The Inside Scoop on Energy...

Just a bit of information I picked up while reading about Bioenergetics of Exercise - sharing without the biology prerequisite.

There are days when I head to the gym or begin any exercise for the day and feel like I am just too tired or not in the mood but I make the effort/choice to at least get started and then begin to feel the E N E R G Y working into the body.

Just what is this energy? Okay, I know that we are all aware that it's base on the type of food we are eating, so what?

** Let's get deep.er..

Body Cells...Requires a continuous supply of energy to function and the Food we eat supplies the energy we use everyday...That's how deep we are going...

Foods are mainly made up of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It's the way they are broken down that helps in explaining our energy level. The reason why some days we have lots of energy and the reason why on some days when I can't even run a half a mile on a treadmill. So I took a week energy test, actually being more aware of the foods I was eating and my physical activity at the gym - not approved for any reliable testing....

Oxygen is key to the energy source so make sure you breathe.... properly....

Our Immediate Source of Energy ATP - our systems of energy - Anaerobic and Aerobic Systems of ATP Production. Come Back! Don't worry this is not a Biology Lesson. Energy produced from Anaerobic (without oxygen) is very limited ATP production, major use for very high-intensity short-duration sprint activities. Predominates during activities of 1-10 seconds to 1-3 minutes. This is based on our energy source phosphagens and energy from Glucose (Carbs).. This explain the results of me trying to run 2-3 miles and with my choices of food - my energy was drained, forget the weights!

Then we have Aerobic (with oxygen) unlimited ATP production, major use for lower-intensity, longer-duration endurance activities. Predominates during activities longer than 3 minutes to 20 minutes of continuous activity. This is based on our energy source from Glucose (Carbs) and Fatty acids. Increase a little bit of this in my food choices prior to running (interval) and did not feel exhausted after wards, in fact was able to run longer!

Just remember this..at rest our body uses glucose and fatty acids for energy production. A calorie is a unit of energy. Fat yields 9 kilograms of energy per gram and Glucose yields 4 kilograms of energy per gram. Focus on the right foods for glucose (Carbs) and fats - remember fat has more source of energy but hard to get rid of. So we got the energy now we must get off our butts to use it.

The heart pumps more oxygen during increase physical activity - more energy will be produced - and the better we will feel during our exercise routine.

Since I started it - little of protein is used for energy production instead it is used for growth and repair of cellular structure - very important to keep your body cells doing it's job!

Happy Birthday YKW!!