The Benefits of Anaerobic Threshold Training

Anaerobic Threshold training is one of my favourite of ways to train. I think it is because it asks so many questions both physically and mentally. Have a read below to understand why it’s a staple in the ACTV program. We have all suffered with the "burn" during an intense workout, where our shoulders are screaming at us to stop and our legs just want to fall off and lay peacefully on the ground. During this "burn" phase a lot of chemical stuff happens inside your body including the production of lactic acid. This burn can become pretty intense and causes us to down barbells, shake things out and take a bit of a rest. With Lactic Threshold training (or otherwise known as anaerobic threshold training) we want to improve our ability to push through this pain barrier, allowing us to continue to smash out the reps without having to take a break.  BENEFITS OF TRAINING ANAEROBICALLY The bodies energy systems can be broken down in to 3 pathways (phosphagen pathway, the glycolytic pathway, and the oxidative pathway), which can be split in to 2 different systems .  The aerobic system and the anaerobic system. To simplify things, aerobic means "with oxygen", eg.. performing low intensity exercise that allows you to breath (Usually activities that last over several minutes, eg... long distance running) and anaerobic meaning without oxygen activities performed for less than a few minutes, like sprinting or heavy 1 rep maxes). Whilst there is benefits to training both systems, at ACTV  we highly favour anaerobic training, as it gives us a lot more bang for it buck and it has been shown that increasing your anaerobic capacity leads to gains at an aerobic level, without the negative effects that aerobic training has on the body (i.e muscle burning), but with all the amazing benefits (burning BODY FAT, improved cardiovascular health), plus its own benefits like muscle building and greater crossover in to sports with its increase in power, strength and speed Basically put, it is possible to increase your endurance performance as an athlete, by training with high intense anaerobic exercise. HOW ITS DONE Unfortunately making gains in this area of your training will come at a painful cost. You will need to take yourself to the pain cave a fair few times to allow your body to benefit from the adaptive response that will increase your ability to withstand the burn.  These types of workouts are mostly interval based, and you will need to push yourself above your lactate threshold during a working period, followed swiftly by a period of recovery.. which will then be repeated. Give this weeks workout a go and don’t worry if you miss it it’s a staple in the ACTV conditioning method 😉