Friday, 25 May 2012

Bungee harness training - tips and exercises

Going to the local park for a training session? We could load up the van with a huge amount of equipment that costs a fortune and weighs a tonne! Or for a total body conditioning and a CV workout we could use a piece of equipment that’s relatively cheap, simple to use, easy to transport and that will add a different dimension to our training, the Bungee harness. 

You may have seen this piece of equipment being used for resisted sprint training, however it’s far more versatile than you may first think. As human beings functioning in everyday life, the vast majority of what we do is accelerating and decelerating in multiple planes of motion, be it taking the shopping out of the car (accelerating) and putting it on the floor (decelerating), or running up the stairs (accelerating) and stopping at the top (decelerating) the examples are endless.

The Bungee Harness comes with multiple bungees to vary the resistance used and it must be anchored to a fixed point at one end.  The Bungee Harness is a great way to train acceleration and deceleration and also load muscles in a different way than what they may be used to. This month we have a total body, multi planar workout that is both fun and effective, it’s a completely different challenge for your body, you’ll never look at an elastic band in the same way!

The Workout:

















1. Bungee harness sprints
Start in the sprint ready position with a little tension on the bands, drive through the legs and accelerate as fast as possible to a set point, control the movement back to the start position and repeat.

2. Resisted frontal plane bear walks
Set the belt so the anchor point is on your side, flex at the hips and place your hands on the floor, move sideways to a set point, control the movement back to the start position and repeat.

3. Squirrel jumps
Crouch down into the Gecko position with a little tension on the bands, drive through the legs and arms explosively moving forwards, crawl backwards to the start position and repeat.

4. Horizontal squat jumps
Start in the athletic ready position with a little tension on the bands, drop into a partial squat and explosively jump forward as far as possible, walk backwards to the start position and repeat.

5. Pull with rotation
Start facing the band with the handle in the right hand, have the left foot forward and the right hand forward, pull the handle away from the fixing point rotating at the same time, shift the weight from the left leg to the right leg, return to the start position and repeat, once a set is completed repeat on the opposite side.

6. Push with rotation
Start facing away from the band with the handle in the right hand, have the left foot forward and the right hand back, push the handle away from the fixing point rotating at the same time, shift the weight from the right leg to the left leg, return to the start position and repeat, once a set is completed repeat on the opposite side.



Beginner:

  • Bungee harness sprints x5 (with 2 bands attached)
  • Frontal plane bear walks x4 each side (with 2 bands attached)
  • Squirrel jumps 2 sets 8 reps (with 1 band attached)
  • Horizontal squat jumps 2 sets 8 reps (with 1 band attached)
  • Pull with rotation 2 sets 12 reps each side (with 1 band attached)
  • Push with rotation 2 sets 12 reps each side (with 1 band attached)

Intermediate:

  • Bungee harness sprints x7 (with 3 bands attached)
  • Frontal plane bear walks x5 each side (with 3 bands attached)
  • Squirrel jumps 3 sets 8 reps (with 3 bands attached)
  • Horizontal squat jumps 3 sets 8 reps (with 3 bands attached)
  • Pull with rotation 3 sets 12 reps each side (with 3 bands attached)
  • Push with rotation 3 sets 12 reps each side (with 3 bands attached)

Advanced:

  • Bungee harness sprints x10 (with 4 bands attached)
  • Frontal plane bear walks x5 each side (with 4 bands attached)
  • Squirrel jumps 4 sets 8 reps (with 4 bands attached)
  • Horizontal squat jumps 4 sets 8 reps (with 4 bands attached)
  • Pull with rotation 4 sets 12 reps each side (with 4 bands attached)
  • Push with rotation 4 sets 12 reps each side (with 4 bands attached)



Ben McDonald
Health, Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Workouts and Exercises Using Bulgarian Bags

Bag training seems to be really coming into its own at the moment, Hydrobags, Sandbags, Powerbags, you name it there appears to be a new fitness fashion bag every season. With the success of bootcamps and outdoor training lots of people are turning to these durable and versatile pieces of equipment to provide fun and effective workouts. a new force is rising in the bag training arena, Bulgarian Bags!

Even the name sounds hardcore! The Bulgarian Bag is a large C shaped bag with more grips and handles on than you can shake a stick at. The shape of the bag makes it extremely versatile whilst the main wedge-shaped handles make for a great grip strength challenge. The bag is available in leather as well as other materials and is stuffed with padding which gives it its weight and also the durability to be thrown.

Rotations, swings, swipes, lunges, jump squats and many, many more movements are all possible with Bulgarian Bags. It’s a superb piece of kit that definitely gets my seal of approval! Bulgarian bags come traditionally in four weights: 8, 12,17 and 22kg.

Round the World
  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
  • Hold the bag by the wedge handles
  • Start the movement by taking your right hand over your left shoulder
  • Follow the movement with the left hand (the bag passes behind your head)
  • Rotate the bag and allow it to come forward to the start position
  • Build momentum and repeat fluidly

Clean to Neck Catch

  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
  • Hold the bag by the wedge handles
  • Dynamically extend at the hips, knee and ankles to drive the bag off the floor
  • Use your arms to guide the bag overhead
  • Rotate the bag and drop under it to catch it on the back of your neck
  • Shrug the bag off your shoulders and return to start position

Side Swing to Back
  • Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
  • Hold the bag by the wedge handles
  • Shift your body weight onto your left leg
  • Take your right hand up to your left shoulder
  • Allow the bag to land on your back
  • Shrug the bag off your back and swing it to the opposite side, repeating the movement to the opposite direction

Frontal Lunge and Press

  • Stand with feet hip-width apart and toes pointing forwards
  • Position the bag around the your neck with your hands just in front of your shoulders
  • Lunge out to one side
  • Press the bag overhead
  • Lower the bag under control and return to the start position
  • Lunge to the other side and press as before

Weighted Burpee
  • Stand with feet hip-width apart and toes pointing forwards
  • Position the bag around your neck
  • Flex at your hips and knees to squat down into a frog jump position
  • Place your hands on the floor
  • Extend into a press up position
  • Dynamically bring your knees back into the frog jump position
  • Jump vertically and hold the bag by the wedge handles
  • Land and repeat

Swipe

  • Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart
  • Hold the bag by the wedge handles
  • Allow the bag to swing between your legs towards your buttocks
  • Dynamically swing the bag upwards 
  • As your hands reach head-height flex at the elbows to allow the bag to fall behind your head
  • Finally whip the bag back overhead extending at the elbow


Ben McDonald
Health, Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer

Friday, 4 May 2012

A Functional Butt, And Its Relationship to the Low Back



Let’s first take a look at the butt (not a bad area to look at!). Ever wondered why its stature is so awesome, big, yet powerful? Everything we do in our functional environment, our everyday lives or our chosen sporting pursuits is done in upright function.

This means a whole body, chain reaction system (our bodies) that collectively (all 400 muscles / 70 joints / 1M nerves) comes together to enhance control and drive our activities. Which means everything goes through the hips, and therefore the butt, the Gluteus Maximus (Maximus – derivative of big, strong, powerful) has underneath it 17 other muscles that directly attach it via fascia (envelope of interconnecting tissue surrounding muscles) to control, decelerate and accelerate all body movement.

The hips' 28 muscles then, can be viewed upon as ‘crossroads’ of our body, where everything goes to, and comes from in the world of movement and production and, transmission of forces. All muscles, all joints, all fascia, and all nerves that stimulate these structures have 2 things in common:-

  • They are situated to and need stimulation in 3-Dimensional movement.
  • And this 3-Dimensional movement works best subconsciously and when interrated with all other body parts.


Let’s explore the above concepts to fully appreciate how first to train a great looking, powerful butt, and how at risk joints predisposed to potential injury, such as knee and low back (lumbar spine).

1. Concept and Rationale for 3D Exercise

Any functional activity / or training such as running or golf, requires the body to be as effective as can be to complete the task chosen by an individual. When we run, the forces that make up our external environment, those being gravity above us, and ground reaction forces as our foot enters the ground in foot strike, cause our bodies to ‘squish’ into the ground as our body absorbs those forces having just met each other, amplified by the mass of our bodies moving with great degree of momentum.

The ‘squish’ effect is a great thing because our bodies receive free energy to store into our muscles / tendons so that it can be converted to produce the necessary force to fuel our running. As the foot enters the ground the foot ‘unlocks’ and movement produced in 3 planes, being sagittal, frontal and transverse plane. This foot motion is the switch to turn on the same 3D movements to light up all the joint and muscles about to turn on a contribute the system.

The necessary foot motion, in all 3 planes, stimulates the Hips to react in all 3 planes, as the foot lands the hips undergo a Triplane loading whereby flexion (in sagittal plane) adduction  (frontal plane) and internal rotation (transverse plane) occurs.

This Triplane motion is just what the butt craves to turn on this big, powerful muscle. It gets wound up, lengthened, can produce quick, powerful, concentric  motion needed to help with strength required for any task / function. So the butt is the power source for running that takes the brunt of all the forces of ground contact for a runner to run pain free, effectively and efficiently day in day out, week in week out.

What if that butt didn’t receive the motion from the foot, or from the hip needed. You know what it’s like when you feel ‘stiff’ or ‘tight’ - the body frequently encounters physical blocks such as tight muscles, restrictive joint capsules, over indulgence or repetitive movements that ‘lock’ the body down in that motion, and when needed and called upon for another task such as reaching for something on a shelf behind you – the foot, the hips ‘lock’.

Those physical blocks are the reason, and most common cause of low back pain. Mobility and stability in equal measure is critical for the low back to transmit forces through it and not get beaten up.

Let’s take this reaching task – Try it. Stand up and take your right hand out in front of you at chest height. Now the goal is to reach directly behind you whilst still have your body facing forward. So as the hand rotates back the shoulders rotate to the right as well, the spine rotates to the right two albeit slightly slower than the shoulders. The hips also rotate right but again slower that the hips.

This sequence follows all the way to the feet where weight will sit on the outside of right foot, and will sit on the outside left foot when right foot, and inside of left foot when right arm reaches its 180  degree target.
This is a natural chain reaction sequence that takes place and differs slightly depending on the task, imagine the above scenario if the hips were immobile or ‘locked’ into tightness.

The body still has to complete the reach, the body needs success so it will complete task with compensation. Guess where the compensation will be? The Hips? – yes. The failure of hips to rotate, requires lumborspine to rotate, a movement which is very restricted in anyway but is a workhorse  joint that picks up the ‘slack’ via deficiency of the hips, so lumbar spine rotates more than it should – and bang – it goes!

Bad back the physio / doctor will say but truth is it’s just a symptom of the real cause- ineffectively trained hips.

Second example was golf, standing motion – have to Tee-Off and drive ball 300yds down the fairway a lot of power needed from hips, they get Triplane loaded (both hips) in both back swing and follow through because it stimulates the big butt to turn on and power the club and success for our golfing pursuits.
What if hips dysfunction, less distance, bad back and end of golf. The Vipr is perfect to train as above with its gravity / ground reaction, 3D, integrated ethos it suits everybody – no matter what the goal.



Let’s look at some exercises to train the foot, the butt (hips) and the lumbar spine.


1. Step Over Squat
With a Vipr in a front carry position resting across the shoulders, keep elbows up and out to lift the chest and extend the spine. With left foot fixed on floor take the right foot and step across and in front of the left foot. (making a T shape with both feet). Now use the right foot to step out and rotate right whilst simultaneously performing a squat. Repeat for 12 reps then repeat on the opposite side of the body.

The above exercise takes a squat whereby increasing leg and butt strength but adding the rotation of the foot in and out facilitates rotation of the hips and proper loading (pronating) and unloading (supernating) of the feet. This elicits a chain reaction that enables the whole body to move through the transverse plane and decrease rotational forces (torque) at the lumbar spine.

2. 
Ice-Skaters
Start with feet shoulder width apart, holding the Vipr with the neutral grip handles – hop onto the left leg and shift the right hand side of the Vipr down toward left knee. The right leg drifts behind the working left foot to counter balance the body weight and load the left side of the hip. The hop to the right leg and shipt the left hand side of the Vipr down towards the right knee, allowing the left foot to drift behind the right foot. Hop side to side in a quick rhymical manner.  Perform up to 45 seconds.

The above exercise is a power exercise and improves strength in a single leg stance whilst training and conditioning the gluteal muscles and those of the low back  from above (using the hands gravity and the vipr) and below (using the hopping action and the ground reaction forces feeding into the body.

3. Cross Body Lateral Tilt
Start with Vipr upstanding length ways on the floor. Take a three step shuffle to the right, upon landing stablise on the right leg (allowing left leg to drift behind right leg again) . As the body shuffles to the right the left hand is on the inside the tube of the Vipr and is shifting across to the outside of the right knee.

Next take a three step shuffle to the right and land on right leg single leg balance stance.  This time the right hand is inside tube of the Vipr and is reaching outside the left knee. Perform in a quick ryhmaticle manner for up to 45 seconds.

The above exercise takes the Ice Skater foot pattern from exercise two but this time the opposite hand reaching way outside the knee influences greater the demand on the gluteal muscles and added rotational component involving the Thoracic Spine.

4. 
 Reverse Lunge with Rotational Shift
Starting on a low step with Vipr in a neutral handle grip, lunge backwards on the right leg whilst simultaneously shifting the Vipr to the left hand side of the body with the right hand on top . The Vipr should be perpendicular to the floor.  Perform 12 reps and repeat on opposite side of the body.

The above exercise is used with a step to add greater height to the lunge to increase the gravitational and ground reaction forces when the foot lands to further enhance the resistance felt by the gluteal muscles. The rotational shift done as above influences the spine in all three planes of motion to replicate the function of walking and running.

5. 
Reverse Lunge with Frontal Plane Uppercut
Starting on a low step with Vipr held in a neutral grip take a right leg lunge backwards whilst driving the Vipr up and across to the left side of the chest in an uppercut fashion. Keeps eyes looking forward and return to starting position. Repeat for 12 reps and replicate on the opposite side of the body.

The above exercise takes advantage of the step and the lunge, however the uppercut with the Vipr influences the spine to rotate and side bend in opposite directions to replicate the function of Golf and some racket sports.



TO SUMMARISE……
  • Select exercises that take advantage of intergrating the bodies many structures and train them together as a whole system for performance enhancement, prevention of injury and to increase calorie burn.
  • Select exercises that are performed in an upright position, taking advantage of gravity ground reaction forces and our bodies mass (inclusive of the resistance of the Vipr) and when we move in this manner it further loads and stimulates the body to become stronger and more functional.
  • If possible train with shoes that allow minimal cushioning to allow for the foot to spread and mould to the surface so the bones of the foot can move and unlock and stimulate the rest of the body to experience motion.

Paul Edmondson
Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer and Trainer

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Powerclub training for bingo wings



Ladies, bingo wings are a huge problem - whether its waving goodbye to friends and family or just giving the occasional high five, that wave like wobble on the back of your arms can be extremely upsetting! However I have the solution, if you want to banish bingo wings forever and have triceps that could stop a bullet these powerclub movements will get you to your desired goal in no time.

Powerclubs are essentially weighted bats that we can swing in circular, dynamic motions that challenge our body differently than any other free weight. The below movements have our triceps working to decelerate and accelerate the clubs and so we get a double whammy out of each exercise.

Frontal swipe - how to perform:

  • Start with your elbow pointing upwards with the barrel of the club behind your body pointing down to the ground
  • Powerfully extend at the elbow and adduct at the shoulder to bring the club out and down
  • Let the club come across your body whilst flexing slightly at the hip
  • Perform a side hip ‘snap’ to drive the club back to the start position

Transverse swipe - how to perform:

  • Start with feet hip-width apart with the club over one shoulder
  • Quickly extend at the elbow and shoulder, driving the club over the shoulder and diagonally downwards towards the outside of the opposite leg
  • Rotate the torso and extend the elbows to complete the movement and aid deceleration of the club
  • Perform a hip snap to drive the club back to the start position

Mill - how to perform:

  • Start in the order position with your feet a comfortable width apart
  • Allow the barrel of the club to fall towards the mid-line of your body to begin a downward swing across your body to the outside of the opposite leg
  • Grip the club firmly and drive from the opposite hip pulling the shoulder and club upwards into abduction whilst keeping the elbow extended
  • Swing the club like a pendulum until the arm and club are just above shoulder-height
  • Drop the same side hip and shoulder whilst turning away from the club
  • Slightly allow the club to fall behind the shoulder into the top point of an ‘arm cast’
  • Drive the arm forward over the shoulder back towards a typical order position, but immediately cycle it into another inside pendulum
  • Repeat and develop a rhythmic motion

Swipe - how to perform:

  • Start with feet hip-width apart with the powerclubs at arms’ length
  • Start the swing by drawing the powerclubs backwards and outside your legs
  • Drive the hips back and into flexion, allowing the clubs to swing back and form a straight line with your arms
  • Drive through your heels and quickly snap your hips into extension, arcing the club forwards and upwards over your shoulder
  • Flex the arm keeping your elbow high, whilst controlling the clubs until they are vertically behind your body with the barrel pointing down to the ground
  • Pull the club forwards over your shoulder extending the elbow as it descends in preparation to begin the backswing again
  • Maintain a neutral spine and keep your shoulders set firmly as the clubs swing upwards
  • Repeat the exercise and develop a rhythmical pattern 

Rotating swipe - how to perform:

  • Start in the order position with your feet a comfortable width apart
  • Allow the barrel of the clubs to fall towards the midline of the body, beginning a downward swing across the body to the outside of your legs
  • Gripping the clubs firmly, drive from the opposite hip, pulling the shoulders and clubs upwards  while keeping the elbows extended
  • Rotate into the clubs and allow them to drop over your shoulder
  • Quickly extend at the elbows and shoulders driving the club back towards the outside legs and repeat

Up and down swipe - how to perform:

  • As above but rotate both ways into the clubs

Ben McDonald
Health, Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer

Friday, 20 April 2012

How a cold bath after a run can help the body recover

Q:- I’ve heard that taking a cold bath after a run can speed up my recovery and reduce muscle soreness – is this true and why?!

A:- Immersing yourself in a cold bath after a run would fall into the realms of cryotherapy and is a very valuable way of helping the body to recover faster from injuries and more specifically in this case - training adaptations.  During your adaptation phase after a workout you will often experience soreness, as the body attempts to rebuild itself to be better equipped at dealing with the stresses that are being placed upon it.

Cold temperatures cause the vessels in the body to constrict and aids in limiting any excessive inflammatory responses and tissue breakdown, as well as slowing down metabolic activity and also providing an immediate analgesic effect.

This combined effect of cold treatment allows the body to shorten the timeframe of its healing process and thus also speed up the recovery/adaptation time.

Also, once the icing/cold therapy is finished (10-20 minutes is said to be a good time frame – although have considerably less if applying to small areas of the body) the body will begin to re-heat itself back up.  As the body temperature increases the vessels will dilate, blood flow will increase and an influx of chemicals will be delivered to help nourish the effected tissues and again, speed up recovery rate.

Cold water bathing is a good medium for cryotherapy as it provides a good coverage to the desired areas of the body you want to apply the cold treatment to, and also there is not too high a risk of suffering potential harms like ice burns.

Steve Harrison
National Lead Tutor

Friday, 13 April 2012

Fitness training and its effects on our cardio-respiratory system



Last time out we discussed the importance of energy production, more specifically how it’s possible to replenish our universal energy currency ATP. We reviewed just why it wasn’t possible to ‘sprint forever’ looking closely at what happens within our muscles cells during exercise.

After a gruelling session in the gym, it’s time for recovery; this involves topping up those glycogen stores, replenishing the storage banks of oxygen within the muscle itself and disposing of ‘metabolic waste’. Just as a canal provides the means to ship in and out materials to a construction site, so does our very own cardio-respiratory system.

The respiratory system is one of the interfaces between the outside world and our inside physiology. The lungs are where fresh oxygen comes in and the waste produced internally by all of our cells, carbon dioxide is expelled. Amazingly, our lungs contain over 2,400 km of airway and their surface area equates to that the size of a tennis court. The exchange or ‘diffusion’ of oxygen and carbon dioxide actually takes place in the 300 million or so alveolar air sacs, at the very end of our respiratory passages.

Once within the alveoli, the 21% of oxygen contained within the air we have inhaled takes a ride on the ‘protein taxis’ within our blood cells named haemoglobin;  these provide blood with its rich red colour. However, diffusion or oxygen transfer into the blood isn’t 100% efficient, we still breathe out air that contains 16% oxygen, hence our ability to provide the ‘kiss of life’ in a first aid CPR emergency.

Once in the blood stream, oxygen rich blood is moved to the heart to be pumped out across the body. Interestingly, the adult heart beats over 100,000 times and pumps around 8,000 litres of blood in a 24-hour period; unlike most muscles in the body that you train, it never rests! When parked in front of the TV, the total blood flow in an adult is approximately  5 litres per minute and is referred to as our Cardiac Output. When we exercise, the working tissues of the body may require up to 20-30 times more blood flow!

Unfortunately, Cardiac Output can only increase 4-7 fold, meaning there are some decisions to be made as to which parts of the body are worthy of more blood! The brain keeps its share of blood flow (750 ml/min at rest and during exercise); makes sense, we don’t want to go running straight into a brick wall! Skeletal muscle blood flow rockets from 1,200 ml/min to 12,500 ml/min. For all of that heat, generated by our working muscles to be removed, blood flow to the skin increases from 500 ml/min to 1,900 ml/min; hence the flushed face after some tough circuits or cardio. It’s our organs that take the hit, so to speak, in particular our kidneys, where blood flow is shut down.

The importance of this blood shunting of course is to provide oxygen, energy substrates such as fatty acids and glucose, and hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol to the active tissues so that ATP can continue to be made and potentially fatiguing waste products such as acid forming hydrogen ions can be removed. Increased acidity within the working muscles puts the breaks on their ability to function optimally.

Training, in particular aerobic endurance work can have profound effects upon our cardio-respiratory system. A short-term 3-6 month training plan can result in an increased heart volume, a jump from approx 750 ml to 850 ml in us mere mortals, and upto 1250 ml in elite athletes! Our blood volume also increases to enhance our oxygen carry capacity as does the capability for the working muscles to extract the oxygen from our blood.

These physiological changes are comparable in both men and women, however the overall aerobic power of women range from 73-85% of the values of men, likely due to ladies higher percentage of body fat, lower haemoglobin  and men’s larger hearts and blood volume.

With all that said and done, what we learn is just how plastic (adaptable) our internal physiology is. Previously, we reviewed how energy formation keeps us going during exercise at varying intensities, but none of that can happen until the goods arrive ala our very own canal delivery system.

Richard Scrivener
Health, Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Why you can’t sprint forever!

Jump (not literally) onto a Concept II Rower sometime and set the screen on the power output trace display. “3, 2, 1 Go!” Hammer it (again, not literally) as hard as you possibly can for 10 mins straight and watch (if you are still able to see properly) how your power output progresses. No doubt you set off strong, but what happened after 15 secs or so and then over the next 2 mins and then the next 8?

Now most folk who have undertaken some sort of human physiology or biochemistry study in relation to exercise and sport will be familiar with the concept of ATP. Short for Adenosine Tri-Phosphate, ATP is often referred to as the ‘universal energy currency’ of the body. What this actually means is that every single one of your 75 trillion cells (give or take a few million) will use ATP to provide the energy required for all metabolic reactions (the processes that keep you and I alive and allow us to exercise).

Now, when you were tearing it up (once again, not in a literal sense) and giving it everything you could on that horrible-pain inducing, cramp provoking, nausea prompting Concept II, you’d think that the drop off in power output might be due to your ATP stores sinking faster than your worst enemy strapped to two 32Kg Kettlebells.

However, what the research tells us is that cellular APT never really drops below 60-70% of a full-tank; how come? Well fortunately, us human beings have developed ‘energy systems’ that replenish this all-important molecule.

When working flat out at maximal intensity, we call upon our ‘fast-twitch’ muscles fibres, those which, well, twitch fast. Ideal for sports and activities which require feats of strength and power, such as sprinting, fast twitch muscle fibres use up large amounts of a short acting chemical called creatine phosphate (CP). This is used to re-build ATP that has been assisting in the energy production necessary for powering those large muscles needed for sprinting (or rowing!).

Interestingly CP levels are wiped out to around 10% of starting levels after just 30 sec high intensity activity - does this help explain why your power output took such a big dip so early on? If you wanted to see that impressive peak in your power curve again you’d need to rest for around 8 mins as this is how long it takes your cells to replenish all the ATP and CP levels you’d need to smash it one more time (please, put the mallet down, you're taking me too seriously!). If you ever watch a 100m sprinter train, you’ll often see them go like the clappers and then take more of leisurely stroll back to the start line than your Gran would going to get a sausage roll and cheese on a stick at a relative’s wedding. Why? They need the full recovery to maintain a peak power output on their next sprint.

So what happened next on the rower as your measly attempt to keep that trace from falling failed despite your fully motivated snarling? Let me guess. Your lungs started burning? Your legs begun to feel heavy? You started spitting, shouting and sweating all over the gaff (I’m sure the gym instructor will thank you later for that one)?

Now to be fair to you, I'd imagine your pace on the Concept II was still pretty handy at this point. Indeed your muscle cells still have the means to replenish the ATP you are using at a decent rate. Many folk will assume that you can’t make energy (ATP) without opening your cake-hole and sucking in some of the good stuff - oxygen! But you can.

When flying out the blocks at 100 mph (please, don’t, you’ll only hurt yourself) do you think that the all-important O2 molecule will make it to that muscle fibre in your right lower leg in time waiting ready to step in and save the day, and replenish an ATP that’s just been torn to shreds as you drive forcefully through the legs during a stroke 45 secs in to this little experiment? Probably not.

Energy produced in the presence of oxygen is termed ‘aerobic energy production’. When oxygen levels are less than desirable because those fast-twitch muscle fibres are destroying all before them, we term this ‘anaerobic energy production’. Rather than using any chemical resources (like CP), the ATP producing apparatus start tucking into any stored carbohydrate you have in the same cells. This carbohydrate is broken down in a series of stages and voila, ATP is replenished along the way.

The caveat? 1) This is a slower process than using CP; 2) As the stored carbohydrate source is stripped apart a build-up of an intermediate molecule accumulates; this is converted to lactic acid and carbon dioxide. At this point you need to start breathing out that CO2 rather rapidly before its crippling effects start shutting down the effectiveness of your muscles contractions (the body doesn’t like an acidic build inside the cells, which is what begins to happen). Explains the burning lungs, heavy legs and impromptu swearing at 1000m right?!

5 mins in to this enlightening experience, you’ll have noticed that your power output has begun to plateau despite your best intentions. As your work intensity decreases you offer more time for oxygen to get into the body and circulate to the exhausted muscles. As stored carbs gradually deplete, the muscle fibres search out additional circulating fats and proteins. These ATP building substrates will gradually be released into the blood as time progresses, but oxygen is required for this to happen efficiently (remember, this is now termed aerobic energy production).

This ‘oxidative’ approach to refuelling is very efficient and doesn’t really produce any fatiguing waste products. The only problem is that it needs time. But by this point you already knew that right; that power curve didn’t stay up there for long did it?!

Richard Scrivener
Health, Fitness and Nutrition Lecturer