MANISH SINGH

HPA (Physiology)

ENERGY SYSTEMS
CONVERTING FOOD TO FUEL
• Metabolism is a means of convertingg food to
fuel.
• Havingg a basic understandingg of these systems
y
can help athletes train and eat efficiently for
improved sports performance.
• Sports nutrition is built upon an understanding
of how nutrients such as carbohydrate, fat, and
protein contribute to the fuel supply needed by
the body to perform exercise.
CONVERTING FOOD TO FUEL

´ These nutrients get converted to energy in the

form of adenosine triphosphate or ATP.
´ It is from the energy released by the breakdown
of ATP that allows muscle cells to contract.
´ However,
H eachh nutrient
t i t has
h unique
i properties
ti
that determine how it gets converted to ATP.
MACRONUTRIENTS

´ Carbohydrate is the main nutrient that fuels

exercise of a moderate to high intensity.
´ Fat can fuel low intensity exercise for long
periods of time.
´ Proteins
P t i are generally
g ll used
d tto maintain
i t i and d
repair body tissues, and are not normally used
t power muscle
to l activity.
ti it
ENERGY PATHWAYS

´ Because the body can not easily store ATP (and

what is stored gets used up within a few
seconds), it is necessary to continually create
ATP during exercise.
´ In general,
general the two major ways the body
converts nutrients to energy are:
´ Aerobic
A bi metabolism
t b li ((with
ith oxygen)
g )
´ Anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen)
ENERGY SYSTEMS

´ Anaerobic and Aerobic energy systems are not

independent of one another.
´ These two pathways can be further divided.
divided
´ Most often it's a combination of energy systems
th t supply
that l the
th fuel
f l needed
d d for
f exercise,
i withith
the intensity and duration of the exercise
d t
determining
i i g which
hi h method
th d ggets
t usedd when.
h
ATP-CP
ATP CP ANAEROBIC ENERGY PATHWAY
• The ATP-CP energy pathway (sometimes called the
phosphate
h h system)) supplies
li about
b 10 seconds
d worthh off
energy and is used for short bursts of exercise such as a
100 meter sprint.
• This pathway doesn't require any oxygen to create ATP. It
first uses up any ATP stored in the muscle (about 2-3
seconds worth)) and then it uses creatine pphosphate
p ((CP))
to resynthesize ATP until the CP runs out (another 6-8
seconds).
• After the ATP and CP are used the body will move on to
either aerobic or anaerobic metabolism (glycolysis) to
continue to create ATP to fuel exercise.
MUSCLE STRENGTH

´ To test the ATP CP system we use the 1RM.

ATP-CP
ANAEROBIC METABOLISM - GLYCOLYSIS
• The anaerobic energy pathway, or glycolysis, creates ATP
exclusively from carbohydrates, with lactic acid being a
by-product.
• Anaerobic glycolysis provides energy by the (partial)
breakdown of glucose without the need for oxygen.
• Anaerobic metabolism p produces energy gy for short,, high-
g
intensity bursts of activity lasting no more than several
minutes before the lactic acid build-up reaches a
threshold known as the lactate threshold and muscle
pain, burning and fatigue make it difficult to maintain
such intensity.
MUSCLE ENDURANCE

´ To test this system in class we use muscle

endurance exercises.
´ Pushups,
Pushups Situps,
Situps and Lunges for 2 minutes.
minutes
AEROBIC METABOLISM
• Aerobic metabolism fuels most of the energy
needed for long duration activity. It uses oxygen to
convert nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and protein)
to ATP.
• This system is a bit slower than the anaerobic
systems because it relies on the circulatory system
t transport
to t t oxygen to
t the
th working
ki muscles l before
b f
it creates ATP.
• Aerobic metabolism is used primarily during
endurance exercise, which is generally less intense
and can continue for long periods of time.
CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE

´ To test this system we perform the 12 minute

walk run and record the distance covered in 12
minutes.
AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD
• During exercise an athlete will move through these
metabolic
b li pathways.
h As
A exercise
i begins,
b i ATP iis produced
d d
via anaerobic metabolism. With an increase in breathing
and heart rate, there is more oxygen available and
aerobic metabolism begins and continues until the
lactate threshold is reached.
• If this level is surpassed,
p , the bodyy can not deliver oxygen
yg
quickly enough to generate ATP and anaerobic
metabolism kicks in again. Since this system is short-
lived and lactic acid levels rise,, the intensityy can not be
sustained and the athlete will need to decrease intensity
to remove lactic acid build-up.
FUEL FOR EXERCISE

´ Nutrients get converted to ATP based upon the

intensity and duration of activity, with
carbohydrate as the main nutrient fueling
exercise of a moderate to high intensity, and fat
providing energy during exercise that occurs at
a lower intensity.
FUEL FOR EXERCISE

´ Fat is a great fuel for endurance events, but it

is simply not adequate for high intensity
exercise such as sprints or intervals. If
exercising at a low intensity (or below 50
percent of max heart rate), you have enough
stored fat to fuel activity for hours or even days
as long as there is sufficient oxygen to allow fat
metabolism to occur.
INCREASED INTENSITY, INCREASE
CARBOHYDRATE USAGE
´ As exercise intensity increases, carbohydrate
metabolism takes over. It is more efficient than
fat metabolism, but has limited energy stores.
This stored carbohydrate (glycogen) can fuel
about 2 hours of moderate to high level
exercise. After that, glycogen depletion occurs
(stored carbohydrates are used up) and if that
fuel isn't replaced athletes may hit the wall or
bonk.
"bonk."
CARBOHYDRATE LOADING

´ An athlete can continue moderate to high

intensity exercise for longer simply replenishing
carbohydrate stores during exercise. This is why
it is critical to eat easily digestible
carbohydrates during moderate exercise that
lasts more than a few hours. If you don't take in
enough carbohydrates, you will be forced to
reduce your intensity and tap back into fat
metabolism to fuel activity.
O2 DEFICIT AND CARBOHYDRATE USAGE

´ As exercise intensity increases, carbohydrate

metabolism efficiency drops off dramatically
and anaerobic metabolism takes over. This is
because your body can not take in and
distribute oxygen quickly enough to use either
fat or carbohydrate metabolism easily.
O2 DEFICIT AND CARBOHYDRATE USAGE

´ In fact, carbohydrates can produce nearly 20

times more energy (in the form of ATP) per
gram when metabolized in the presence of
adequate oxygen than when generated in the
oxygen-starved,
oxygen starved, anaerobic environment that
occurs during intense efforts (sprinting).
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

´ With appropriate training these energy systems

adapt and become more efficient and allow
greater exercise duration at higher intensity.
´ Training specific energy systems and/or sport
specific training.
training
INTENSITY TIME AND TYPE
INTENSITY,
Duration of Maximal Exercise % Anaerobic % Aerobic

1-3 sec 100 0

10 sec 90 10

30 sec 80 20

1 min 70 30

2 min 60 40

4 min 35 65

10 min 15 85

30 min 5 95

1 hour 2 98

2 hours 1 99
ENERGY SYSTEMS FOR SELECTED SPORTS
Sport/Activity % ATP-PC % Glycolisis % Aerobic
Baseball 80 15 5
Basketball 80 10 10
Field hockey 60 20 20
Football 90 10 0
Golf (swing) 100 0 0
Gymnastics 90 10 0
Ice hockey 80 20 0
Rowing 20 30 50
Soccer 60 20 20
Diving 98 2 0
Swim (50m) 95 5 0
Swim (100m) 80 20 0
Swim (200m) 30 65 5
Swim (400m) 20 40 40
Swim (1.5km) 10 20 70
Tennis 70 20 10
Field Events 90 10 0
Run 400m 40 55 5
Run 800m 10 60 30
Run 1.5km 5 35 60
Run 5km 2 28 70
Marathon 0 2 98
Volleyball 90 10 0
Wrestling 45 55 0
REFERENCES

´ http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/nutrition/
a/aa080803a.htm