The Science of Athletic Energy
Discover the physics, math, and metabolism behind human athletic performance. Learn how your body converts food calories into mechanical watts, why speed demands exponential power, and how to manage fuel and heat during exertion.
Like Duolingo, but for The Science of Athletic Energy. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Managing Your Fuel and Pacing and Overcoming Physical Resistance and Heat. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Science of Athletic Energy
- Human muscles operate at roughly 20% to 25% mechanical efficiency during exercise
- For every unit of mechanical work delivered to pedals or weights, three to four times as much energy turns into body heat
- This inefficiency explains why hard physical exertion rapidly causes heavy sweating and overheating
- One dietary kilocalorie equals roughly 4,184 joules (about 4.2 kilojoules)
- Because the body is roughly 24% efficient, burning 1 kcal of food yields almost exactly 1 kJ of external mechanical work
- Ergometers display mechanical work in kilojoules, which conveniently maps nearly 1-to-1 to food calories burned
- One watt is one joule of mechanical work per second
- At 200 watts mechanical output, the body expends approximately 200 food calories every 14–17 minutes (about 12 calories per minute)
- Burning off even modest snacks takes sustained muscular effort because each food calorie holds a large amount of chemical energy
- The liver and muscles store only about 2,000 calories of glycogen, which endurance athletes can exhaust in a few hours
- Even lean athletes store tens of thousands of calories in body fat
- Running out of usable carbohydrate storage forces pace to plummet because fat metabolizes more slowly
- Muscles keep a tiny reserve of instant chemical energy (ATP and phosphocreatine) available for explosive efforts
- These immediate phosphate stores empty in under 10 seconds of maximum effort
- Digesting food or breaking down stored fats and glycogen is too slow to power instant, maximum-intensity bursts
- At easy, low-intensity efforts, the body relies mostly on abundant fat stores for fuel
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Science of Athletic Energy the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When ye push hard on a workout bike, what share of yer food fuel turns into actual pedal motion?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn The Science of Athletic Energy, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Managing Your Fuel and Pacing
- Converting Food Calories into Mechanical Work
- Pacing Your Fuel to Avoid the Wall
- 2
Overcoming Physical Resistance and Heat
- Aerodynamics and the Exponential Cost of Speed
- Managing Waste Heat and Hydration Limits
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Science of Athletic Energy
How do I learn The Science of Athletic Energy?
Go in order: start with Managing Your Fuel and Pacing, then Overcoming Physical Resistance and Heat. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Science of Athletic Energy?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Science of Athletic Energy is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Science of Athletic Energy free?
Yes. The Science of Athletic Energy is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Science of Athletic Energy?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Science of Athletic Energy?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Science of Athletic Energy is taught in the Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Science of Athletic Energy today.
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