A Unified Theory of Bioenergetic Demands In Sport
In a previous article, titled The Paradigm Shift In Bioenergetics, I outlined a contemporary model of bioenergetics. The key takeaways from that article are as follows:
The support of muscle contraction requires rapid non-oxidative ATP production on the millisecond time scale and within 0–15 milliseconds of muscle contraction phosphocreatine is broken down to restore ATP.
In order to sustain muscle contractions we need a non-oxidative energy supply. However, we run into an issue given that glycolytic intermediates like glucose within a muscle are limited.
Biochemical evidence shows that glycogen phosphorylase can rapidly increase its activity, and as a result glycogen can be broken down to restore the phosphocreatine needed to sustain contractions.
Between contractions the ATP needed to re-synthesize glycogen, phosphocreatine, and re-establish ion gradients comes from the oxidation of lactate. However, only a fraction of the lactate produced needs to be oxidized to restore these energy …
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