Whether I’m coaching soccer or training classes in kempo, I frequently recommend interval training. Many of my students / players wonder initially why I don’t insist on mile after mile of roadwork. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a great way to improve your cardiovascular fitness and is a great tool for long term fitness and weight loss – but it’s not the tool for the job when you need quick bursts of speed and power followed by a quick recovery.
Your body produces the energy you need for activity based on three different systems. At any given time all three are contributing to your energy output, but the amount each varies with the demands of what you are doing. When you sprint, there is a system that relies on one energy source (creatine phosphase) for about 8-10 seconds. If the exercise goes longer than that, perhaps up to two minutes, you use a second system primarily that breaks down the energy storage (glycogen) in your muscles in a way that doesn’t need oxygen. The third system which can work hypothetically indefinitely is the aerobic system. That’s the one you need to rune mile after mile. So if you are in a self-defense situation, or even a ring-based ‘fight’, unless the rounds are longer than two minutes, aerobic road work is the third most important system to train.
As The folks over at Bill Fitzpatrick’s dojo.com say:
A real fight is more like a sprint- short and fast. This is known as an anaerobic activity. Intense activity that taxes your muscles, labors your breathing, and recruits the muscle fibers for speed and strength. How long should a fight last? 10 seconds? 30? A minute? In my opinion you’re in big trouble if a fight lasts more than a minute. Get the job done. The longer you engage, the more chance something will go wrong.
So how do you train these systems? Is there a specific way to target these or are we stuck with our genetic predisposition? Are marathoners or sprinters born or made? (click more to read the rest of the post) Continue reading
