Coaching article 4 - Energy Systems  

As Steve Rickerby is away overseas I will endeavour to explain in layman’s terms energy systems and their importance in designing Edwards training programme.

 We have the Aerobic system (with oxygen) and the anaerobic system (without oxygen).

The Aerobic system comes into play for efforts of 2 minutes or longer. This system is most important for endurance events such as road racing and track endurance events such as the pursuit and points races.

The Anaerobic system is further divided into the alactate and lactate systems. The alactate system produces energy sufficient for maximal efforts of around 6 to 8 seconds. (Try holding your breath and running for 6 seconds from a standing start) This system is most important for standing starts and sprinting, and takes around 3 minutes to recover. The lactate system produces energy sufficient for maximal efforts lasting up to 2 minutes but is at its most potent between 20 and 45 seconds. The bad news is that this system produces lactic acid which causes fatigue and makes you slow down. Lactic acid can take up to 60 minutes to be fully removed from the system. There is of course some overlap in these energy systems depending on the event being undertaken.  

Why is this important?   If Edward wishes to perform well at the Road Nationals in 2006 where 80% or more of his energy will come from his aerobic system, then a high percentage of his training should be targeted at improving this system.   That is the rule of specificity.   I will explain some of the golden rules in my next article.