Quick Health Tip - Bioenergetics and Exercise Performance

​To improve results during exercise, it is best to try to reduce the reliance on lactic acid, by intensifying the workout (recruit faster motor units). The higher the intensity, the higher the tolerance to fatigue and lower the reliance on lactic acid; that is why people who workout routinely “feel less sore”. Additionally, with longer continued activity, our bodies undergo a transition of new demand for ATP and oxygen. When oxygen equals demand, the body is in a “steady state”. During the transition, demand for oxygen increases, which leads to an “oxygen deficit”. It must then borrow fuel from anaerobic sources (mitochondria from fatty acids, glucose or lactic acid from carbs, and if carbs or lipids are in shortage, deamination of amino acid proteins).  After the exercise the body is in “recovery oxygen consumption” state, which means “you catch your breath” to return to homeostasis.