Regarding the energetics of exercise, ATP is unique because:

It is the body’s only high-energy compound

It is the only compound that can be used directly for muscle contraction

It is readily available in high concentrations in muscle

It can only be produced by carbohydrate breakdown

Correct

Correct – ATP alone can supply the energy necessary for muscle contraction.

This video will address

an important concept related to the energetic needs

of muscles during exercise. Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP is a extremely important

compound required for muscular work. ATP is the chemical currency used

to supply the energy needed for muscle contraction. When this high energy phosphate is

broken down, it releases a tremendous amount of energy to the cell,

initiating muscle contraction. Of all the high energy compounds

in the body, only ATP can be used directly to supply the energy needed

for the mechanical work of exercise. This is an important concept when it

from rest to exercise. Shown here is the actually site in muscle

where ATP is broken down or hydrolyzed. The energy released allows for the cross

bridge formation between the myosin and actin filaments leading to

the initiation of power stroke and eventually muscle contraction. When we zoom in the region

of the myosin filament or the cross bridge formation the actin

filament occurs we see the enzyme ATPase. This enzyme is responsible for the

breakdown of ATP and its energy release. It is very important to realize that no

other enzymes are present in this region. Thus, no other high energy compound can

be used to activate muscle contraction, it must be ATP, and ATP alone. Therefore, it is of the
utmost

importance to ensure that ATP levels in muscle are maintained if you wish to

exercise for any significant duration. The issue of maintaining ATP during

exercise is further complicated by the fact that the concentration of

ATP in muscle at rest is extremely low. As expected, when we go from

rest to submaximal exercise, the rate of ATP utilization by

the muscle increases dramatically. Since muscle ATP levels are low at rest,

it is imperative that the rate of ATP production increases to an equal

extent of that of utilization if we wish to continue to exercise for

more than several seconds. With very intense exercise, it is

possible for the rate of ATP utilization to increase beyond the capacity for

ATP production to keep pace. In this case, the individual will

either fatigue very rapidly and be forced to stop exercising or

reduce their exercise intensity thereby lowering the rate of ATP utilization

allowing production to keep pace. Thus it is essential for

ATP producing pathways to be turned on or activated during exercise to

macronutrients, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are broken down to

supply the fuel for ATP production. The metabolic breakdown of these

macronutrients supplies the energy for ATP synthesis from ADP. The ATP now produced can be
directly used

for the mechanical work of exercise. How the body activates the ATP

producing pathways during exercise is controlled enzymatically. Key enzymes in those ATP
producing

pathways mentioned on the previous slide get turned on as the muscle senses

the need for greater energy production. This sensing is primarily controlled by

the energy charges of the cell shown here. Basically, when the concentration of ATP

in the muscle cell drops below normal resting levels, the energy charge drops

and ATP producing pathways are activated. At rest, the energy charge in

muscle is approximately 0.85. The energy charge will drop

during exercise dependent upon the exercise intensity and

rate of ATP utilization. Notice that as the energy charge

decreases, ATP generating pathways are turned on while ATP utilizing

pathways, such as biosynthetic reactions are turned off to save

the precious ATP from muscle contraction. Shown here are the three main ATP

producing pathways related to fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism. The complete
oxidation of

these macronutrients will lead to the eventual production of ATP in

the mitochondria of muscle cells. Please notice that this process

results in the utilization of oxygen by the mitochondria. This is why our rate of oxygen

consumption increases during exercise to sustain the increase requirement for

ATP production. This is also why we can

measure oxygen consumption, via indirect calorimetry to

that are responsible for the majority of ATP production,

needed both at rest and during exercise. Again, I emphasize that these ATP

producing pathways must be activated when we go from rest to exercise to match

ATP production with that of utilization. This is what an isolated mitochondrion

looks like in a muscle cell. If the bulk of the energy needed for

a specific athletic event comes from the mitochondrial ATP production, it is

considered to be an aerobic activity, because oxygen is both required and

consumed. Endurance activities, lasting ten minutes

and longer fall into this category. Short term high intensity exercise lasting

seconds must get the majority of ATP from pathways that do not require

oxygen as they need ATP immediately and do not have the time to completely oxidize

our macronutrients in the mitochondria. Activities that rely on these immediate

energy sources that do not require oxygen for ATP production

are known as anaerobic activities. Those immediate energy sources for high intensity explosive
anaerobic

activities are shown here. First there is that ATP already present

in the muscle cell at rest, but remember its concentration is very low and

will not last long. Second, we have creatine phosphate which

can directly produce ATP enzymatically. Notice that oxygen is not involved or

consumed in this process. At rest, there is about three to four times more

creatine phosphate in muscle than ATP. Carbohydrate is the only macronutrient

that can be broken down both aerobically and

anaerobically to supply ATP. The anaerobic pathway involves

the breakdown of glucose in glycolysis, and results in the production of two ATPs,

and two lactic acids or lactates. Again, this is anaerobic,

the oxidation of carbohydrates and fats. Notice that one, oxygen is required. And two,

the oxidation of glucose yields 30 ATP as opposed to only 2 ATP if we

break down glucose anaerobically. Thus, for the very same glucose molecule,

we get 15 times more ATP via the aerobic versus

the anaerobic pathway. This is extremely important as

we'll see in subsequent videos as there is a limited amount of

carbohydrates stored in the body. So if we were able to use our glucose

aerobically, we will not only get more bang for the back but we will also

spare our precious carbohydrate stores. Finally, notice that the energy dense

fats such as the 16 carbon palmitate, yields a tremendous amount

of ATP upon oxidation. We will discus this in more

detail later in module one. In summary,

only ATP can be used directly for mechanical work required during exercise. At rest there is only
a very

small amount of ATP in muscle. Thus, ATP generating pathways

must be activated to maintain ATP levels if exercise is to continue for

more than several seconds. The drop in energy charge during the exercise activates

ATP generating pathways. Mitochondria are the source

of ATP produced for the oxidation of the carbohydrates,

fats and proteins.