We can't have a nuanced discussion about energy system training or 'conditioning' more broadly without first discussing bioenergetics. Bioenergetics are the stimulation of metabolic processes that result in the supply, transport, and utilization of energy in the body. Contrary to popular belief, energy systems do not create energy. Instead, energy is transferred from one state to another, both inside and outside of our bodies. This harkens back to the law of energy conservation which states, "energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another." For example, we get electrons from the sugars in the food that we eat, and we breathe in oxygen. Electrons and oxygen meet in the mitochondria to transform free energy into a form we can use in our body. The better our 'energy system' capacity, the better we can transform this free energy into a usable form, which in practice means restocking ATP, the energetic currency of the cell. For what sounds l…
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