Three Energy Pathway
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Three Energy Pathway
The human body uses three energy pathways when performing physical activities. The pathways are the phosphagen system, aerobic system, and glycolysis. Lebron James is an NBA athlete who has been using the three energy pathways throughout his career. The combination of these three energy pathways has enabled him to win silverware for different teams.
Phosphagen energy
The phosphagen energy mostly helps in resynthesizing ATP in the skeletal muscles. The system uses creatine phosphate for the process, although it only lasts for a short duration. The ATP produced by the phosphagen system is small but very powerful energy. There are specific activities that require an athlete to use the phosphagen system. For instance, when playing offensive, they have to use a lot of energy to break through the defense. However, the athlete uses the phosphate system for just 10 seconds, before switching to another energy system. When creatine phosphate, the component that forms ATP gets depleted, the athlete develops fatigue. Since athletes use phosphate energy system severally during a game, it is prudent that they use supplements. Therefore, despite the low ATP levels, using dietary supplements can increase their levels in the body, enabling the athlete to play for a long time.
Aerobic system
The aerobic system uses glucose from glycogen in the muscle cell or the blood to produce energy. In other cases, the protein can generate the energy. However, it is only used when the fat and carbohydrate levels, the main sources of glucose and glycogen, go down. In order for the aerobic system to work, oxygen must be utilized. After the aerobic has taken place, the body produces water and carbon dioxide. Aerobic activity is slow but effective. People who perform moderate intense activities for a long time are the main users of this activity. For instance, people who take part in swimming, cycling, and jogging use aerobic energy for the activity. The aerobic activity takes place in two major phases. First, the glycogen is converted into pyruvic acid and ATP molecules. The second phase involves the conversion of pyruvic acid into acetylene coenzyme whereby production of ATP molecules takes place.
Glycolysis
The glycolysis system is used for both intense and moderate activities, from as short as 30 seconds up to 2 minutes. Glycolysis breaks down carbohydrates that exist as glucose or glycogen into pyruvate. The pyruvate is then broken down into one of these two components; converted into acetylene coenzyme which is a metabolic intermediary, or into lactate. The acetylene coenzyme gets into the mitochondria to produce ATP molecules. Inadequate oxygen supply on the other hand increases hydrogen ions through acidosis process, and into other metabolites. However, oxygen is not a vital component of the glycolic process, although it has some impact on the overall process. The acidosis and metabolites inhibit enzymes for metabolism and cause contraction of muscles. In some cases, the muscle contraction might result to less production of calcium, resulting to less production of force in the muscles.
Conclusion
In summary, people use all the three energy systems at one point of their life, consciously or subconsciously. Although the three systems of energy do not last for a long time, using dietary supplements can increase the time for each system. It is also equally important to know which food is suitable for any of the activities that require these energy pathways.