Long term adaptations of exercise on the Respiratory system

1. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF
FITNESS
The long-term effects of exercise of the
body’s systems
Part Two: Respiratory System

2. Session Outcomes
1. Describe two respiratory adaptations through long-term
exercise programmes.(P3)
2. Record respiratory responses to 2 types of exercise(P3)
3. Explain 2 respiratory adaptations that will occur through
long-term training in an activity of your choice.(M2)
 In pairs, no. 1 is to ask no.2 how to achieve each of these
outcomes.
 Next, no. 1 is to assess these plans.
 Next , no. 2 is to plan how to achieve the outcomes. No. 1 to
assess.
 Compare your plans and decide on the best ideas.

3. Long-term effects of exercise
on the respiratory system
The muscles demand more
oxygen and as a result more
CO2 is produced. To combat
this the body adapts by:
 Increasing strength of
respiratory muscles
 Increasing vital capacity
 Increasing oxygen diffusion rate
 Increasing minute ventilation

4. 1. Increased strength of the
respiratory muscles
 The diaphragm and
intercostal muscles
increase in strength.
 This allows for greater
expansion of the
thoracic (chest) cavity.
 More expansion
provides more
efficient inhalation
and expiration

5. 2. Increased vital capacity
 Vital Capacity (VC) is the
maximal volume of air that can
be expired after maximal
inspiration in one breath
 Mainly down to the increased
strength of intercostal muscles
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3pfeXULyv0

6. Measuring Vital Capacity with
the Balloon Method
 Stretch a round balloon several
times to relax the material and
make it easier to inflate.
 To measure vital capacity,
inhale as much air as you can
and exhale forcefully into the
balloon. Pinch the end of the
balloon and measure its
diameter (see Figure 1, to
right).
 Record the result in your
assessment notebook.  Figure 1. Measuring the diameter of the balloon,
in centimetres (Muskopf, 2003).

7. Measuring Vital Capacity with
the Balloon Method
 Conversion into Lung
Volumes
 These can be used as
a benchmark with
performers to see if
vital capacity is
increasing through
exercise.
 Figure 2. Use this graph to find the balloon volume (in cubic
centimeters) for a given balloon diameter (in centimeters)
(Muskopf, 2003).

8. 3. Increased oxygen diffusion
rate
 Increase in the number and
size of capillaries leads to
more efficient diffusion:
 More O2 from capillaries to
tissues.
 More CO2 from cells to the
blood.
 Regular training leads to
better transportation of
O2/CO2 therefore an
increase in oxygen diffusion
rate

9. 4. Increased minute ventilation
 Minute ventilation It’s expressed as:
(minute volume) is  VE = volume of air
the amount of air expired in a minute
inspired or expired  VI = volume of air
in one minute. inspired in a minute
 It is dependent on  During exercise
breathing rate and adults can generally
total volume achieve 15 times
resting values

10. Session Outcomes
 Describe two respiratory adaptations through
long-term exercise programmes.
 Explain 1 respiratory adaptation that will occur
through long-term training in an activity of your
choice.

11. Respiratory Adaptations to Training
 Pulmonary ventilation increases during maximal effort after training; you
can improve performance by training the inspiratory muscles.
 Pulmonary diffusion increases at maximal work rates.
 The a-VO2 diff increases with training due to more oxygen being extracted
by tissues.
 The respiratory system is seldom a limiter of endurance performance.
 All the major adaptations of the respiratory system to training are most
apparent during maximal exercise.
 Although the largest part of the increase in VO2max results from the
increases in cardiac output and muscle blood flow, the increase in a-VO2
diff also plays a key role. This increase in a-VO2 diff is due to a more
effective distribution of arterial blood away from inactive tissue to the active
tissue, so that more of the blood coming back to the right atrium has gone
through active muscle.