A by-product of this chemical reaction is Lactic Acid (LA) and the breakdown reaction of Glucose / Glycogen can be shown as follows:
Glucose produces 2ATP + 2LA + heat.
The more intense the exercise, the greater the accumulation of lactic acid causing painful muscle burn. The production of ATP using this method is limited and once a couple of minutes have passed, the blood stream is now able to deliver oxygen and
3. the Aerobic Metabolism of Slow Glycolysis kicks in.
(BUT, what if a person were to take a supplement such as EAS's Phosphagen HP that both increases the availability of the Creatine-Phosphate combo for the initial resting stage, AND the availability of glycogen for the fast glycolysis stage? Would that person be able to improve their initial strength, endurance as well as the duration time of the energy production of ATP at those two stages?)
In the presence of Oxygen, the muscle cell breaks down glucose / glycogen to produce more ATP. (1 unit of glucose / glycogen = 38 ATP). The end result of this complete breakdown of glucose / glycogen is carbon dioxide and water as well as heat. So, the Aerobic Slow Glycolysis breakdown of Glucose / Glycogen can be shown as:
Glucose/Glycogen + Oxygen produces 38 ATP + Carbon Dioxide + water + heat
As long as the cardiorespiratory system delivers Oxygen, glucose and glycogen will be metabolized to make ATP. This system supports energy for long, moderate to low intensity exercises.
(So, taking these thoughts to their logical conclusion... We now have kicked in Oxygen and we work to build our muscles. We find we may have greater initial energy because of the supplementation of Phosphagen HP AND have increased the duration time of the first 2 stages of ATP energy production. Mentally, enthusiastically, and physically we're on top of the very beginning of our workout with tons of available energy.
Once the workout progresses, it's our techniques, attention to good form, our own inner resolve and hard work that burns the fat and builds the muscles - NOT the supplements - it's all our own hard work and dedication to our training that produces the desired results. What we've received through supplementation is an increase in rebuilding power and strength from properly supplementing our resting state and from pre-priming our initial workout energy state. It seems through this logic that Creatine supplementation should help prime our pre-workout energy state and our endurance capability even before we start to workout AND especially during the rest and recovery state several hours after our workouts).
The final Aerobic Metabolic method of ATP production is
4. Fatty Acid Oxidation, where the aerobic metabolism of fat produces very large amounts of energy. (1 unit of Fatty Acids = 100 ATP). Fatty acids are high energy fuel, but are difficult to metabolize as they require large amounts of Oxygen. The process can be shown as:
Fatty Acid + Oxygen produces 100 ATP + Carbon Dioxide + water + heat
As intensity increases, the cardiorespiratory system is unable to supply the required amount of oxygen for fatty acid oxidation to occur. The metabolism of glucose/glycogen requires less Oxygen and becomes the preferred fuel for the creation of ATP. It seems Creatine's role could be enhanced by supplementation :-) |
