Energy system: Energy system of nutrition

Energy system: Energy system of nutrition

The energy system of nutrition making an effort takes energy. Depending on the duration and intensity of the effort, our body uses different energy systems (see Figure 1).

With every effort different energy systems work together, each energy system depends on a certain fuel consumption respectively glycogen (sugars) / fatty acids (fats) / creatine phosphate ( CP) but depending on the duration and intensity of the effort, their relative contribution to the energy supply differs. The athlete must gain insight into which energy system he uses during competition and training so that he can anticipate this with the correct diet and sports nutrition before, during and after the effort.

Figure 1: Different energy systems

Anaeroob alactisch Anaeroob lactic Aerobics
Fuels ATP - CP Glycogen Glycogen + fats
Speed of energy delivery very fast quickly Slow
Amount of ATP. produced Very little Small amount Unlimited
Effort Type Sprint and momentary explosive effort Maximum efforts of 1 to 3 min endurance efforts.

Anaerobic alactic (without lactic acid):

Short bursts of power, lasting no more than 3 to 6 seconds, mainly rely on the 'immediate energy' released during the breakdown of the accumulated reserve of energy-rich phosphates in the muscle: creatine phosphate ( CP ) and adenosine triphosphate ( ATP ). This type of energy delivery is called anaerobic (without oxygen) and alactic (without lactate). The intensity is very high, but the time you can rely on to perform is very limited. This fuel is produced by the body itself.

1- 4 sec INSP = ATP / 4 – 20 sec INSP = ATP + CP / 20 – 45 sec INSP = ATP + CP + GLYCOGEN . Reconstruction of CP after exercise is also rapid. After 22 sec the amount of CP is already half and after 44 sec for three quarters again. The CP system is trained by force explosions interspersed with rest periods. The rest period should be long enough, the reconstruction of CP takes time.

Anaerobic lactic (with lactic acid):

For maximum efforts of up to about one minute, the energy delivery remains mainly anaerobic (without oxygen). The muscles acidify strongly and as a result, lactate is formed. This energy form is therefore called anaerobically lactic (with the formation of lactate).

20 – 45 sec INSP = ATP + CP + Glycogen / 45 – 120 sec = Glycogen / 120 – 240 sec = Glycogen .

Aëroob:

When a maximal effort has to be maintained for longer than 1 minute, the intensity decreases and the energy delivery will occur more and more with the intervention of oxygen. This form of energy delivery is called aerobic energy delivery.

240 – 600 sec increasing duration = glycogen + fatty acids

Figure 2: Shows the relationship between the anaerobic and aerobic energy system for maximum effort over time. Keep in mind that the relative contribution of the energy systems is different when maximum effort is not made.

Duration Energy levering Energy source The sports branch
1-4 seconds Anaeroob alactisch ATP High jump, weightlifting, soccer, javelin throw
4-20 seconds Anaeroob alactisch ATP + CP 100m sprint, long jump, football
20-45 seconds Anaeroob lactic Glycogen 200m sprint, sprint during cycling races
45 seconds – 2 minutes Anaeroob lactic + aerobic Glycogen 400m run, 100m swim, 800m run, 500m kayak, judo
2-8 minutes Anaeroob lactic + aerobic Glycogen 1500m run, 400m swim, boxing, rowing
more than 8 minutes Aerobics Glycogen + fats Football, basketball, 500m and 10,000m run, 800 and 1500 swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, etc…
Example: When asked to complete a Cooper test (12-minute endurance run), the energy systems as shown in Figure 2 will be activated. If, on the other hand, one starts at a gentle endurance run, the anaerobic lactic energy system will be used much less strongly because the intensity (and therefore the energy requirement) is much lower. An immediate consequence is that a state of equilibrium between oxygen demand and oxygen uptake is quickly established. The aerobic energy system very quickly takes over the major part of the energy supply at that time. For those who participate in competitive sports, it is extremely important to train the different energy systems to the extent that they are needed for a competition, and also to anticipate the diet pattern specifically before, during, after the effort and in general to bring more quality to the training and to promote recovery. An overview of many popular sports and the energy systems that are used in those sports during a competition is shown inTable 1 . These are average values that may vary depending on the level of the competition and the athlete's physical condition.

Table 1: The importance of the different energy systems in some popular sports. Based on this data, a first analysis of the current training schedules can be done quickly.
energy system Anaeroob alactisch Anaeroob lactic Aerobics
Sports Speed Resistance Endurance

• Football
• Futsal 
• Basketball
• Volley 
• Cycling (road)
• Tennis 
• Zwemmen

50m
100 m
200 m
400 m
800 m
1500 m

• Atletiek

60 m
100 m
200 m
400 m
800 m
1500 m
3000 m
5000 m
10000 m 

• veldlopen
• Marathon 
• Olympic gymnastics 
• Squash