Your body has two main energy systems: aerobic and anaerobic. As the term implies, one system needs oxygen while the other does not. While these energy systems operate on a continuous spectrum, it’s still important to know when each system is activated and how to fuel yourself accordingly to maximize your training. 

The anaerobic energy system is going to be your high intensity powerhouse. This system operates under conditions when oxygen is limited because it can generate energy very rapidly. However, the flip side is that you cannot perform at extremely high intensities for very long. The ability to quickly generate ATP, or energy, is limited because of certain by-products that are produced during high-intensity exercise that force your body to slow down in order to produce energy using a different system. 

The anaerobic system has a maximum duration of about 2 minutes. During the first 10-15 seconds, your body produces ATP at a rapid rate via the ATP-PCr pathway. PCr aka phosphocreatine donates a phosphate to ADP to make ATP rapidly. Phosphocreatine may sound familiar to many of you because of the word creatine. Yes, it’s that giant tub of powder you can buy at almost any retail supplement shop. The second answer to your question is also yes; having higher concentrations of creatine in your muscles can prolong this pathway to prevent energy depletion. However, after this system is exhausted, your body begins producing energy via anaerobic glycolysis, which lasts about 2 minutes.

Combat training is highly anaerobic, and with a lot of high intensity training your body can adapt to operating using this pathway more efficiently. However, this system will not operate without the proper fuel. Your anaerobic energy system exclusively functions off CARBS! Yes, carbohydrates are the only food group that is going to power this system effectively. Therefore, it’s important to include a generous amount of carbohydrates to your diet if you compete in combat sports. Even during weight cuts, you still are going to need carbohydrates to fuel your sparring, wrestling, and any other high-intensity training sessions. The trick is timing them correctly. Before any high-intensity session, you should eat between 30-80g of carbs (1 banana, 2 slices of bread, 1 c. rice, ½ c – 1 c. oatmeal, ½ sweet potato) depending on how long you are training. The longer you train, the more carbohydrates you should add. During a cut when you need to monitor carbohydrate intake, consume your carbohydrates specifically around your training since your body will use that energy quickly! 

The second way your body produces energy is through aerobic metabolism. Aerobic metabolism can provide you with energy for hours because it is able to utilize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to produce ATP.

Carbohydrates are still the preferred fuel source for energy is this system – mainly because they are the easiest to metabolize. However, the amount of carbohydrates available in your body is limited based on how much is stored in your muscles and liver. Fats on the other hand are very abundant and provide you with hours of energy. The caveat with fats is that your body can only metabolize them during lower intensities. The spectrums on how well your body can break down fats for energy is all dependent on how aerobically trained you are. Therefore, if your training is highly cardio based (as most combat conditioning is), your body is able to utilize more fats for energy and reserve stored carbohydrates for those higher intensity bouts. Proteins don’t contribute a significant amount of energy since the body prefers to use them to build and repair. 

Again, what you eat matters if you want to optimize your aerobic system. How well your body utilizes fats or carbs for energy is highly dependent on how much of them you consume. For example, if your diet is very high in carbohydrates your body will up-regulate the metabolic pathways to utilize carbs more efficiently. The same holds true for fats. However, the body only is able to break down carbs for energy during those all-out, high-intensity bouts – therefore, you want to train your body to know how to use both fats and carbs effectively! 

Before your hardest practices or days with repeated training sessions focus on including a generous amount of carbs at meals and snacks. During rest days and lower intensity training bouts, consume more fats and lower the carb intake. Additionally, always include protein at every meal and after training to ensure optimal recovery!