ACUTE RESPONSES

TO EXERCISE
KEY KNOWLEDGE
The mechanisms responsible for the acute responses to
exercise in
the cardiovascular, respiratory and muscular systems
Oxygen uptake at rest, during exercise and during recovery
including
oxygen deficit, steady state and excess post-exercise oxygen
consumption
KEY SKILL
Participate in physical activities to collect and analyse data
relating to the
range of acute effects that physical activity has on the
cardiovascular,
respiratory and muscular systems of the body

WHAT ARE ACUTE RESPONSES??

Only occur for the duration of exercise and recovery.

Short Term.
Are dependent on the intensity, duration and type of

exercise being undertaken

Involve the respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular

systems working together to supply more energy / ATP

and oxygen to working muscles and then again to
remove any waste products

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Cardiovascular System = circulates blood, nutrients (O2

and glucose) and removes waste (CO2 and Lactate)

Left Ventricle pumps blood around body
Cardio = Heart Related
Vascular = Blood Vessels (Arteries, capillaries and veins)
Haemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest

of the body tissue (and then transports carbon dioxide

back from the tissue to the lungs).

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Extracts O2 from the air and removes CO2 from the body.
Lungs
Alveoli are tiny air sacs that allow for O2 and CO2

exchange with capillaries

MUSCULAR SYSTEM
Responsible for movement
Myoglobin carries oxygen molecules to muscle tissue.
Mitochondria are the cells in which aerobic respiration

occurs, and oxidation of fats, carbohydrates and proteins

occurs in these cells to release ATP.
Contractile proteins = Actin and Myosin slide across each

other to produce force for muscular contractions.

Substrates = chemicals that can be broken down to

produce energy
Enzymes = Allow for fuels to break down more quickly.

Catalyst

FOR EACH ACUTE RESPONSE YOU

MAY THE FOLLOWING INFO
Definition:
Type of response:
Measure in:
Effect of exercise
Benefits:
Any negative side effects:
Rest vs Maximal Exercise: Trained vs Untrained:
How it occurs
Aerobic or Anaerobic

ACUTE RESPONSES
Cardio

Vascular

Respiratory

Muscular

Stroke Volume

Venous Return

Ventilation

AVO2 Diff

Heart Rate

Blood Pressure

Tidal Volume

Temperature

Cardiac Output Redistribution

Respiratory
of blood flow & Frequency

Motor Unit
Recruitment

Thermoregulati
on
Oxygen
Uptake
Factors
affecting VO2
Blood Volume

Diffusion

Energy
Substrate
Levels

ACUTE RESPONSES OF THE

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM : CARDIO

Increased
Heart Rate

Increased
Stroke
Volume

Increased
Cardiac
Output

HEART RATE

INCREASED HEART RATE (HR)

Contractions of the heart. - Beats per minute
Increases oxygenated blood flow to working muscles
Your heart rate has a maximum and this can be

APPROXIMATELY calculated by following equation

MAX HR = 220 - age
Trained athletes will have a lower resting heart rate
Heart rate increases in anticipation to exercise

Anticipatory rise

INCREASED STROKE VOLUME

(SV)
Stroke volume is the amount of blood ejected from the

heart with each contraction.

Stroke volume increases with exercise but only u pto 40-

60% of maximum intensity of exercise. Then it plateaus.

Untrained individual SV @ rest =60-80mL and @ exercise

=80-110mL
Trained individual SV @rest = 80-110mL and @ exercise

= 160-200mL
Question Does this help you understand why a trained

person has a lower resting HR?

Males will have generally higher stroke volumes due to

their increased heart size.

INCREASED CARDIAC OUTPUT (Q)

Cardiac Output (Q) is the amount of blood ejected by the

heart each minute.

It is calculated by multiplying heart rate and stroke v olume
Q = HR x SV
So that more blood can be ejected out of the heart per

minute and therefore more oxygen can be delivered to the

muscles
For average adult @ Rest = 4-6 Litres per minute @

Exercise = 20-25L
For trained athlete this can get up to 35-40 L per minute

YOUR TURN!
Jim is 32 years old.
He has a resting HR of 72. His resting stroke volume is

68mL. .
Jim goes for a run at about 50% of maximum and his HR

increases to 146 and his stroke volume increases to

98mL.
Calculate his resting Cardiac output Q
Calculate his Q at exercise

YOUR TURN
What is meant by the term acute responses to exercise?
Define what is meant by the term heart, stroke volume

and cardiac output.

How can I calculate my maximum heart rate?
Why do females have smaller stroke volumes that males?
Describe how HR, SV and Q change with increasing

intensity. How do they interrelate?

ACUTE RESPONSES OF THE

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM : VASCULAR
Increased
Venous
Return

Increased
Blood
Pressure

Redistributi
on of blood
flow

Decreased
Blood
Volume

Increased
Oxygen
Uptake

INCREASED VENOUS RETURN

The amount of blood that is returned back to the heart

via the veins

More blood delivered back to the heart to reoxygenate

Muscle Pump

Respiratory Pump

Venoconstriction (constriction of the veins)

INCREASED BLOOD PRESSURE

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the

arteries.
Systolic blood pressure is the blood pressure recorded as blood is ejected

during contraction phase of the heart cycle. Will be the higher of the 2 values
Diastolic blood pressure is the blood pressure recorded during the relaxation

phase of the heart cycle. Will always have a lower value.

More blood is being pumped out per beat/minute and therefore it causes an

increase in pressure
A normal blood pressure is 120 over 80.
During dynamic whole body exercise e.g running cycling blood is pumped

more forcefully and quickly out of the heart, this increases systolic blood
pressure but diastolic blood pressure barely changes.
In resistance type of exercise such as lifting weights there is an increase in

both systolic and diastolic blood pressure

REDISTRIBUTION OF BLOOD FLOW

TO WORKING MUSCLES
The redirection of blood away from areas where it is not needed

(e.g. spleen, kidneys) to areas where it is (e.g. working muscles)

Our blood vessels can expand and increase their internal

diameter to allow more blood to be pumped through to muscles.

This is called VASODILATION
Our blood vessels can constrict to allow less blood through. This

is called VASOCONSTRICTION
@ Rest
15-20% goes to working muscles. 75-80% to vital organs.
@ Exercise
80-90% to working muscles. 10-20% to vital organs.

DECREASED BLOOD VOLUME

The amount of volume of blood decreases
As a consequence of sweating
Caused by a decrease in plasma volume due to sweating.

Depends on the intensity, duration and environmental

factors

INCREASED OXYGEN UPTAKE

Oxygen uptake (VO2) is the amount of oxygen

transported to, taken up by and used by the body for

energy production.
Reaches a MAXIMUM OXYGEN UPTAKE (VO2 max). Usually

occurs around 2-3.5L.

When exercise begins oxygen uptake increases as the

working muscles use it made possible by the responses

by the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

It increases linearly.

@ Rest 0.25L per minute

FACTORS AFFECTING MAXIMUM

OXYGEN UPTAKE

Body
Size

Gender
Age

Genetic
s

Training
Status

BODY SIZE
A larger heavier person requires more oxygen than a

smaller person.
Therefore VO2 max is expressed relative to body size in

mL/kg/min so it can be compared.

GENDER
Females tend to have lower oxygen uptake than males of

a similar age and athleticism.

For untrained individuals can be as great as 20-25% less.
Why?
Females tend to have a higher amount of body fat and

lower muscle mass. Body fat doesnt use oxygen.

Females have lower blood volumes and lower levels of

red blood cells and haemoglobin. Therefore less oxygen

carrying capacity
Females typically have smaller lung size and volume.

GENETICS
Aerobic capability is largely genetically determined. Up to

25-50% of variance.
Training can still largely improve VO2 max.

AGE
Peaks around late adolescence and early adulthood and

then declines after the age of 25.

Declines around 10% per decade.
Training and being physically active can reduce the

decline.

TRAINING STATUS (AEROBIC OR

CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS LEVEL)
Aerobic training can substantially increase VO2 max.
Average VO2 max for untrained adult male 20-29 is 43-52

mL/kg/min.
Average VO2 max for untrained adult female 20-29 is 33-

42 mL/kg/min.
Trained endurance athlete can be up to 50-75

mL/kg/min.
Refer to table 3.1.
Why does a swimmer have a higher VO2 max than a

weight lifter of the same sex and age?

http://content.jacplus.com.au/secure/FileViewer?

resourceId=136179&category=eLesson&pk=fb5d71007f
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YOUR TURN
Why is VO2 max expressed relative to bodyweight.
List and briefly summarize the factors that can affect VO2

max in a table
Have a look at the table on pages 102-103 and explain

why nordic skiiers have a much higher VO2 max than a

weightlifter?

ACUTE RESPONSES OF THE

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM :

Increased
respiratory
frequency

Increased
Tidal
Volume

Increased
Ventilation

Diffusion

INCREASED RESPIRATORY
FREQUENCY (BREATHING RATE)
Respiratory frequency or breathing rate is the amount of

breaths taken per minute.

Usually around 12 breaths per minute @ rest. Up to

around a maximum of 35-50 during exercise.

INCREASED TIDAL VOLUME

Tidal volume is the depth of your breathing.
Increases from 0.5L per breath at rest to a max of 3-5L

per breath.

INCREASED VENTILATION
Ventilation is the amount of air inspired or expired per minute by the

lungs.
Tidal volume x Respiratory Rate = Ventilation (TV x RF = V)

Increased volume of O2 in lungs => diffused to blood to be

transported to working muscles.

To increase the volume of oxygen in the lungs that can be diffused

into the blood and transported to the working muscles.

Greatest increase from RF as TV plateaus
@ Rest = 5-6L per minute
@ Maximal Exercise = 130-180L or beyond
Your Turn! Calculate the Ventilation of an individual who has

respiratory rate of 15 breaths per minute and a tidal volume of 0.5L?

INCREASED DIFFUSION
The movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide to an area of

high concentration to an area of low concentration. Occurs

in the alveoli of the lungs and the muscle capillaries
Gas exchange occurs at the lungs between the alveoli and

the cappilaries
Gas exchange occurs in the muscle between the muscle

tissue and the capillaries.

Refer to diagram
During exercise diffusion increases to make more O2

available and to get rid of more CO2.

ACUTE RESPONSES OF THE

MUSCULAR SYSTEM
AVO2 Diff

Increased
Temperature

Increased
Motor Unit
Recruitment

Decreased
Energy
Substrate
Levels

INCREASED ARTERIOVENOUS
DIFFERENCE (A-VO2 DIFF)
a-VO2 diff is a measure of the difference in the

concentration of oxygen in the arterial blood (arteries and

venous blood (veins).
To increase the amount of oxygen that is delivered and

used by the working muscles to produce energy

aerobically.
@ Rest arteries usually contain around 20mL of oxygen

per 100mL of blood and the veins contain 15mL of

oxygen per 100mL of blood.

Therefore the a-V02 diff is 20-15 = 5mL per 100mL

During exercise will the a-VO2 diff increase or decrease.

Why?

INCREASED MUSCLE UNIT

RECRUITMENT
Increased motor neuron firing and the muscle fibres it

stimulates
More motor units recruited = Greater force!

INCREASED TEMPERATURE
A change in the internal temperature of the body
Mechanisms work to prevent an increase in core body

temperature.
SWEAT

DECREASED ENERGY SUBSTRATE

LEVELS
The chemicals that are required to resynthesis ATP

decrease
PC, glycogen, triglycerides

Oxygen Deficit occurs when oxygen supply lags behind oxygen demands
typically at the start of exercise and when exercise intensities rapidly increase mainly anaerobic energy systems
Steady State occurs when oxygen supply meets oxygen demand largely
aerobic energy system
Oxygen Debt = EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption) occurs
during recovery whilst oxygen levels remain above resting levels largely aerobic
energy system

R O B E RT M A L P E L I - B A LW Y N H I G H
SCHOOL 2010

OXYGEN UPTAKE FROM REST

At rest the body is easily able to take in the
required oxygen.
As exercise begins, oxygen demand increases and
the body is unable to meet this demand.
During this period of oxygen deficit, ATP is
produced anaerobically. During steady state, the
oxygen supply is equal to demand and ATP is
produced aerobically.
At the completion of the exercise, excess oxygen is
taken in to enable the body to return to preexercise levels.

EPOC Its sometimes good to extend this via an active recovery

R O B E RT M A L P E L I - B A LW Y N H I G H
SCHOOL 2010