Energy Systems I (ATP-PCr)

I decided to write this blog the other month but had more important things I wanted to write about at the time. I have tried to research the most used energy system in BJJ and research is very limited. For the sake of comparison I have looked into Judo and Wrestling as I believe they have a lot of comparable elements and there is far more research conducted in these arenas.

The purpose of the blog was to help people understand the various systems they use during rolling/competing and what they can do to help aid those systems. Once all three systems have been looked into I will look at which system is best trained for BJJ (obviously all of them to a degree but which one holds the highest percentage).

For the sake of simplicity I will detail the three systems and the various terms they are known by. I will do each system in an individual blog as the blog will become too big to break down for some so this week we will look at the first energy system listed below.

Energy Systems

1. ATP-PCr system (Adenosine Triphosphate – Phosphatecreatine/Creatine phosphate, phosphagen System)

2. Glycolytic System (Glycolysis, Fast Glycosis) or dare I say it Anaerobic

3. Oxidative System (Oxidative Aerobic System) Aerobic

It is widely accepted that ATP stores will last for a time of up to 15s, Glycolytic up to 2 minutes and Oxidative taking over from there on in.

ATP-PCr - Is the simplest of the energy systems. While I will not go into the finer details of ATP-PCr its importance and its relevance in every single exercise and sport we do is vital. ATP is stored in cells and is an energy system that in layman's terms is available immediately. Accompanying the ATP is another high-energy phosphate molecule called PCr. PCr's role is not to be used to give cellular work but to regenerate the ATP (through a process that requires the production of a phosphate group and ADP – Adenosine diphosphate)

The ATP-PCr system can sustain muscle energy from 3s to 15s (this is during an all out sprint), beyond this time the muscles will start to rely on other processes. Lastly during this 3s to 15s ATP production will remain somewhat constant however PCr will drop off as its purpose is to replenish ATP as mentioned above – both ATP-PCr will drop off once this energy system has been expended and the reliance on the other two systems come into play to produce ATP.

It has been stated that the body will hold roughly 80 to 100g (3 ounces) of ATP at any given time. ATP cannot be completely depleted due to the requirement of it for basic cellular function. Also the depletion of ATP during muscle fatigue is between 50% and 60% and this explains its quick expenditure in this energy system.

This could be looked at in far greater detail, however I believe this could become somewhat boring to a high percentage of you. Effectively the first 3s to 15s of your fight/roll is using ATP-PCr and therefore training this system is important to all athletes.

Training this system has been studied and although increasing its length in time beyond 15s is not seen increasing it from 3s up to 15s is. Therefore if your explosive power is diminishing quickly i.e. 5s you could implement certain training regimes to try and increase this ability beyond 5s.

Training times to help the ATP-PCr is highlighted as being no more than 10 seconds with a ratio of training to rest set at 1:12 to 1:20. During this time 90% to 100% of power/output is required.

Exercises considered useful for this are:

1. Lifting weights 1RM

2. Sprinting as fast as possible for >10s with the rest ratio highlighted above

3. Punching/Kicking as hard as possible for >10s

High explosive exercises and a good imagination can take this as far as you want. Twice a week would be adequate ensuring the correct rest is taken i.e. if you spend 30 minutes training this method than a 1:20 ration would be advised (6 hours rest). If you don’t implement the correct rest period you then start to train another energy system and if your goal is to train ATP-PCr alone than that is counter productive.

I hope this has given you a brief view into the start of our energy system and how to train it.

Next we will look at the Glycolytic System….

Go Roll, ooosss

Reference List:

Wilmore, J. H., Costill, D. L., and Kenney, W. L. (2008), Physiology of Sport and Exercise, Leeds: Human Kinetics.

Beachle, T. R., and Earle, R. W. (2008), Essentials of Strength training and Conditioning, Leeds: Human Kinetics.