Anaerobic Work
I aim to explain how athletes can improve their anaerobic capacity without falling into the most common “traps”.
Before explaining the methods of developing this energy system, let’s briefly introduce the continuum of energy systems. Our energy systems are anaerobic, alactic, lactic, and aerobic.
The anaerobic alactic system supplies energy for a very short duration (around 10 seconds).
The anaerobic lactic system extends this energy supply for slightly longer (up to 40 seconds).
The aerobic system requires 60 to 80 seconds to engage in energy production fully.
Significantly, these energy systems overlap in usage; one system doesn’t start immediately after the other finishes.
There is a need for clarification in implementing a model to develop the anaerobic energy system because of the readily apparent trends observed & seen on social media and within gyms or training facilities. Athletes (or participants) often aim to enhance explosiveness or improve power output by engaging in anaerobic energy system training, yet they tend to overlook crucial, simple details.
To keep it short and effective, I will explore two concepts for anaerobic training development. The first is the foundational requirement to initiate this type of work: strength. If athletes or participants lack the necessary strength to execute power, engaging in this kind of work is not suitable, as they won’t achieve the required stimulus to benefit from the proper stress vs. adaptation dynamics.
The second one, assuming that athletes possess the required strength for this type of work, involves considering necessary rest periods for recovery following these demanding training intervals. It’s essential to remember that this kind of work is unsustainable, and the ability to repeat the work is crucial for determining whether the individual is operating within a training zone instead of a survival zone. The latter would be counterproductive for an athlete’s growth and could potentially lead to more harm than benefit. To provide a simple idea, for all-out efforts lasting around 10 to 12 seconds, recovery needed to repeat those efforts could be up to 12 to 15 times the amount of work. This means that if an individual sprints for 10 seconds, they might require up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds of recovery before they can repeat another sprint.
Two straightforward conclusions can be taken from these two ideas. The first one is that if individuals claim they can perform without the need for rest between intervals and go all out before the prescribed rest time, they likely aren’t indeed exerting their total effort, or they lack the necessary strength for this type of work. The second conclusion is that individuals sometimes are doing sprint after sprint without allowing proper recovery times, believing they are reaping the benefits of anaerobic training or adaptations. However, they are more likely in a survival state, which does not lead to improvement of anaerobic capacity.
Do you use anaerobic work in your training plan? And if you do, are you confident you are executing it efficiently?
Eddie
References:
Opex CCP manual
Periodisation training for sports (Tudor O. Bompa and Michael C. Carrera)
Periodisation (Tudor O. Bompa)
High-performance training for sports (David Joyce and Daniel Lewindon)
