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BASIC EXERCISE SCIENCE (BES) COURSE

Lecture 3 – Exercise Physiology and Adaptations to
Physical Activity/Exercise

School of
Sports, Health
and Leisure
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Overview

This lesson looks at the following physiological systems and

covers the acute (immediate) and chronic (long-term) effects of
exercise:
•The Cardiorespiratory System
•The Metabolic System
•The Muscular System

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Learning outcomes
• Describe the acute and chronic adaptations of the cardiorespiratory
system to exercise.
• Describe the three energy systems in relation to exercise.
• Describe the factors that influence the metabolic system.
• Describe the chronic adaptations of the metabolic system to exercise.
• Describe the fundamentals of the muscular system.
• Describe the chronic adaptations of the muscular system to exercise

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The Cardiorespiratory System

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The heart and circulatory system

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Acute Responses to Exercise

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Acute Responses to Exercise

• At rest, the large mass of muscle tissue receives about the same quantity of
blood as the much smaller kidneys.
• During strenuous exercise, >80% of the cardiac output diverts to the active
musculature.

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Chronic Adaptations With Training

→ Decreased O2 uptake at rest and submaximal exercise.

→ Increased maximal O2 uptake (VO2max).
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Pulmonary ventilation and volumes

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Ventilation

Condition Breathing Rate Tidal Volume Ventilation

(breaths∙min-1) (L∙breath-1) (L∙min-1)

Rest 12 0.5 6

Moderate
30 2.5 75
Exercise
Vigorous
50 3.0 150
Exercise

(Basic Sports Science, SSI, 2016, p.34)

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The Metabolic System

• The metabolic system governs the chemical and physical changes in the
body that enable its growth and function.
• Metabolism involves the conversion of the food and drinks we consume into
energy.
• The factors that affect the rate of metabolism at rest [resting metabolic rate
(RMR)]:
• Body size and composition – people with larger body sizes burn more
calories and those with more muscles burn more calories
• Gender – males generally have more muscle mass and less fat than
females and so burn more calories
• Age – as we get older, we lose muscle mass and so we burn less calories
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The Metabolic System

• There are two main factors that affect the number of calories burned daily:
• Food processing (thermogenesis) – after each meal, energy is need to
digest, absorb, transport and store the food. About 10% of the calories of
the food we consume is used for this.
• Physical activity – this is the biggest factor that is able to change the
number of calories burned daily. The number of calories burned depends
on the duration and intensity of the physical activity.

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The Metabolic System

• All physical activities require energy to be released to the
muscles to fuel contraction and prevent fatigue.
• ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the energy currency used by our
body to perform a number of tasks.

(Wilmore & Costil, 2008, Chapter 2)

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The Metabolic System

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The Three Energy Systems

Anaerobic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCmNQQWlrc0)
1. ATP-PCr system : < 10 sec of high intensity
2. Anaerobic Glycolytic system : < 3 minutes of moderate to high intensity

Aerobic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQMsJSme780)
3. Aerobic Oxidative system : > 3 minutes of low to moderate intensity

• All 3 energy systems are active concurrently

• Contribution depends on exercise intensity, duration and hormonal control.

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Energy Systems and Exercise

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/your-offseason-plan-conditioning/)
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Chronic Adaptations With Training

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The muscular system

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The Muscular System

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Basic structure of skeletal muscle tissue

(Source: Marieb & Hoehn, 2010,

p.279)

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Structure of skeletal muscle explained

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Muscle Contraction
• For a voluntary skeletal muscle to
contract, your nervous system must
send a signal directly to the muscle.
• One motor nerve will stimulate many
skeletal muscle fibres, together creating
a functional unit called a motor unit.
• A motor unit can be small or large,
depending on the number of muscle
fibres that it stimulates.
• Small motor units are comprised of
slow-twitch fibres; larger motor units are
comprised of fast-twitch fibres.
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What are the different skeletal muscle fibre types?

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What are the different skeletal muscle fiber types?

(Powers & Howley, 2009, p. 157)

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What are the characteristics of skeletal muscle?

(Powers & Howley, 2009, p. 157)

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References
• Marieb, E., N., & Hoehn, K., N. (2010). Human Anatomy and Physiology.
(8th edn.). USA: Benjamin Cummings.
• Powers, S.K., & Howley, E.T. (2009). Exercise physiology: Theory and
application to fitness and performance (8th ed.). USA,NY: McGraw-Hill.
(Chapters 7 & 8)
• Wilmore, J. H., Costill, D. L., & Kenney, W. L. (2008). Physiology of sport
and exercise (4th ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics.

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