Introduction to Exercise 101

This article will be your basic introduction to Exercise, much like the intro to nutrition, I will be focusing on the basic principals of exercise, types and some physiological effects. I would like to state here again,  I will aim to do this in the most basic way possible, nice and easy to understand, I will also endeavor to keep as much technical/science talk out of these articles, and keep them short and to the point. However sometimes the complicated stuff needs to be included.

Firstly it’s worth mentioning there are three(3) types of work the human body is capable of,  transport, chemical and mechanical. Of these we will be focusing almost exclusively on mechanical, which is the work of muscle contractions. For the rest of the article we will refer to mechanical work as exercise. Exercise is activity requiring physical effort, carried out usually to sustain or improve health and fitness. Exercise can be broken up into two(2) main categories depending on which energy system is being used to perform the exercise, and can be further broken into subcategories further explaining the energy systems.   These categories are:

Anaerobic

Anaerobic exercise  is your bodies ability to perform exercise without utilizing oxygen. It does so by using stored fuel within the body to perform mechanical work or exercise.  Exercise of this variety is usually high intensity and can only  be performed for shorter periods of time, think fast explosive exercises.

 Below is the further defined sub-categories energy systems used in anaerobic exercise

ATP-CP 

Before I explain this system I must explain the importance of ATP. ATP is the molecule responsible for all biological work, it is the essence of life. It is literally why you are alive.

The ATP-CP system is the first energy system called to action when any movement is performed, therefore it must be ready to act immediately. It does so by being stored within muscle cells, however only in small quantities. As it is in small quantities it runs out very quickly and as we know we need it for ALL biological work, meaning we better find a way to get some more, and fast. This is achieved with the help of creatine phosphate, which is also stored in small quantities in muscle cells and donates energy to used ATP to make it whole again and available for re-use. As both substances are stored in small amounts  this energy system can only be used for very short periods of time(10sec), usually for intense explosive exercises. Remember all this is done without oxygen.

Anaerobic glycolisis 

This system is the next system in line for use when we eventually run out of creatine phosphate stores, like all energy systems it’s purpose is to provide more ATP for the body to use. It does so by partially breaking down glucose, in doing so not only does it produce more ATP, but produces a bi product called pyruvate which without the presence of oxygen(anaerobic), ferments to produce lactate or lactic acid. This is all happening very shortly after exercise begins(post 10sec) and can last for 2-4mins before lactic acid becomes problematic to continuing exercise as it causes a lowering of pH and pain. In order to continue exercise we must incorporate oxygen.

Aerobic

 Below is the further defined sub-categories energy systems used in aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise or more commonly known as “cardio” is exercise which utilizes oxygen to produce fuel for skeletal muscle to perform mechanical work or exercise. Exercise of this variety is usually low intensity and can be performed for extended periods of time, think endurance exercises.

Aerobic glycolosis 

As mentioned above for exercise to continue beyond the anaerobic glycolosis stage it must incorporate the use of oxygen, therefore becoming aerobic gylcolosis. With enough oxygen present pyruvate will not ferment into lactate but instead is transported to the mitochondria, here it will be converted to Acetyl-CoA where it enters the citric acid cycle producing more ATP…what an epic journey however it continues, from here the the remains are passed down the electron transport chain used to re-energize spent ATP to make it whole again and available for re-use. This is the full breakdown of glucose. This system can be used almost indefinitely provided enough oxygen is present therefore stopping the conversion of pyruvate to lactate.

Now here is where I will mention you will never rely exclusively on one system, they all work in unison and overlap to ensure your body is always provided with sufficient ATP. So basically your body is breaking down the chemical bonds stored in food and converting it into it’s own preferred energy source as ATP. It can do this with or without oxygen as demonstrated above and does it for the entirety of your life. Which gets you thinking….the human body is pretty amazing hey? and all thanks to ATP.

 Here is where I would also like to apologize for the technical/science talk, but I promise you the above is no where near an in depth evaluation of the systems but instead an extremely basic one. Now with that out of the way we can explore the most effective ways on working these systems for fitness or athletic performance, as well as which systems are best suited for which macro-nutrients use and how you can use this information to become a healthier happier version of yourself.  Be sure to read the rest of the articles I have posted as they tend to all intertwine and to fully understand one you must read the others.