IMPORTANCE OF THE OXIDATIVE ENRGY SYSTEM

BASE OF THE PYRAMID

Also known as the aerobic system, is the energy system that primarily fuels long duration, low intensity activity. It fuels this type of activity by increasing oxygen availability and improving our ability to metabolize fat for energy.

I find oxidative training to be very similar to performing 10s on back squat. Nobody enjoys doing it, but it is essential for long term progress. Oxidative training should be looked at as the foundation of high intensity conditioning just as sets of 10 are looked at as the foundation of a new 1RM. Expecting to improve your Open performance vastly year by year without doing any oxidative training is like building to a heavy single on snatch every week and performing no technique/general strength work, but expecting new personal records regularly.

The great thing about training the oxidative system is it can easily be added to any training program. This is because it does not cause a lot of muscular damage (concentric based) and it is of very low intensity. As long as it is progressed correctly volume wise, it will provide large benefits that I will explain below.

HOW TO TRAIN OXIDATIVE SYSTEM

·Perform continuous mono-structural (bike/swim/run/rucking/rowing) activity for 30-90 minutes at a heart rate between 130-150

·Perform low intensity circuits for 20-60 minutes with a work:rest ratio between 2:1/3:1

Example: http://www.xlathlete.com/download/aerobic-block-contralateral-circuit-station-training/

Example: 30-60 EMOM 40s ON/20s OFF (alternate bike/row/ski/run)

OXIDATIVE BENERGY SYSTEM BENEFITS

A well-developed oxidative system provides many benefits to an athletes training. First off, it is the most efficient way to perform physical activity. This is because it allows athletes to control their heart rate during exercise by keeping it lower. When two individuals are performing the same activity at the same intensity, the one with the superior oxidative system will have a lower heart rate, which will allow them to continue that effort for much longer durations due to it being less taxing. When competing the goal should be to stay in the oxidative zone as long as possible, so you expend less energy while doing more work

Secondly, our ability to utilize oxygen is also important because it is vital for our ability to recover between high intensity bursts of activity and between training sessions. The Alactic Energy System (10s or less burst of activity) requires oxygen to replenish its energy supplies to allow you to repeat another high intensity bout. An example of this would be performing multiple repetitions of squat cleans near your maximum during the previous 19.2 Open Workout. Your ability to lift the heavy load receptively under fatigue had a lot to do with how quickly you could recover between efforts. This also speeds up the rate of recovery during workouts that are either interval based or have programmed rest like 19.4 Open Workout. Lastly it allows you to train at higher levels during every training session by increasing your rate of recovery and ability to handle higher levels of volume.

Case in point people, train your oxidative system!

Work Cited:

- http://vandykestrength.com/pages/utiliz_breath_train (picture)