Anatomy blah blah...biomechanics blah blah...Exercise Physiology! or alternate title: Rooftop Secret #2

Now here's something that can hold my interest. Exercise physiology. Um, yes please.

Bioenergetics is the body's ability to acquire, convert, store, and utilize energy.

There is the phosphagen system which is the energy pathway composed of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine stored in muscle fibers. Phosphagen system provides immediate energy for use but don't get excited yet. Nope. It only has enough stored in your muscle fibers to sustain activity for 30 seconds.

Then there's the nonoxidative system, also known as anaerobic. This is the energy system that doesn't require oxygen to produce ATP. When you are in anaerobic energy stores, your body is only using carbohydrates (glucose, glycogen) as fuel. The absense of oxygen and the breakdown of carbs is what gives you lactic acid which is what makes your muscles hurt after a workout. This system is typically the main provider of energy to the working muscles in athletic activity for between 30 seconds and 3 minutes.

Next is the oxidative system, also known as aerobic. The difference is that it requires oxygen to produce ATP. Carbs and fats and very limited proteins can be used to create energy in this system. Your body relies on this system for activities lasting longer than 3 minutes and where intensity is limited. Although the aerobic or oxidative system is a producer of ATP, it struggles because it is slow in it's creation of ATP being demanded by the muscles. And if you're not getting enough oxygen to your muscles while you are involved in activities, the nonoxidative system will begin to kick in to produce the energy you require which could still result in lactic acid build up. The point where this transition takes place is called the anaerobic threashold or the lactate threshold.

If you want to know where to target your intensity for working out efficiently and burning fat instead of carbs or lean muscle tissue, go for the aerobic workout. The aerobic or oxidative system is longer duration and lower intensity. Drink lots of water and make sure you're breathing efficiently.

Endurance training has been shown to increase the capacity of the oxidative system. Did you hear me? If you want your body to be more efficient at burning fat....make sure you're working on your endurance. Again...loooonnnnggggeeeerrrr duration, lower intensity. How does this work you ask...I'll tell you. Endurance training amplifies the storage of energy (carbs and fats) used in the oxidative pathway. Glycogen (carbs) is deposited in greater amounts both in the muscle and in the liver of well-trained athletes. Also, fat depots are more pronounced in aerobically trained muscle. Meaning...the more often you exercise in the aerobic range for extended duration, the more efficient your body becomes at burning the fat.

Story Time

I tried the Body for Life program for a good few months in 2008. Both Hubby and I did it together. He saw results. I saw NONE. That's what prompted me to hire the nurtitionist in early 2009. Anyhoo...if you're not familiar with that program, allow me to give you the highlights according to my memory. It said to eat 5-6 times a day on a very strict diet 6 days out of the week with 1 day of total food freedom. Exercise 6 days per week. Each day, we were to do 20mins of high intensity cardio. By high intensity I mean go as hard and as fast as you could for 20 mins of intervals. Then it had us doing 3 days per week of weight training. I actually stick to this schedule of weight training but have changed HOW I do it. The program said to do lower reps and alternate/increase the weights with each set. The goal was to get to muscle failure by the end of each muscle group.

When I got my metabolism tested in 2009, I learned all kinds of stuff. Of course I didn't understand what they were talking about with the VOmax and RMRmax and all the other calculations they were throwing at me. But after the test was over, the guy sat down with me and put it in plain English. And what he told me was just what I told you above about aerobic, anaerobic, glycogen stores, fat burning zone, anaerobic threshold, etc. After reviewing my workout routine with him, he told me I was doing it all wrong. Everything was wrong for me. That's why I wasn't getting any results. That's why the nutritionist had no advice for me. I ate like a nutritionists dream and was working out like a freakin' athlete but getting no results what so ever.

They (the trainers that did my metabolic test) put together an exercise schedule for me to get me on the right track and teach my body to do what I was trying to teach it. BURN FAT and lots of it. What they told me to do is exactly what I have been doing and guess what...results. Amazing! You mean science has something to do with losing weight? Noooo? Really? YUP! It's not just gimmicky bullshit? Nope. Learning to work with the science of my body has so far proved to be invaluable to finally getting results.

So now, instead of doing 20 minutes of high intensity intervals 6 days per week for cardio, I do 45-60 minutes of cardio 5-6 days per week. Sometimes I'll go with intervals where I manage my heart rate to peak at around 166 and valley at 125 which deliveres an average of 145HR. For me, that's right about the anaerobic threashold. I try to keep the HR between 140 and 145 for my cardio workouts so I'm telling my body to burn that fat the entire time.

Weight lifting is another story and a longer one at that. I'll takle it another time perhaps. But to sum it up very quickly, I also applied the same principles to weight training. Longer duration, lower intensity = higher reps and sets, lower weight.

Oh and the food? I don't give myself a day to be gluttonous. That kind of crap is what creates binge eaters. Life is life every day of the week. I don't get a day off of life, I don't get a day off of making healthy choices for myself because that IS LIFE.