The Return of Aerobic Work

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The Return of Aerobic Work by Anthony Mychal | 04/19/12

Not long ago, I frequently used the word "conditioning." I thought the best way tocondition athletes was through anaerobic workouts that tested the limits of pain and

pushed the boundaries of regurgitation. After all, we're taught that sports are

anaerobic, and that blas aerobic work has no place in a serious program.

Today, the word "conditioning" makes me cringe. As you can imagine, I cringe alot. And, unlike before, vomit-inducing anaerobic work is rarely in the cards for meor my athletes. Thanks to people way smarter than me (Joel Jamieson, JamesSmith, Buddy Morris) I have an appreciation for different types of "conditioning,"much like I have an appreciation for different types of strength.

Conditioning ConundrumI can't define "conditioning" as the very word is akin to the phrase "lifting weights."You can lift weights in many ways and for many reasons. Most of us do it to getstronger. But others do it for more specific reasons, like training for strength-speed,strength-endurance, and starting strength. For those of you that managed to get pastthe first ten pages of Supertraining , you know this list continues seemingly adinfinitum.

So if we lift weights to get stronger, do we perform conditioning to become moreconditioned? The problem is ambiguity. We have different types of "conditioning"

just like we have different types of strength.
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Conditioning, in its true sense, refers to training the body's energy systems. Weeasily distinguish between the anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (withoxygen) systems. We even associate different body types to proficiency in eachsystem. Jacked football players and sprinters are anaerobic beasts. Ganglymarathoners, however, are aerobic creatures.

But neither stereotype is correct because jacked football players frequently rely onthe aerobic system. Yeah, I said it. Football is aerobic. Before I face the stones, letme explain.

Energy Systems

Breaking the energy systems into anaerobic and aerobic isn't enough. Theanaerobic system can be further split into the alactic pathway and the lactic

pathway. Each corresponds with the energy deriving metabolic processes.Alactic Anaerobic (ATP-CP) 1 to 12 seconds ImmediateLactic Anaerobic (Glycolytic) 60 to 90 seconds IntermediateAerobic Hours Long term

Bottom line is, all anaerobic work is not created equally. Football is a primeexample. In an effort to "condition," coaches rely on suicides, Prowler pushes, andTabata intervals until their athletes' legs are loaded with lactate and loopier thanGumby's.

Anaerobic? Absolutely.


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But the right kind of anaerobic? Nope.

Another Dimension

Next, it's important to know that each metabolic pathway has a power component(how fast the system can derive energy) and capacity component (how long thesystem can be sustained).

So someone with great alactic power can produce a few intensive bursts of energyat a high level. This, for example, includes an Olympic weightlifter, powerlifter,100m sprinter, javelin thrower, shot-putter, etc. These athletes give a maximaleffort, blow their load, and take a long time to recover. Just think of hitting a PR inthe gym. It's not easily repeatable.

Someone with great alactic power and capacity, however, can replicate intensiveefforts over time a baseball pitcher, for example. A pitcher with amazing alactic

power will hit triple digits on the radar gun. But if their capacity sucks, their speedwill diminish with each successive throw. So a pitcher with good capacity anddecent power is likely to be a starter. One with a lot of power and shady capacity,however, more likely a closer.

Importance Of Capacity

Many sports require short-term explosiveness alactic anaerobic power. This is

why the NFL Combine gawks at 4.3 speed.


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Over the past few years, aerobic work has been vilified for decreasing absoluteexplosive potential. But most sports require capacity in addition to power. Thereare problems if 4.3 speed turns into 4.7 speed during the second quarter, 5.5 speedduring the third quarter, and 6.1 speed during the fourth quarter.

Ray Lewis isn't known for playing six downs and calling it quits. He's known for being on the field every play and always performing at a high level.

So what's more important, absolute power, or the capacity to sustain power?Wouldn't it be better to run a consistent 4.5 and sacrifice a little power for a lot ofcapacity?

The Aerobic System's Role

There are two underappreciated aspects of the aerobic system. First, it's veryimportant in developing alactic anaerobic capacity (think explosive stuff). Second,most sports are aerobic despite the common perception.

Upon exercise, all energy systems turn on. The power clean is rooted in alacticanaerobic power because of its short duration, not because the aerobic system failsto ignite. The duration, not the intensity, determines energy system involvement.

As repeat sprint exercise continues, the energy system contributions become "truer"to their respective time zones. And each successive explosive bout increasinglyrelies on the aerobic system (1)(2).

But studies emerged about aerobic work diminishing explosive ability. And we allgot caught up in absolute power, foregoing capacity.

"Despite the endless promotion of interval training as the only form of trainingnecessary," Joel Jamieson says, "the world of combat sports has not seen anoticeable increase in conditioning over this time. If anything, the general

conditioning level of fighters today is worse than it's been in the past."Basketball is another example. There are some sprints and jumps here and there,

but for the most part you see guys trotting up and down the court. Yeah, they're jogging. Fancy that.

Somehow we're brainwashed into thinking that athletes never jog, but it happens innearly every sport. In soccer, unless the ball is in their vicinity, athletes lazily moveabout the field. Football? Jogging to and from the sideline and back to the line afterevery play.


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And what about athletes with their faces in oxygen masks (even though they don'treally work)? I don't foresee Boba Fett inspired uniforms with oxygen tank

backpacks anytime soon, so these guys better start fixing their shitty aerobicdevelopment.

To be fair, the sports mentioned also have a short-term explosive component,which makes respecting the work-to-rest interval important. A 2009 study foundthat, "More than 70% of the total [soccer] match duration was performed at low"aerobic" intensities, while only 1-3% of the match was performed at high-intensities ("sprinting") (3). The overall work-to-rest ratio of these soccer playersaveraged out to a 2-4 second sprint every 90 seconds."

In math speak that interval looks like 4:90. Football usually shakes out to 6:40, barring a two-minute drill (in which case it becomes even more aerobic). Olympic

weightlifting, at minimum rest, is about 3:120. Truer alactic anaerobic sports like javelin and the 100m have even longer rest periods.

Compare those ratios to Tabata's 20:10. Not even close.

Aerobic Work vs. Lifting Weights

Way back, nearly all athletes performed aerobic work. Bill Starr writes aboutrunning in The Strongest Shall Survive . Thomas Kurz in The Science of SportsTraining notes that weightlifters jog in the early off-season. Old school fighterswere known for doing roadwork. Hell, even Ricky Bruch, the eccentric discusthrower, jogged.


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Now, aerobic work is shunned. But the aerobic system not only increases overallhealth markers but also aids in recovery from heavy weight training sessions.

As discussed in Heart Rate Variability Training , an over active sympatheticnervous system a pitfall of shitty aerobic development destroys performance.

"Compared to more average competitors, Olympic caliber athletes and SpecialOperations personnel have simultaneously stronger sympathetic responses duringcompetition and higher parasympathetic input during rest. They swing further toeither side of the continuum.

They tend to have lower baseline stress hormones with greater diurnal variation ofcortisol, meaning that they have significantly higher levels of cortisol in themorning than in the evening, which allows their body to fluctuate between higher

arousal during the day and deeper recovery at night."It's like this: a developed aerobic system kick starts the recovery process. Moretime recovering means more recovery.

Also, you're able to save and concentrate "intense" bouts of energy for when theyreally matter. The opposite of this being in a constantly amped up state and slowlywearing yourself down this is what I referred to as "idling" in 12 Tips to Tune the

Nervous System .

Methods of Aerobic Development
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Aerobic doesn't always mean distance running. As long as your heart rate staysaround 120-150 BPM (everyone has a different lactate threshold) and lactatedoesn't accumulate, you're training the aerobic system. "Fun" things outside ofdistance running are stringing together a circuit of the following:

Rope jumping

Calisthenics

Mobility exercises

Tumbling and locomotor movements (cartwheels, forward rolls, backward rollsto handstands, inch worm walks, and bear crawls).

But if you enjoy running, tempo runs, essentially "low intensity" interval training,are a great choice. Tempo runs involve running a predetermined distance in a timewindow that's of a low enough intensity to tax the aerobic system and yet fail to goanaerobic (70 yards in 20 seconds, for instance). Once the distance is covered, therunner can rest for thirty-or-so seconds to keep the heart rate in check before doinganother heat.

More specific to a lifter, however, is a method used by track coach Dan Pfaff thatconsists of doing many sets of Olympic lifts over the course of 50+ minutes for 1-2reps, striving to keep the heart rate around 150 BPM.

Ultimately, the best aerobic work matches the specific demands of training. Acircuit of push-ups, squats, and pull-ups can train the aerobic system, but it isn'tideal for a soccer player. Lance Armstrong isn't a world class marathon runner. Hisadaptations are specific to riding a bike.

Conclusion

Aerobic work is making a comeback. All conditioning isn't created equally. What'sthe work : rest interval? What energy system(s) are utilized? Do you need capacity?Power? Or both?

One thing is for sure: you could stand to do a bit more aerobic work. That is, unlessyou're holding out for the Boba Fett technology.

Sources


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1) Parolin, M., et al. (1998). Regulation of skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylaseand pdh during maximal intermittent exercise. American PsychologicalSociety , 227 (5), 890-900.

2) Haseler, L., et al. (1999). Skeletal muscle phosphocreatine recovery in exercise-trained humans is dependent on o2 availability. American PsychologicalSociety , 86 (6), 2013-2018.

3) Osgnach, C., et al. (2010). Energy cost and metabolic power in elite soccer: Anew match analysis approach. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , 42(1),170-178.

4) Oetter, E. (2011, October 10). [Web log message]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.8weeksout.com/2011/10/10/research-review-energy-systems-interval-

training-rsa/5) Jamieson, J. (2012, February 23). [Web log message]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.8weeksout.com/2012/02/23/roadwork-2-0-the-comeback/

The Return of Aerobic Work

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