Why Lifters can’t Run (and vice-versa)

Watch the video HERE!

A marathoner, powerlifter, and basketball player all train a lot.

But then why can’t a marathoner do what a powerlifter does, why can’t a powerlifter do what a marathoner does, and why can a basketball player kind of do what a marathoner and powerlifter do, but at nowhere near the same level?

There are so many different kinds of #exercise, #sport and #training available to us. And while they all fall underneath the category of physical activity, there is a great variety between them. Soccer players need to be constantly running on the field, whereas shot-putters need to expend a great amount of #energy in a smaller period of time.

With this knowledge it is possible to classify all sport training and activity on a continuum of intensity and duration. Activities that spend a large amount of #energy in a small period of time can be classified in a small period of time can be referred to as #anaerobic activities. Conversely, activities that require a smaller amount of #energy over a greater period of time may be classified as #aerobic activities.

In order to perform well within your chosen sport or activity, it makes sense to specify your training to which ever system the sport requires more. This is considered sport specific exercise, and essentially what CSCS (certified strength & conditionally specialists) do.

What is the real physiological difference between someone who trains anaerobically, and someone who training aerobically?

It has to do with #Bioenergetics, or the biological systems used in order to supply the body with energy in order to perform whatever tasks the body is subject to.

As a disclaimer, this blog post will not get super in-depth with the biochemistry, namely because I find the details cumbersome and the goal is to give an overall idea of the different pathways available to us.

The single most important molecule for the body for all things energy, is called Adenosine Triphosphate (#ATP). Just about every cellular process requiring energy in our body is dependent on ATP availability.

And because of our dependency on it, our body has developed multiple systems in order to have different method of synthesizing ATP when it’s needed.

The first and most anaerobic system is the #Phosphagen system. It is the fastest but least effective producer of ATP. For that reason, it is the main contributor when the activity you are trying to complete is very short in duration, but very high in intensity. Essentially, any high-intensity activity that is around 10 seconds or less, relies largely on the phosphagen system.

If you have any basic knowledge on sport supplementation, you have likely heard of supplementing with “Creatine Phosphate”. There are many studies to demonstrate the positive benefits of supplementing with this, due to the phosphagen system being directly reliant on the breakdown of creatine phosphate. More readily available creatine phosphate = more capable phosphagen system = higher performance.

In high intensity but short-duration sports like football or powerlifting, being able to maintain 100% effort for an additional second may be the difference between victory and defeat.

The second pathway is #glycolysis, either “Fast” or “slow”.

Fast glycolysis, as the descriptor implies, releases ATP faster than slow glycolysis, but not as fast as the phosphagen system. It kicks in moreso for activities once they extend past 30 seconds in duration.

We’ve all heard of lactic acid buildup being responsible for muscle soreness felt following physical activity. The fast glycolytic pathway results in the formation of lactic acid at the end of it. If you are feeling that burn, it is likely because the fast glycolytic pathway is what your body was relying on (in addition to not yet being accustomed to that level of physical stress).

Slow glycolysis is the first pathway to actually use the #mitochondria within our cells. If you’ve taken a high school biology course, you have likely received the meme-level of trivia knowledge that the mitochondria is the “powerhouse” of the cell. This is partially accurate – slow glycolysis is able to synthesize more energy that either of the previous systems over a larger period of time.

The final pathway is the #Oxidative pathway. It is the most aerobic pathway available to us. This is the pathway that we rely on for prolonged periods of activity (anything greater than 3 minutes in duration) or just being at rest.

If you’ve ever wondered what ultra marathoners and couch potatoes have in common, it’s that they both use this pathway. The oxidative pathway is by far the most efficient method of producing ATP, but is quite slow in doing so.

These 4 energy systems all operate in their continuum. That is to say, they are all always active in some capacity, but the dominance shifts depending on what activity we are currently undergoing. Every sport either focus on one of a combination of these systems. Top-performing athletes within a sport also coincidentally hone the biochemical pathways pertinent to their sport.

This is why strength athletes, on average, suck at cardio and why endurance athletes, again on average, aren’t particularly strong. A strength athlete will have spent time developing their phosphagen system & anaerobic pathways, whereas an endurance athlete would have spent time honing their oxidative system and aerobic pathways. Suddenly introducing these athletes to a sport that relies highly on the opposite pathways without the proper conditioning will result in a sub-par performance.

#chiropractor #chiropractic #health #fitness #improvement #sportperformance #sport #physicalactivity #exercise #training #healthcare #doctor #primalathletics #biology #chemistry #biochemistry #anaerobic #aerobic #phosphagen #glycolysis #oxidative #creatine #supplement