Facets of Fitness (1)

When we exercise, we use a range of facets of fitness. It is possible that we are utilising different energy systems or fitness components within the workout or sporting activities that we participate in. Have you ever considered about how your body allows you to continue exercising, throughout a workout? If you haven't and you sometimes become tired quickly during exercising, it is possible you could be overtaxing one of the body's energy systems. Here explained are some of the basic aspects of the way we utilise our energies during exercise.

All our energy systems work together and simultaneously but at different times certain systems will dominate to provide the energy contribution, depending on the intensity level and duration of the activity. When we jog, cycle, run, swim or participate in an aerobics workout, we make our cardiovascular system work fairly hard, causing our heart to beat more quickly than at rest and in the long term become more efficient at pumping blood around the body.

The Aerobic energy system will be the main source of our energy to be able to do these activities. As we exercise we must breathe in oxygen which is transported to the muscles where it is combined with food to give us energy, the muscles can then contract and allow us to continue the activity fairly comfortably and without becoming too much out of breath. The aerobic system continually produces energy from our food sources. It uses fuel from carbohydrates fats and in our food. However it is dependent on the intensity of exercise and the duration also for the aerobic system being the main energy source. At a slow pace or lesser exercise intensity, with a longer duration, this system will use more energy from the fat stores. but the if the intensity of exercise increases the larger the contribution from the carbohydrate stores.

The aerobic system or metabolism is very efficient and there is no by-products produced from it to cause the body fatigue so long as the exercise intensity stays at a comfortable level and you are still able to continue with out becoming out of breath. If the exercise duration is particularly long (maybe a football or tennis match or marathon run) then it would be essential to keep the body's fuel level topped up with a carbohydrate drink (but be aware if these drinks are consumed with only doing a shorter workout it is possible the body already has enough fuel and you could actually find that you gain weight through consuming too much carbohydrate).

The aerobic system is also vital for the recovery process after a hard workout. It removes the lactic acid that accumulates through using the Anaerobic energy system.
The Anaerobic system is used in activities that require short fast bursts of energy lasting from 15secs to 2mins long. This could be more specifically for an athlete who trains for a 100m sprint or could be a portion of a studio cycle workout or even fast lifts with weights.

This system is used when energy demand of an aerobic activity increases and if the workout required short bursts of intense effort. It produces energy more quickly than the aerobic system and uses carbohydrate without oxygen but by-product is lactic acid, which you will feel within the muscles as a burning achy sensation. The lactic acid hinders the muscles ability to contract as forcefully therefore reducing your intensity level during your activity. Your body may have to slow down and you will return to the aerobic energy system and the lactic acid will start to flush through your blood and be removed.

An energy system, which is mainly utilised by athletes, is called Lactate tolerance, which is the ability of the muscles to contract forcefully despite the build up of lactic acid. During sporting events, swimming, running a race or football / rugby match, large amounts of lactic acid are produced. Athletes must get used to training this energy system otherwise during a race or match/game they will become tired and not be able to keep a high level of performance.

Within an exercise program, you should try to make sure that you do not overtax the anaerobic and lactate energy systems, unless you are an elite athlete who is under the guidance of a coach.

Over-training is caused by intense over exercising and is a state in which the body is not receiving enough recovery after exercise. It can mean feeling constantly tired, with constantly achy muscles, mood changes and poor healing from injuries leading possibly to a permanent injury. Plan a sensible regular exercise routine with adequate recovery and learn to listen to what your body is telling you before, during and after your workouts. This will ensure that you are always working your body to its optimal function as you improve or maintain your fitness regime.