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 to
condition 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 a
lot. And, unlike before, vomit-inducing anaerobic work is rarely in the cards for me
or my athletes. Thanks to people way smarter than me (Joel Jamieson, James
Smith, Buddy Morris) I have an appreciation for different types of "conditioning,"
much like I have an appreciation for different types of strength.

Conditioning Conundrum
I 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 get
stronger. 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 past
the first ten pages of Supertraining, you know this list continues seemingly ad
infinitum.
So if we lift weights to get stronger, do we perform conditioning to become more
conditioned? The problem is ambiguity. We have different types of "conditioning"
just like we have different types of strength.

Conditioning, in its true sense, refers to training the body's energy systems. We
easily distinguish between the anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with
oxygen) systems. We even associate different body types to proficiency in each
system. Jacked football players and sprinters are anaerobic beasts. Gangly
marathoners, however, are aerobic creatures.
But neither stereotype is correct because jacked football players frequently rely on
the aerobic system. Yeah, I said it. Football is aerobic. Before I face the stones, let
me explain.

Energy Systems

Breaking the energy systems into anaerobic and aerobic isn't enough. The
anaerobic 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 Immediate
Lactic Anaerobic (Glycolytic) 60 to 90 seconds Intermediate
Aerobic Hours Long term
Bottom line is, all anaerobic work is not created equally. Football is a prime
example. In an effort to "condition," coaches rely on suicides, Prowler pushes, and
Tabata intervals until their athletes' legs are loaded with lactate and loopier than
Gumby's.
Anaerobic? Absolutely.

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 the
system can be sustained).
So someone with great alactic power can produce a few intensive bursts of energy
at a high level. This, for example, includes an Olympic weightlifter, powerlifter,
100m sprinter, javelin thrower, shot-putter, etc. These athletes give a maximal
effort, blow their load, and take a long time to recover. Just think of hitting a PR in
the gym. It's not easily repeatable.
Someone with great alactic power and capacity, however, can replicate intensive
efforts 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 speed
will diminish with each successive throw. So a pitcher with good capacity and
decent 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.

Over the past few years, aerobic work has been vilified for decreasing absolute
explosive potential. But most sports require capacity in addition to power. There
are problems if 4.3 speed turns into 4.7 speed during the second quarter, 5.5 speed
during 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 of
capacity?

The Aerobic System's Role

There are two underappreciated aspects of the aerobic system. First, it's very
important 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 alactic
anaerobic power because of its short duration, not because the aerobic system fails
to 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 increasingly
relies on the aerobic system (1)(2).
But studies emerged about aerobic work diminishing explosive ability. And we all
got caught up in absolute power, foregoing capacity.
"Despite the endless promotion of interval training as the only form of training
necessary," Joel Jamieson says, "the world of combat sports has not seen a
noticeable 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 in
nearly every sport. In soccer, unless the ball is in their vicinity, athletes lazily move
about the field. Football? Jogging to and from the sideline and back to the line after
every play.

And what about athletes with their faces in oxygen masks (even though they don't
really work)? I don't foresee Boba Fett inspired uniforms with oxygen tank
backpacks anytime soon, so these guys better start fixing their shitty aerobic
development.
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 found
that, "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 highintensities ("sprinting") (3). The overall work-to-rest ratio of these soccer players
averaged 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 about
running in The Strongest Shall Survive. Thomas Kurz in The Science of Sports
Training notes that weightlifters jog in the early off-season. Old school fighters
were known for doing roadwork. Hell, even Ricky Bruch, the eccentric discus
thrower, jogged.

Now, aerobic work is shunned. But the aerobic system not only increases overall
health markers but also aids in recovery from heavy weight training sessions.
As discussed in Heart Rate Variability Training, an over active sympathetic
nervous system a pitfall of shitty aerobic development destroys performance.
"Compared to more average competitors, Olympic caliber athletes and Special
Operations personnel have simultaneously stronger sympathetic responses during
competition and higher parasympathetic input during rest. They swing further to
either side of the continuum.
They tend to have lower baseline stress hormones with greater diurnal variation of
cortisol, meaning that they have significantly higher levels of cortisol in the
morning 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. More
time recovering means more recovery.
Also, you're able to save and concentrate "intense" bouts of energy for when they
really matter. The opposite of this being in a constantly amped up state and slowly
wearing yourself down this is what I referred to as "idling" in 12 Tips to Tune the
Nervous System.

Methods of Aerobic Development

Aerobic doesn't always mean distance running. As long as your heart rate stays
around 120-150 BPM (everyone has a different lactate threshold) and lactate
doesn't accumulate, you're training the aerobic system. "Fun" things outside of
distance running are stringing together a circuit of the following:
Rope jumping
Calisthenics
Mobility exercises
Tumbling and locomotor movements (cartwheels, forward rolls, backward rolls
to 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 time
window that's of a low enough intensity to tax the aerobic system and yet fail to go
anaerobic (70 yards in 20 seconds, for instance). Once the distance is covered, the
runner can rest for thirty-or-so seconds to keep the heart rate in check before doing
another heat.
More specific to a lifter, however, is a method used by track coach Dan Pfaff that
consists of doing many sets of Olympic lifts over the course of 50+ minutes for 1-2
reps, striving to keep the heart rate around 150 BPM.
Ultimately, the best aerobic work matches the specific demands of training. A
circuit of push-ups, squats, and pull-ups can train the aerobic system, but it isn't
ideal for a soccer player. Lance Armstrong isn't a world class marathon runner. His
adaptations are specific to riding a bike.

Conclusion
Aerobic work is making a comeback. All conditioning isn't created equally. What's
the 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, unless
you're holding out for the Boba Fett technology.

Sources

1) Parolin, M., et al. (1998). Regulation of skeletal muscle glycogen phosphorylase

and pdh during maximal intermittent exercise. American Psychological
Society, 227(5), 890-900.
2) Haseler, L., et al. (1999). Skeletal muscle phosphocreatine recovery in exercisetrained humans is dependent on o2 availability. American Psychological
Society, 86(6), 2013-2018.
3) Osgnach, C., et al. (2010). Energy cost and metabolic power in elite soccer: A
new match analysis approach. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(1),
170-178.
4) Oetter, E. (2011, October 10). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://www.8weeksout.com/2011/10/10/research-review-energy-systems-intervaltraining-rsa/
5) Jamieson, J. (2012, February 23). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://www.8weeksout.com/2012/02/23/roadwork-2-0-the-comeback/