By Daniel Clay

Several times, after a short intense workout, specifically a boot camp workout, you may find yourself panting heavily or even out of breath. It is essentially your body’s way of telling you that it needs more energy. During a workout, various muscles of your body are working at the same time, and your body needs to transport oxygen to all of them to make sure they work properly.

What creates an Oxygen Debt?

The energy that your body needs during the workout is provided by the available oxygen, and the aerobic break down of pyruvic acid produces ATP required for further contraction of muscles. However, when this is not adequate enough, your body gains additional ATP by a process called anaerobic glycolysis, which converts most of the pyruvic acid produced to lactic acid. A greater part of this lactic acid then disperses from the skeletal muscles and is sent to the liver where it is converted back to glucose or glycogen, which ultimately provides you energy. The oxygen deficit, that triggered the anaerobic creation of energy, creates what is known as an Oxygen Debt.

Why pay back this debt?

Once your body gets all the energy it needs, the lactic acid produced anaerobically must be broken down completely into carbon dioxide and water, for which your body needs oxygen. Oxygen is also needed to replenish ATP and glycogen, and to pay back oxygen borrowed from haemoglobin and myoglobin. In fact, once you stop working out and your body begins to recover, you will actually need more oxygen to recuperate than what would have been absorbed by your body had enough been available at that time. This is called Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption. The additional oxygen consumed by your body after a strenuous workout to restore all systems to normalcy is called Oxygen Debt.

Does it affect everyone equally?

The highest amount of oxygen that your body consumes aerobically, known as the maximal oxygen uptake, depends on your sex, age, and body size. Highly trained athletes have a maximal oxygen uptake that is twice that of normal people, probably because of training practice or possessing a superior gene structure. They are capable of working out longer without requiring increased lactic acid production, so their oxygen debts are less. Hence, you will not see trained athletes short of breath as easily as normal people.

How long does it take to recover?

Oxygen recovery has two major elements – the content of oxygen required to replenish glycogen and ATP levels, and that required to catabolise lactic acid. In case of a high intensity, low endurance workout, your body needs only a couple of hours to recover. However, in high endurance workouts, like a marathon, your body can take up to several days to recover. Complete replenishment of glycogen can be accelerated by increasing the consumption of carbohydrates in your diet. Essentially, it is important to give your body enough time to recover naturally. It is extremely important to be aware of oxygen debt while exercising so that you don’t overstress yourself in a workout that could cause an injury, or damage your body.

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