When explosive athletes hear the word aerobic cardio many would
rather take a bullet to the carotid artery than have to jog in a steady
state for an hour. Other than the groans that often come from explosive
athletes there is much scientific research that suggests that aerobic
cardio may not be the most effective for development of explosiveness
and athleticism. Aerobic cardio is touted as being important for
endurance and fat loss but there may be a better solution that doesn't
come with some of the negative side effects.
Anaerobic power is what is recruited during high intense bouts of activity. In order for the body to perform work or use energy it requires the production and breakdown of the high energy molecule A.T.P. There are two major systems the body uses to create energy the anaerobic system and the aerobic system. Sports such as football, wrestling, basketball all are explosive sports requiring major recruitment of the anaerobic system. It may not be an either or in terms of aerobic conditioning vs. anaerobic conditioning but over emphasis on aerobic conditioning may not maximize the many training adaptations that are beneficial to the athlete looking to be explosive.
The law of specificity suggests that in order to create the training stimulus that is beneficial, training must fundamentally mock the conditions that an athlete will see in his or her sport. A piece of anecdotal evidence that I think is important to point out; the limited understanding that often comes from those who recommend conditioning. They don't understand the law of specificity and the different energy systems. I.E my rugby coached suggested we build up to running 5 miles a day but he didn't transfer his understanding of rugby to that of his conditioning recommendation. During rugby much like basketball and soccer there is often high bursts of speed followed by slower speeds. Simply to train aerobic power, a steady state does not allow the proper energy systems to build that are specific to your sport. Even the major test for aerobic power the vo2max has its limitations.
There are two major types of muscle fibers in your body, Type 1 slow twitch and type fast twitch fibers. During aerobic conditioning the type 1 slow twitch fibers are the major muscle fiber used. During high bursts of activity the major muscle fiber used is type 2b. What is very seldom talked about is a third muscle fiber type called type 2 intermediary fibers. These muscle fibers often adapt to the training stimulus that is put upon them, meaning that if you train endurance they will transfer over to endurance fibers, if you train speed those intermediary will transfer over to the type 2 fast twitch. Inevitably that means if you train endurance you will get slower. Is that to suggest aerobic cardio is ineffective? Not at all but there is a more effective way to create explosiveness. Aerobic conditioning has its place in the recovery continuum. Something that can occur a couple days after intense exercise is called DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness. DOMS is not caused by lactic acid buildup like many believe but by the byproduct of lactate: hydrogen ions. Aerobic cardio can help to rid of these ions. That will help rid of the soreness.
According to Costill, Kenney and Wilmore in Physiology Of Sport And Exercise Cross-training is defined as "training for one or more sport at the same time or training several different fitness components (such as endurance, strength and flexibility at one time". Costill, Kenney and Wilmore suggest
"... Gains in strength, power and endurance can result. However the gains in muscular strength and power are less when strength training is combined with endurance training than when strength training alone is done. The opposite does not appear to be true: Improvements of aerobic power with endurance training does not appear to be attenuated by inclusion of a resistance training program". (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
However another study quoted in Physiology of Sport did not draw these conclusions. The study found no hindrance of strength gains by including some form of endurance based training. A study put out by Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT called " Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners" found that maximal strength training which is by and large low rep heavy load anaerobic weight training, markedly increased running economy.
"Taken together, the results of this preliminary study indicate that master endurance athletes seem to benefit from concurrent strength and endurance training because the rate of force development may be crucial for RE improvement, one of the major determinants of endurance performance." (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
This study suggests that anaerobic training can benefit aerobic endurance. Power is defined as force times acceleration. Or strength times speed. Power is explosiveness. It has been repeatedly shown that the most explosive athletes are the ones with the highest percentage of type 2 fibers. Aerobic training simply will not develop the type 2 fibers to the degree anaerobic training will. Some are born with a higher percentage of type 2 fibers and may have an advantage in that regard but anaerobic training appears to be the way to go. Individuals who train anaerobically will see improvement in their explosiveness. Another factor to consider is the hormonal effects of aerobic training or anaerobic training on the body. The body simply does not react the same to the two types of training. But that is another article for another day.
At the end of the day exercise physiology is a growing field of research and what is said to be useful now may not be useful down the road. As a sport performance coach I will always utilize anaerobic training over aerobic training for development of explosive athleticism. It should be noted that there are various forms of aerobic training that isn't simply steady state training. Plyometrics is a form of anaerobic training that focuses on explosiveness and something I recommend for athleticism development. I would also use the wingate test instead of utilizing the commonly overused vo2 max test. The wingate test is for anaerobic conditioning.
It should also be noted that I'm not against aerobic cardio only that I believe anaerobic cardio is much more effective due to its effect on the muscle fibers, its effects on strengthening the proper energy, hormone release and its effect j sustaining muscle that otherwise could be lost due to excessive aerobic cardio. Periodization is something to keep in mind when designing a fitness program for development of athleticism. Periodization is varying rep ranges and intensities to allow for continued gains that otherwise would not occur due to excessive training and inadequate recovery. Given all the research I've come to the conclusion that both forms of training are necessary in varying degrees but as a whole anaerobic training has many more benefits.
Works Cited
Costill David, Larry Kenney and Jack Wilmore. Physiology of Exercie. Illinois: Human Kinetics. Print.
Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT. Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23207882.
Anaerobic power is what is recruited during high intense bouts of activity. In order for the body to perform work or use energy it requires the production and breakdown of the high energy molecule A.T.P. There are two major systems the body uses to create energy the anaerobic system and the aerobic system. Sports such as football, wrestling, basketball all are explosive sports requiring major recruitment of the anaerobic system. It may not be an either or in terms of aerobic conditioning vs. anaerobic conditioning but over emphasis on aerobic conditioning may not maximize the many training adaptations that are beneficial to the athlete looking to be explosive.
The law of specificity suggests that in order to create the training stimulus that is beneficial, training must fundamentally mock the conditions that an athlete will see in his or her sport. A piece of anecdotal evidence that I think is important to point out; the limited understanding that often comes from those who recommend conditioning. They don't understand the law of specificity and the different energy systems. I.E my rugby coached suggested we build up to running 5 miles a day but he didn't transfer his understanding of rugby to that of his conditioning recommendation. During rugby much like basketball and soccer there is often high bursts of speed followed by slower speeds. Simply to train aerobic power, a steady state does not allow the proper energy systems to build that are specific to your sport. Even the major test for aerobic power the vo2max has its limitations.
There are two major types of muscle fibers in your body, Type 1 slow twitch and type fast twitch fibers. During aerobic conditioning the type 1 slow twitch fibers are the major muscle fiber used. During high bursts of activity the major muscle fiber used is type 2b. What is very seldom talked about is a third muscle fiber type called type 2 intermediary fibers. These muscle fibers often adapt to the training stimulus that is put upon them, meaning that if you train endurance they will transfer over to endurance fibers, if you train speed those intermediary will transfer over to the type 2 fast twitch. Inevitably that means if you train endurance you will get slower. Is that to suggest aerobic cardio is ineffective? Not at all but there is a more effective way to create explosiveness. Aerobic conditioning has its place in the recovery continuum. Something that can occur a couple days after intense exercise is called DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness. DOMS is not caused by lactic acid buildup like many believe but by the byproduct of lactate: hydrogen ions. Aerobic cardio can help to rid of these ions. That will help rid of the soreness.
According to Costill, Kenney and Wilmore in Physiology Of Sport And Exercise Cross-training is defined as "training for one or more sport at the same time or training several different fitness components (such as endurance, strength and flexibility at one time". Costill, Kenney and Wilmore suggest
"... Gains in strength, power and endurance can result. However the gains in muscular strength and power are less when strength training is combined with endurance training than when strength training alone is done. The opposite does not appear to be true: Improvements of aerobic power with endurance training does not appear to be attenuated by inclusion of a resistance training program". (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
However another study quoted in Physiology of Sport did not draw these conclusions. The study found no hindrance of strength gains by including some form of endurance based training. A study put out by Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT called " Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners" found that maximal strength training which is by and large low rep heavy load anaerobic weight training, markedly increased running economy.
"Taken together, the results of this preliminary study indicate that master endurance athletes seem to benefit from concurrent strength and endurance training because the rate of force development may be crucial for RE improvement, one of the major determinants of endurance performance." (Kenney, Costill, Wilmore p 277)
This study suggests that anaerobic training can benefit aerobic endurance. Power is defined as force times acceleration. Or strength times speed. Power is explosiveness. It has been repeatedly shown that the most explosive athletes are the ones with the highest percentage of type 2 fibers. Aerobic training simply will not develop the type 2 fibers to the degree anaerobic training will. Some are born with a higher percentage of type 2 fibers and may have an advantage in that regard but anaerobic training appears to be the way to go. Individuals who train anaerobically will see improvement in their explosiveness. Another factor to consider is the hormonal effects of aerobic training or anaerobic training on the body. The body simply does not react the same to the two types of training. But that is another article for another day.
At the end of the day exercise physiology is a growing field of research and what is said to be useful now may not be useful down the road. As a sport performance coach I will always utilize anaerobic training over aerobic training for development of explosive athleticism. It should be noted that there are various forms of aerobic training that isn't simply steady state training. Plyometrics is a form of anaerobic training that focuses on explosiveness and something I recommend for athleticism development. I would also use the wingate test instead of utilizing the commonly overused vo2 max test. The wingate test is for anaerobic conditioning.
It should also be noted that I'm not against aerobic cardio only that I believe anaerobic cardio is much more effective due to its effect on the muscle fibers, its effects on strengthening the proper energy, hormone release and its effect j sustaining muscle that otherwise could be lost due to excessive aerobic cardio. Periodization is something to keep in mind when designing a fitness program for development of athleticism. Periodization is varying rep ranges and intensities to allow for continued gains that otherwise would not occur due to excessive training and inadequate recovery. Given all the research I've come to the conclusion that both forms of training are necessary in varying degrees but as a whole anaerobic training has many more benefits.
Works Cited
Costill David, Larry Kenney and Jack Wilmore. Physiology of Exercie. Illinois: Human Kinetics. Print.
Francesca PM, Giulia DI, Stefania C, Alessandro S, Gianluca V, Antonio LT. Concurrent strength and endurance training effects on running economy in master endurance runners. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23207882.
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