness.php
www.soccer-training-info.com/anaerobic_training.asp
http://www.physicaleducation.co.uk/gcse ... itness.htm
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_exercise
http://www.sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/ ... 80803a.htm
www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch152/ch152b.html
www.asmi.org/sportsmed/Performance/anaerobic.html
www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/energysystems.html
www.shoppingtrolley.net/lesson5-energy-systems.shtml

[Rolin_NDN]

Great guide. I have been studying this for p.e. Sure this will be helpful for people like me who are unfit in their Anaerobic. Although i'm not to sure about training every day as sprinting flat out does develop the muscles and requires rest especially if your just starting to train or are unfit although i could be wrong. But any way good guide Nat_H

[DR17]

nic guide and not too long , i took the time to actually read it

[Nat_H]

Great guide. I have been studying this for p.e. Sure this will be helpful for people like me who are unfit in their Anaerobic. Although i'm not to sure about training every day as sprinting flat out does develop the muscles and requires rest especially if your just starting to train or are unfit although i could be wrong. But any way good guide Nat_H

Yeah OK. I meant that the point of anaerobic training is not to develop muscle, but if you are unfit, especially sore, or not stretching properly before and after, then you may need to take some days to rest. Thanks for commenting

nic guide and not too long , i took the time to actually read it

thanks for commenting, hope it was informative

[FCBarca364]

Great guide, I really enjoyed reading this and especially the scientific parts of the anaerobic system. One question I have is that will anaerobic exercise help your aerobic system in any way or are those completely different?

[Nat_H]

Great guide, I really enjoyed reading this and especially the scientific parts of the anaerobic system. One question I have is that will anaerobic exercise help your aerobic system in any way or are those completely different?

Thanks dude. And well, I didn't mention in detail the aerobic energy system, which is different. Aerobic training is a combination of making this system more efficient (similar to the goal for anaerobic fitness), and strengthening the heart and lungs. This is necessary because the aerobic energy system requires oxygen and the lungs intake oxygen and the heart pumps it through the blood.

So you need to do long distance running for aerobic specific training, but even still: anaerobic training is good for burning fat, which positively affects all facets of your fitness.

[BuzzingBee]

awesome,i was waiting for this sort of thing,five stars.you go NAT

although I've heard this from many trainers and such HITT is the best way to loose body fat,what is the best,quick effective way to loose body fat say in a month or two,id like to drop two dress sizes,for my own personal reasons and also,what about running on an empty stomach is it possible? how and what would you suggest?

[AmericanFutballer]

Haha informative article, but isn't anaerobic glycolysis the Kreb's Cycle? I can't remember exactly I got a 4 on AP Bio and I still can't remember half of what we learned last year. But it's anaerobic because you're using energy to make energy so the process isn't as efficient hence lowered output right?

Anyways, Biology aside, good job. The training routine can really be applied to anything, if you want to work on explosiveness try sprintning up and down a really big hill. For longers sprints focus on 20-30yards or even 100 if you feel like it. But make sure you recover because otherwise your sprints won't be as strong which won't help you because you need to go all out for sprints. Try sprinting with the ball to, that's what my team does during morning practices to just get ready for the season and get our touch back in shape.

Great job, Nat_H!

[Nat_H]

awesome,i was waiting for this sort of thing,five stars.you go NAT

although I've heard this from many trainers and such HITT is the best way to loose body fat,what is the best,quick effective way to loose body fat say in a month or two,id like to drop two dress sizes,for my own personal reasons and also,what about running on an empty stomach is it possible? how and what would you suggest?

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I think running on an empty stomach is good for losing fat. Your body automatically taps into your stored body fat for energy. That being said, don't try any high-intensity, fitness training on an empty stomach.

Haha informative article, but isn't anaerobic glycolysis the Kreb's Cycle? I can't remember exactly I got a 4 on AP Bio and I still can't remember half of what we learned last year. But it's anaerobic because you're using energy to make energy so the process isn't as efficient hence lowered output right?

Anyways, Biology aside, good job. The training routine can really be applied to anything, if you want to work on explosiveness try sprintning up and down a really big hill. For longers sprints focus on 20-30yards or even 100 if you feel like it. But make sure you recover because otherwise your sprints won't be as strong which won't help you because you need to go all out for sprints. Try sprinting with the ball to, that's what my team does during morning practices to just get ready for the season and get our touch back in shape.

Great job, Nat_H!

It may have another name, but I didn't run across one in anything i studied. And yes you are converting stored chemical energy into kinetic, mechanical energy. The reason it's less efficient is because the conversion is done without oxygen.

[AmericanFutballer]

Haha informative article, but isn't anaerobic glycolysis the Kreb's Cycle? I can't remember exactly I got a 4 on AP Bio and I still can't remember half of what we learned last year. But it's anaerobic because you're using energy to make energy so the process isn't as efficient hence lowered output right?

Anyways, Biology aside, good job. The training routine can really be applied to anything, if you want to work on explosiveness try sprintning up and down a really big hill. For longers sprints focus on 20-30yards or even 100 if you feel like it. But make sure you recover because otherwise your sprints won't be as strong which won't help you because you need to go all out for sprints. Try sprinting with the ball to, that's what my team does during morning practices to just get ready for the season and get our touch back in shape.

Great job, Nat_H!

It may have another name, but I didn't run across one in anything i studied. And yes you are converting stored chemical energy into kinetic, mechanical energy. The reason it's less efficient is because the conversion is done without oxygen.

Glycolysis always involves oxygen in some respect because glucose is involved, i.e. Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. And always Carbon Dioxide CO2 is the end product, it's the abscence of input of molecular oxygen into a system.

It doesn't have another name though, the Kreb's cycle is also known as the citric acid cycle and it involves input of oxygen later on in glycolysis.

Fermentation is the term I believe you use, specifically lactic-acid fermentation. this is the anaerobic form of respiration (glycolysis).

Also, you didn't understand what I was saying, anaerobic glycolysis starts off as glycolysis normally would, however, to completely breakdown glucose into C02 require the oxidation of pyruvate through the Kreb's Cycle and ETS (steps which require oxygen). Since we don't have enough oxygen in our system the cells in our body begin this process, creating an energy debt because more ATP is used than created. Pyruvate is eventually turned into Lactic acid.

[Nat_H]

Haha informative article, but isn't anaerobic glycolysis the Kreb's Cycle? I can't remember exactly I got a 4 on AP Bio and I still can't remember half of what we learned last year. But it's anaerobic because you're using energy to make energy so the process isn't as efficient hence lowered output right?

Anyways, Biology aside, good job. The training routine can really be applied to anything, if you want to work on explosiveness try sprintning up and down a really big hill. For longers sprints focus on 20-30yards or even 100 if you feel like it. But make sure you recover because otherwise your sprints won't be as strong which won't help you because you need to go all out for sprints. Try sprinting with the ball to, that's what my team does during morning practices to just get ready for the season and get our touch back in shape.

Great job, Nat_H!

It may have another name, but I didn't run across one in anything i studied. And yes you are converting stored chemical energy into kinetic, mechanical energy. The reason it's less efficient is because the conversion is done without oxygen.

Glycolysis always involves oxygen in some respect because glucose is involved, i.e. Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. And always Carbon Dioxide CO2 is the end product, it's the abscence of input of molecular oxygen into a system.

It doesn't have another name though, the Kreb's cycle is also known as the citric acid cycle and it involves input of oxygen later on in glycolysis.

Fermentation is the term I believe you use, specifically lactic-acid fermentation. this is the anaerobic form of respiration (glycolysis).

Also, you didn't understand what I was saying, anaerobic glycolysis starts off as glycolysis normally would, however, to completely breakdown glucose into C02 require the oxidation of pyruvate through the Kreb's Cycle and ETS (steps which require oxygen). Since we don't have enough oxygen in our system the cells in our body begin this process, creating an energy debt because more ATP is used than created. Pyruvate is eventually turned into Lactic acid.

It involves oxygen at the atomic level, but the actual oxygen molecule (Osub2), is not one of the reactants in anaerobic gylcolysis. I understand that I simplified all of the biochemical reactions that are involved in this process (and I'm still not fully understanding what you are saying), but I think my point was to provide an understanding for people interested in anaerobic fitness training, not a degree in biology lol

[BuzzingBee]

awesome,i was waiting for this sort of thing,five stars.you go NAT

although I've heard this from many trainers and such HITT is the best way to loose body fat,what is the best,quick effective way to loose body fat say in a month or two,id like to drop two dress sizes,for my own personal reasons and also,what about running on an empty stomach is it possible? how and what would you suggest?

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I think running on an empty stomach is good for losing fat. Your body automatically taps into your stored body fat for energy. That being said, don't try any high-intensity, fitness training on an empty stomach.

so what should i do? what exactly do you mean by high intensity,is runnning or jogging okay??

[Nat_H]

awesome,i was waiting for this sort of thing,five stars.you go NAT

although I've heard this from many trainers and such HITT is the best way to loose body fat,what is the best,quick effective way to loose body fat say in a month or two,id like to drop two dress sizes,for my own personal reasons and also,what about running on an empty stomach is it possible? how and what would you suggest?

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I think running on an empty stomach is good for losing fat. Your body automatically taps into your stored body fat for energy. That being said, don't try any high-intensity, fitness training on an empty stomach.

so what should i do? what exactly do you mean by high intensity,is runnning or jogging okay??

Jogging is fine. Remember, this is to lose fat, not to try and improve your endurance (i.e. aerobic fitness). Your body will be burning off your fat stores in order to provide energy for your jog. As long as you are jogging at lower intensity and monitoring how you are feeling, go for it.