ENERGY

SYSTEMS
(REVISITED)
Chapter 3

ENERGY SYSTEMS: INTRO &

REVIEW
Glycolysis: 1 glucose molecule is broken down in to pyruvate
2 phases: energy investment & energy generation
If using BG net generation of 2 ATP (3 if using MG)

Pyruvate is converted to Acetyl CoA or lactate depending on exercise

intensity

Acetyl CoA NADH is also produced

Lactate NAD+ is also produced (feeds in to glycolysis during HIT)

Fat & proteins can also be used to generate Acetyl CoA: the universal

intermediary

Acetyl CoA feeds in to the Krebs Cycle (aka Citric Acid Cycle)
Produces 3 NADH & 1 FADH
These electron carriers then supply the Electron Transport Chain

GLYCOLYSIS IN MORE DEPTH

Energy investment phase
1. Glucose + ATP Glucose-6-phosphate + ADP
Hexokinase

ATP ADP + P

1. Add 1 Phosphate (from ATP)

C C C C C C

2. Rearrange molecules

Isomerase

2. Glucose-6-phosphate Fructose-6-phosphate

Phosphofructokinase (PFK)

3. Fructose-6-phosphate + ATP Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate + ADP

ATP ADP + P

C C C C C C

3. Add another Phosphate (from ATP)

GLYCOLYSIS: ENERGY
INVESTMENT PHASE
4.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate 2x Glyceralderhyde-3-phosphate
Aldolase

C C C C C C

P
4. Split the 6C chain into 2 x 3C chains

GLYCOLYSIS: ENERGY
GENERATION PHASE
5.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate + Pi + NAD+ 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate +

NAD
NADH
NAD+
C C C

5. Double phosphorylate the 3C chain,

and reduce NAD+ to NADH

6.

1,3-bisphosphoglycerate + ADP 3-phosphoglycerate

+ ATP
P
P

C C C

6. Dephosphorylate the 3C chain to

phosphorylate ADP ATP

GLYCOLYSIS: ENERGY
GENERATION PHASE
7.

3-phosphoglycerate Phosphoenolpyruvate + H2O

7. Rearrange the molecules

(isomerization), 1 water
molecule is a byproduct

8.

Phosphoenolpyruvate + ADP pyruvate + ATP

P
C C C

8. Dephosphorylate the 3C chain again

to phosphorylate ADP ATP

LACTATE AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE
Recap: Why does lactate production become elevated?
High intensity exercise!

Glycolysis producing pyruvate faster than can be taken into oxidative metabolism
(Krebs cycle)
2. Fast twitch fibers are preferentially recruited
primarily glycolytic rather than aerobic fibers
3. Oxygen availability is lower than required by the ETC
Last cytochrome in ETC remains reduced ATP generation is capped
1.

LACTATE AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE
Cori Cycle: lactate is converted back in to glucose in the liver via

gluconeogenesis

Usually performed at rest, as it requires 6 ATP to regenerate 1 glucose molecule

Why is it worth this investment?

TRIGLYCERIDES: ANOTHER
ENERGY SOURCE

Triglycerides are highly concentrated energy stores that

yield 9cal/g when completely oxidized

As opposed to glycogen, triglycerides are anhydrous, or

without water

1 g of anhydrous triglycerides contain almost 6x the energy

of 1 g of hydrated glycogen
This is likely why triglycerides are the major stored energy
source
Glycogen can supply ~24hrs of energy, whereas

triglycerides can allow survival for several weeks.

FATTY ACIDS
Free fatty acids (FFAs) are separated from the glycerol molecule by the enzyme

Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL)

A fatty acid is a hydrocarbon chain
The terms un/saturated refers to whether the molecule is fully hydrogenated

ie, each carbon has 2 hydrogen atoms attached

Unsaturated fatty acids will have double bonds between un-hydrogenated carbon
atoms
Carboxyl group
CH2

BETA OXIDATION
-oxidation is the breakdown of FFAs into acetyl-CoA
Acetyl-CoA will then be fed in to the Krebs Cycle
Occurs in the mitochondria

It is called -oxidation because the bond connecting the -

carbon is broken to form the 2 carbon Acetyl CoA molecule

It is a 4 step process, that will also produce

1 NADH
1 FADH2

carbon
carbon

BETA OXIDATION
Example: palmitate is a 16C fatty acid chain
-oxidation will chop the 2 carbons from the carboxyl end of the

fatty acid chain

This will yield
1 Acetyl CoA, 1 NADH, 1 FADH 2
14C fatty acid chain

-oxidation will occur repeatedly until all available carbons are

harvested
The 16C chain will give us 8 Acetyl CoA, 7 NADH & 7 FADH 2
molecules
A 18C chain will yield 9 Acetyl CoA, 8 NADH & 8 FADH 2 molecules
etc

carbon
carbon

BETA OXIDATION: ENERGY

YIELD
Energy from NADH / FADH2
2.5 ATP / NADH (subtract ATP as it takes energy to transport ATP out of the

mitochondria)
1.5 ATP / FADH2
2.5x7 + 1.5x7 = 28 ATP per 16C FFA

Energy from AcetylCoA

3 NADH, 1 FADH2 & 1 ATP per turn of the Krebs Cycle
8 x (3x2.5 + 1x1.5 + 1)
8 x (7.5 + 1.5 + 1)
8 x 10 = 80 ATP

Total: 108 ATP / 16C fatty acid chain

PROTEIN AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE
Not a primary energy source, but can be used when necessary
Before proteins can be used as an energy source, they first have to be

broken down into amino acids

Amino acids (AAs) then go through deamination, which is the removal of a

Nitrogen (amino) group

NH3 (ammonia, which is toxic) is converted to urea (much less toxic) or excreted

in urine

PROTEIN AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE
AAs can be converted to either
Acetyl CoA or some Krebs Cycle intermediary feed Krebs Cycle & aerobic

metabolism
During times of very high energy demand or when fuel resources are low

Pyruvate glycolysis or gluconeogenesis (depending on the AA in question)

PROTEIN AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE

ONCE ACETYL-COA HAS BEEN

GENERATED
Krebs Cycle
You should be familiar with
the end product of each

step
any energy producing
intermediaries (NADH /
FADH / ATP) also produced