It’s an interesting concept isn’t it. One that makes us curious to learn what it is that we don’t know. But how can we learn what we don’t know we need to learn. It’s simple, we need to be told by someone else.

This applies to many situations in life. But as this is a fitness blog, yes, I am talking about fitness. So what don’t you know that you don’t know.. about fitness. Let’s talk about the application of energy systems for example.

Did you know that the body has 3 energy systems? The Anaerobic A-Lactic (ATP-CP) Energy System, the Anaerobic Lactic (Glycolytic) Energy System and the Aerobic (Oxidative) Energy System. In the gym the use of these systems can be found in those weightlifting (generally ATP-CP) and those on the treadmill machines (generally Oxidative).

You’ll often hear in the gym, people saying “I don’t do cardio”, or I hate “cardio”. These type of people essentially don’t enjoy training in the oxidative system. Why? Because they don’t enjoy metabolic fatigue. Many of these people spend time working on their physique and they may look great but because of the lack of training in the oxidative system they can’t exactly be called fit.

Being fit means to train all 3 energy systems. This can be achieved through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) where you fluctuate in and out of all 3 systems.

So going back to my point about not knowing what you don’t know. Many people don’t know or understand the concept of real fitness. And by having an opportunity to work with a fitness professional they soon might find an interest in training all 3 energy systems. Because when you know what you don’t know, in fitness, you may just want to learn, try and then know.