How do you improve at any sport? You train, train, train.
But how you train is just as important as how much. Armed with the science of exercise physiology, today’s olympic-class coaches design sophisticated programs for their athletes.
A muscle is like an engine, and the fuel it runs on is the chemical ATP. Our bodies have three separate systems for creating this fuel however. Exercise physiologists pay close attention to how an athlete’s ATP is produced.
The phosphocreatine system gives an athlete lots of ATP very fast, but it’s only good for about ten seconds before it needs to recharge. The second system, called glycolysis, provides a more steady supply, but too much glycolysis can make the muscles inefficient. The third system, called aerobic metabolism, burns fats and sugars to make ATP. Aerobic metabolism is best for long term endurance, but it’s slow to get going, and, like the other systems, it also runs out of steam.
Olympic trainers take these systems into account. A long- distance runner should use aerobic metabolism for as much of her ATP as possible. To ensure this, she’ll be tested on a treadmill to measure her threshold of aerobic metabolism. The trainer then develops a training program which will increase it. On the other hand, a weight lifter should use his phosphocreatine system, which provides maximum ATP in short bursts of time. His work- outs will build up the enzymes of this system, as well as build up his muscles.
That’s just one way athletes can get a boost from the science of exercise physiology.
譯文:
你怎樣才能在體育運動方面有所提高呢?你不停地鍛煉。
但是你怎樣鍛煉與鍛煉量的多少同樣重要。以運動生理學為指導,今天奧林匹克級別的教練為他們的運動員設計了一系列復雜的程序。
肌肉就像一個引擎,它的"燃油"是化學物質(zhì)三磷酸腺苷,我們身體有3個制造這種“燃油”的獨立系統(tǒng)。運動生理學家門密切關(guān)注了一個運動員三磷酸腺苷是怎樣形成的。
磷酸肌酸系統(tǒng)能夠非??斓臑檫\動員提供許多三磷酸腺苷,但是在再次補給之前,這中物質(zhì)只能持續(xù)大約十秒鐘。第二系統(tǒng),稱為醣酵解,能夠提供更穩(wěn)定的供應。但是過多的醣酵解會讓肌肉效率低下。第三系統(tǒng),叫做有氧代謝,燃燒脂肪和糖分來制造三磷酸腺苷。有氧代謝有利于長期的耐力訓練,但是它的反應比較慢,而且就像其他的系統(tǒng)樣,它同樣會很快的筋疲力盡。
奧林匹克教練考慮了所有的這些系統(tǒng)。長跑運動員應該盡可能的像運用三磷酸腺苷那樣來運用有氧代謝。為了確保這樣,她將會在跑步機上來測量她的有氧運動的極限。然后教練研發(fā)了可以增加有氧代謝的運動程序。另一方面,舉重運動員可以運用磷酸肌酸系統(tǒng),它能夠在較短的爆發(fā)時間內(nèi)提供最大值的三磷酸腺苷。由此將會增加這個系統(tǒng)的酶,也能夠重塑他的肌肉。
這就是一個運動員從運動生理學上獲得提高的路徑之一。