In this week’s episode of the Everyday Strength Podcast, Anthony Hagele breaks down the physiology behind conditioning and how your body actually creates, regenerates, and utilizes energy during training.
We go beyond the surface-level “cardio” talk and dig into the three internal engines that power every performance:
The Aerobic (Oxidative) System: your foundation for endurance, recovery, and overall cardiovascular health.
The Glycolytic (Anaerobic) System: that middle gear that drives high-intensity work and lactate tolerance.
The Phosphagen (Alactic) System: your top-end power source, responsible for short bursts, heavy lifts, and maximal efforts.
You’ll learn how each system actually produces ATP, what adaptations occur inside the muscle and heart, and why understanding these systems is the key to smarter conditioning and better performance.
This is part two of the Conditioning Series. In part one, we redefined what conditioning really means. In part three, we’ll cover how to train each of these systems intelligently using proven programming methods.
Timestamps
00:00: Intro — Conditioning Series overview
00:40: What conditioning really means
01:37: The three energy systems explained
01:58: Aerobic (Oxidative) System — the foundation
03:57: Step-by-step: how the aerobic system creates ATP
05:02: Adaptations: heart, mitochondria, and capillaries
06:54: Enzyme and substrate efficiency improvements
08:09: Why aerobic conditioning builds your performance base
09:02: Glycolytic (Anaerobic) System — the middle gear
10:25: Glycolysis explained and what causes “the burn”
11:14: The truth about lactate and energy production
12:27: Adaptations: enzymes, buffering, and cardiac response
13:58: Phosphagen (Alactic) System — short-term power
15:34: Creatine, ATP regeneration, and recovery
16:46: Neural efficiency and rate coding adaptations
17:11: How all three systems interact — the “relay race” analogy
18:59: Vertical integration and training residuals
20:00: Why understanding this matters for your training
21:01: What’s coming in Part 3 — training the systems
22:09: Final thoughts — function over fatigue
22:47: Outro — subscribe and stay tuned for next week
Links
🔗 Train with Hagele Strength: hagelestrength.com/programs
📬 Join the Performance Edge Newsletter: hagelestrength.com/all-articles
🎧 Listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts: hagelestrength.com/podcast