Home › Cell Biology › Determining the Contribution of the Energy Systems During Exercise
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Determining the Contribution of the Energy Systems During Exercise

DOI: 10.3791/3413-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Quantify relative contribution of ATP-PC, anaerobic glycolysis, and aerobic energy systems
  • ✓ Apply metabolic calculations to exercise intensity and duration data
  • ✓ Interpret energy system dominance across different exercise modalities
Protocol

Biopharma Insights This protocol allows researchers focused on exercise and sports sciences to determine the relative contribution of three different energy systems to the total energy expenditure during a large variety of exercises.

Difficulty
intermediate
Total time
~1-2 hours per exercise session (includes warm-up, exercise protocol, recovery measurements, and data analysis)

Steps

1
Understand energy system physiology and measurement principles

Review the three energy systems (ATP-PC, anaerobic glycolysis, aerobic) and their temporal contributions during exercise. Establish theoretical framework for quantifying metabolic contributions based on exercise duration and intensity.

▶ 00:15
2
Collect exercise performance and physiological data

Record work output, heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen consumption, and recovery metrics during standardized exercise protocol. Ensure consistent measurement timing relative to exercise phases.

▶ 01:50
3
Calculate anaerobic and ATP-PC system contributions

Compute energy yield from alactic (ATP-PC) and lactic (anaerobic glycolysis) pathways using work output and lactate accumulation data.

▶ 05:10
4
Calculate aerobic system energy contribution

Determine oxygen consumption-based energy yield and aerobic system's relative contribution to total expenditure during exercise.

▶ 05:49
5
Determine total energy system contributions and ratios

Integrate ATP-PC, anaerobic, and aerobic calculations to establish percentage contribution of each system to total energy expenditure.

▶ 09:20
6
Interpret results and compare across exercise conditions

Analyze energy system dominance patterns relative to exercise intensity, duration, and modality. Discuss physiological implications and protocol applications.

▶ 09:37
💬 Comments coming soon