Admittedly, cardiovascular exercise has never been my favorite. On a personal level, I have always enjoyed lifting exponentially more than any form of conditioning. My love of strength training and movement (coupled with the fact I once aspired to be a physical therapist) has led me to devote the majority of my professional development to corrective exercise and strength development. Over the last several years I have studied biomechanics, functional anatomy, assessment modalities as well as strength training principles like periodization, basic progressive overload and more.
As I evolve in my professional development, I see the importance of understanding the ins and outs of energy system development. From fat loss to performance enhancement, an understanding of these principles is paramount to my success and the success of my clients. With that being said, the last year or so I have devoted a large block of time to understanding the principles of conditioning and energy system development. The following is a "compilation" of sorts of my research on the subject. This should help you approach your conditioning program more intelligently instead of throwing a bunch of shit at the wall and hoping it sticks.
Cardiovascular exercise is undoubtedly the most popular training modality out there. Walk into any gym and you will see droves of people plugging away on treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes. I'm sure you see at least a handful of people out pounding the pavement or riding their bikes on your way to work each and every day.
Aside from nutrition, "cardio" is where many individuals fall short. Whether we are talking about the general fitness enthusiast that wants to look better naked or the elite athlete, most reach a point where they are literally "spinning their wheels". There are two main reasons for this:
- They don't do any conditioning at all.
- They don't have an understanding of the correct methods.
I think we all know cardiovascular exercise is good for us. The benefits have been well documented. Most don't make it a priority because they don't like it (cough, cough), or struggle with making time (ie. lazy).
Conversely, dedicated cardio junkies see stalled progress they fail to train smart. Methods used are too repetitive or they fail to supplement with strength training. They let to pendulum swing too far in one direction for too long. This usually leads to stagnation or injury.
To take advantage and "maximize your investment" as far as time is concerned; you must understand how energy systems work. Then you can customize your training to meet your goals.
There are 3 energy systems used by the body to burn fuel:
- Aerobic
- Anaerobic Lactic
- Anaerobic Alactic
A Word About ATP
Before we can understand these energy systems, we need to discuss ATP.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a molecule that provides the fuel your muscles run on. Through a chemical reaction, ATP is broken down and energy is released. This energy is the fuel your muscles run on. ATP acts as your "energy currency". All the food you eat is broken down to be used as ATP in some way.
The Aerobic System
Use of the aerobic system is what most of us think of when we hear the word "cardio". The droves of individuals running, biking and rowing for extended periods of time are chiefly relying on their aerobic system for energy.
The aerobic system is arguably the most important of the three. It is your foundation. It allows you to recover between sets, reps, and training sessions. It has the highest potential for improvement of the three systems (240%) and provides the majority of ATP needed to fuel your muscles.
A very important detail about the aerobic system is that it uses oxygen to to produce ATP by breaking down fat (mostly). When you see the "fat burning zone" on the treadmill, this is what it is referring to. After approximately two minutes, your body realizes that it needs to rely on fat instead of sugar for energy, so it uses the oxygen you are consuming to break down fat and produce ATP.
While this is all well and good, we need to realize that when you are done with aerobic work, the "fat burning" ends. A well developed aerobic system is paramount for recovery, performance and well being, but it does little to increase your resting metabolism.You might be burning a lot of calories during, but none after.
Advantages of a Well Developed Aerobic System
- Improved Recovery - A well developed aerobic system allows the body to regenerate ATP at a faster rate between sets, reps, circuits, whatever. It also gives us the ability to shift from a sympathetic (fight or flight) state to a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state more quickly and more frequently, allowing for better recovery between training sessions.
- Neuroplasticity - Better aerobic development increases growth factor output in the brain, making us more receptive to changing movement. Ever tried a new stretch or movement and felt your heart rate rise quickly? This is because your body is shifting into "fight or flight" mode. When your aerobic system is more efficient, you will remain in a parasympathetic state, allowing you to adapt to this change without turning into a stress ball.
- Stimulate Production of Neurotransmitters - Aerobic fitness stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, seratonin and more. Increasing your sense of well being.
The Anaerobic Systems
Anaerobic systems are capable of producing short bursts of power. Activities like sprinting, jumping, lifting weights and midget tossing are where the anaerobic systems are utilized the most.
Anaerobic systems generate huge amounts of ATP much faster than their aerobic counterpart, but also fatigue quickly. While the aerobic system relies on oxygen and fat to produce ATP, the anaerobic systems rely on glucose (sugar) to produce energy. Glucose metabolizes much faster than fat (4 calories per gram of glucose vs. 9 calories per gram of fat), which is why the anaerobic systems utilize it as the principle energy source. So in laymen terms, anaerobic systems burn carbs.
There are two anaerobic systems:
- Lactic - relies mostly on glucose - capable of bursts of 100% intensity for up to 1 min.
- Alactic - relies on creatine phosphate - capable of bursts of 100% intensity for 10-12 seconds.
I find it important to know the distinction between the two systems, but for the purpose of this post, we will group these two systems into one.
It is worth noting that when trained correctly, the anaerobic systems utilize carbohydrates during AND after training. This increases resting metabolism for long periods of time after training.
Advantages of a Well Developed Anaerobic System
- Increased power output - You run faster, jump higher, throw midgets farther, and lift heavier loads more quickly. Mkay?
- Burn more carbs now and later - While the aerobic system uses fats for the majority of its energy, the anaerobic systems use glucose (carbs) to produce energy. From a fat loss standpoint, this is fantastic because the less carbs you have in your body outside of training, the lower the chance they will be shuttled away to be stored as fat later. After training, left over carbs are shuttled away to the liver and muscle cells to be stored for later activity.
- Increase in resting metabolism - Research is a little murky on this topic, but after anaerobic work the body consumes more oxygen (EPOC - excess post exercise oxygen consumption) indicating a spike in resting metabolism afterward.
So How Do We Put All This Together?
Well, as with many questions in the fitness world, it depends. It depends on your goals and current abilities. As mentioned before, we can't let the pendulum swing too far or for too long regardless of your goals.
The determining factor in what to do is something is a universal principle throughout effective program design:
BEGIN. WITH. ASSESSMENT!
No matter what the goal or where you are in your current program, you MUST continue to assess where you are (point A) and where you need to go (point B) to make continued progress.
Assessing the Aerobic System
There are several methods of assessing the aerobic system, many of them fairly complex. For our purposes I like to keep things simple with two tests. A heart rate monitor is very helpful here.
- Resting Heart Rate (RHR) - A lower resting heart rate indicates a greater stroke volume (amount of oxygenated blood ejected from the left ventricle with each contraction), a higher level of aerobic fitness, and a less sympathetic dominant nervous system. Measure your resting heart rate (preferably in a seated or lying position). A RHR of less than 60 BPM is considered above average.
- Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) - This measures recovery after intense exercise and how fast one can transition from a sympathetic to parasympathetic state. Pretty simple here: elevate the HR to 170-180 and measure the duration of recovery needed to reach 130 BPM. One minute is best.
Assessing the Anaerobic System
The anaerobic system is a little harder to assess because of the lack of quantitative data obtained in the tests. Many of these are also dependent on technique and body composition of the individual. For example, an overweight individual probably won't do very well on these tests. I use three tests. Again a heart rate monitor is helpful:
- Max Push Ups - perform as many as possible with perfect technique as fast as possible. If it takes longer than one minute you are going too slow.
- Above average male: 30-35 push ups
- Above average female: 15-20 push ups
- Max Chin Ups - Same rules as above.
- Above average male: 12-15 chin ups
- Above average female: 4-6 chin ups
- One Minute Sprint - To be an efficient sprinter, you must use the entire body, so this is the best measure of anaerobic fitness of the three. Use an outdoor/indoor track, airdyne, or (please don't crucify me for this) elliptical trainer. Sprint as fast and as far as possible and measure the distance covered in one minute and average HR. Greater distance with lower or same HR = improvement.
Designing a Training Program
Now that you have some real data, you are able to deign a program based on the assessment and your goals.
Aerobic Training Methods
As stated before, the aerobic system is your foundation. Regardless of how strong and fit you think you are, a well developed aerobic system is paramount for increased performance, well being, and overall health. While just about anyone can benefit from some aerobic work, it is the best form of conditioning for beginners.
- Cardiac Output Method - This method increases the size of the left ventricle of the heart, allowing for a greater stroke volume over time. Perform any activity where the heart rate stays between 120-150 BPM for 30-60 minutes. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, the "talk test" is a serviceable alternative to measuring whether or not you are in the aerobic zone. If you can't talk during training, you aren't in the aerobic zone.
- Power Intervals - Power intervals increase the strength of the heart. Perform intervals at maximum intensity for 60-120 seconds with a long rest (2-5 mins or a Heart Rate Recovery of 120-130) in between. Again, perform these for 30-60 minutes.
- Tempo Training - Tempo training increases the size of slow twitch muscle fibers, which are dominant during aerobic training. These involve the use of compound strength training movements (squat, RDL, bench press etc.) for a specific tempo. Each rep should last approximately 4-6 seconds. Trust me, these will do a number on you.
Anaerobic Training Methods
Again, anaerobic training is the preferred method used for fat loss and power development. It is best utilized by intermediate to advanced trainees. There are several methods used in anaerobic training that go beyond the scope of this post, but I will provide a few examples:
- Strength Training - Heavy weights with moderate to high rest, or moderate weights done for speed with moderate to high rest periods work best .
- Generally, activities like sprinting, jumping, and throwing done for maximum intensity with lots of rest (1-5 minutes) done for 20-40 minutes work best to develop the anaerobic system.
- Experiment with ratios of 1/2 - 1/6 work/rest intervals. For example 30s work/90s rest. You will need the rest if performed correctly!
It bears repeating that you
must perform repetitions near or at maximum intensity for the given amount of time/reps to develop this energy pathway.
Summary
This has been a little long-winded, so I'll summarize in bullet form:
- You must have balance in your training to achieve maximum results. Conditioning is no different. Both aerobic and anaerobic work should be present in your program.
- Assess first and design a program based on your findings and goals.
- If RHR is above 60 and/or HRR is poor, you are a beginner. Do more aerobic training and get anaerobic work through strength training.
- If fat loss is the primary goal and the aerobic system is sound, focus more on anaerobic training methods.
- Performance goals are more specific. If your goals are more performance based begin with a more general approach, then tailor your training to be more contest/event specific the closer you get to event day.
Hopefully this rather verbose post helps you to get more out of your conditioning by training smarter. Have any questions/comments? Leave em' below in the comments section!
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