The Effect of Exercise on the

Cardiorespiratory System
by BETHANY KOCHAN Last Updated: Feb 07, 2014

Your cardiorespiratory system is made up of your heart, blood vessels

and lungs, or respiratory system. It's job is to circulate blood throughout
the body, and when it doesn't function properly, your health is at risk,
according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The long-term
effects of exercise on this system are positive, and can lower your risk of
disease while improving your quality of life.
During Exercise
When you're performing cardiovascular exercise, and even weight
training, your cardiorespiratory system is affected. Any change in

intensity of activity, like getting out of a chair, changes the needs of your
body. Your heart and breathing rates increase most noticeably. This is
due to the increased need for oxygen to the working muscles. The
harder you exercise, the higher your breathing and heart rates. After
exercise is complete these rates return to normal levels.
Maximal Cardiac Output
One of the most significant changes to the cardiorespiratory system is an
increase in maximal cardiac output. This is a long-term change that
occurs over time. Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped by the
heart in liters per minute, according to the National Strength and
Conditioning Association. It's the result of stroke volume and heart rate.
This long-term change is a result primarily of improved stroke volume, or
the amount of blood that is pumped each beat of the heart. Basically
your heart is stronger and can pump more blood in fewer beats.

Improved Oxygen Uptake

Oxygen-rich blood is pumped throughout your body constantly, and this
increases during exercise. Oxygen uptake refers to the amount of
oxygen that is taken from the blood and used by the muscles during

exercise. A chronic adaptation is an improvement in this system. Over

time your cardiorespiratory system becomes more efficient at getting
oxygenated blood throughout your body, and the muscles become better
at removing it and replacing it with carbon dioxide. This shows as an
improvement in overall fitness, and lowers your risk of disease.
Respiratory Adaptations
Respiratory adaptations are not as significant as the cardiovascular
adaptations. Your resting breathing rate, or rate during intense exercise,
does not change that much. Any changes that you notice are specific to
each activity. For example, when you begin a jogging program you
notice that you are breathing heavily and can only jog for 10 minutes.
Over time it gets easier and you can jog longer and not breathe as
heavily. This is an improvement specific to jogging, and it shows
improved fitness, but does not translate to other activities.

The Cardio-Respiratory System and Exercise

Introduction
- immediate adjustments needed to meet metabolic demands of the bodys
cells to exercise as well as adaptations
- understand how the systems of energy and substrate delivery the
respiratory and cardiovascular systems meet the increased demand that occurs
while engaging in work, exercise or physical activity.
- Brief description of the anatomy of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems
- A description of the physiology of both systems and how they work together to
supply the body with oxygen
- What happens at the onset of exercise how the cardio-respiratory system
meets the increased demand that occurs while engaging in exercise or physical
activity. What happens when activity is stopped
- What training adaptations occur in both systems as well as how they occur in
terms of mechanism of action
- What are the long term effects of exercise on these systems
- Relate any hormonal influences of epinephrine and norepinephrine on these
two systems and how this may effect the relationship between the two systems.
Anatomy of the Respiratory System
The respiratory system is responsible for gaseous exchange between the
external atmosphere and the blood. It delivers oxygen to the circulatory system
for distribution to all body cells and aids in the removal of carbon dioxide. The
major organs of the respiratory system are the nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea,
bronchi and their smaller branches, and the lungs that contain air sacs called
alveoli. The alveoli are the only locations where gas exchange actually occurs;
the rest of the respiratory organs function mainly as conducting passageways for
air.

The nose is the external interface of the respiratory system. Air from the
atmosphere enters the respiratory system through the left and right nostrils
(external nares) into a nasal cavity that is divided by a midline nasal septum. The
nasal passages are lined by a respiratory mucosa, composed mainly of a single
layer of cilia-fringed epithelial cells, and interspersed by mucous-producing goblet
cells. A bed of capillaries lie just beneath the mucous membrane near the surface
of the nasal passages. Two critical functions of the nasal passages are to filter
the air of contaminants and to warm and moisten incoming air protecting other
respiratory system structures. Olfactory receptor cells, involved with the sense of
smell, are also located in the nasal passages.
Separating the nasal cavity from the oral cavity below are hard palate (anteriorly)
and the soft palate (posteriorly).
Air flows from the nasal passages to the pharynx, commonly called the throat; a
short funnel shaped tube about 13cm long. It serves as a common passageway
for food and air. The pharynx has a superior portion termed the nasopharynx
descending through the oropharynx to the laryngopharynx. Both the nasal and
oral cavities, as well as the auditory tubes, open into the pharynx. Like the nose,
the pharynx is lined by ciliated mucosa to further remove impurities from the air.
The tonsils are found in the pharynx, located in strategic locations, to help trap
disease carrying organisms.
Air moves from the pharynx to the larynx, commonly called the voice box. The
larynx routes air and food into proper channels and also functions in voice
production. A leaf-like structure called the epiglottis protects the superior opening
of the larynx. While a person is breathing, the epiglottis is held vertically like a
trap-door, keeping the passage of air open to the lower respiratory structures.
When a person swallows, a reflex causes the larynx and epiglottis to move
toward each other forming a protective lid. The food and fluid are then routed to
the esophagus posteriorly. Anything other than air entering the larynx causes a
cough reflex to prevent any substances from entering the lungs.

The air continues on from the larynx and enters the trachea or windpipe. It is
about 10-12cm long and reaches to a level of the midchest. The trachea is
reinforced by c-shaped rings of hyaline cartilage keeping the structure fairly rigid.
This helps hold the trachea open allowing easy passage of air at all times.
The trachea divides into the right and left primary bronchi. Each branch delivers
air to the right and left lung respectively. Within each lung, the bronchi divide into
smaller branches called bronchioles.
The lungs occupy the entire thoracic cavity except for the most central area called
the mediastinum. This area houses the heart, the great blood vessels, bronchi,
esophagus, and other organs.
Cardio-Respiratory System Physiology
The respiratory and cardiovascular systems work together to deliver oxygen to
the cells and to remove carbon dioxide. This two-way process of gas exchange is
called respiration. Respiration involves at least four distinct stages:
a) pulmonary ventilation; the process of breathing or the movement of gases
into and out of the lungs
b) external respiration; the exchange of gases between the alveoli and
pulmonary blood
c) respiratory gas transport; transport of gases to and from the lungs and cells
via the bloodstream involving the cardiovascular system
d) internal respiration; the exchange of gases between the blood and the cells
at the capillary level.
Pulmonary Ventilation
Pulmonary ventilation or breathing is a mechanical process that creates volume
changes in the thoracic cavity leading to air pressure changes, which lead to the
flow of gases to equalize the pressure.

Breathing begins with the process of inspiration. The muscles that contract to
increase the size of the thoracic cavity are the diaphragm and the external
intercostals. The diaphragm contracts, flattens, and moves downward, elongating
the thoracic cavity. The external intercostals lift the rib cage and thrust the
sternum forward increasing the lateral and anterior-posterior dimensions of the
thoracic cavity. The lungs expand as they adhere to the walls of the thorax. The
increase in intrapulmonary volume causes the gas molecules within the lungs to
spread out. This results in a decrease in gas pressure and creates a partial
vacuum. Air gets sucked into the lungs through the respiratory tract until the
intrapulmonary pressure equals the atmospheric pressure.
Expiration occurs as the inspiratory muscles relax. The rib cage descends and
the lungs recoil causing a decrease in thoracic and intrapulmonary volume.
Intrapulmonary pressure rises as the gas molecules get forced closer together.
Air then flows out of the lungs to equalize the pressure inside and outside the
lungs. Expiration is a predominantly passive process in healthy individuals at rest.
External Respiration
The exchange of gases between the lungs and blood, as well as gas exchange at
the tissue level, progress according to the laws of diffusion. During the process of
external respiration, the pressure gradients established by the relative
concentrations of O2 and CO2 in the alveoli and pulmonary blood determine the
direction of gas exchange. Movement occurs toward the area of lower
concentration of the diffusing substance.
Dark red blood returning to the pulmonary capillaries from the tissue cells has a
lower concentration of O2 and a higher concentration of CO2 than the air in the
alveoli. Thus, oxygen diffuses from the alveolar air into the oxygen-poor
pulmonary blood and carbon dioxide diffuses from the pulmonary blood into the
alveoli for removal during expiration. Now the oxygen-rich and carbon dioxidepoor blood is ready for transport back to the tissue cells via the cardiovascular
system.
Respiratory Gas Transport

Oxygen is carried in the blood in two ways:

a) oxygen binds to hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells forming
oxyhemoglobin HbO2
b) a small amount in physical solution dissolved in the blood plasma
Carbon dioxide is carried in the blood in three ways:
a) most of the CO2 is transported in plasma as the bicarbonate ion, which plays
an important role in the blood buffer system
b) between 20-30% is carried inside the red blood cells bound to hemoglobin at
a different site than O2
c) a small amount in physical solution dissolved in the blood plasma
Carbon dioxide must be released from its bicarbonate ion form before it can
diffuse out of the blood into the alveoli. The bicarbonate ions combine with
hydrogen to form carbonic acid that splits to form water and carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide then diffuses from the blood to the alveoli for removal from the
lungs through the respiratory tract.
Circulation
Oxygenated blood in the pulmonary capillaries drain into one of the pulmonary
veins. The oxygenated blood flows from the pulmonary vein into the left atrium of
the heart. The blood passes from the left atrium to the left ventricle where it is
then pumped out to the aorta. The aorta branches into the systemic arteries for
distribution to body tissue capillaries where gas exchange functions with the cells
occur (see internal respiration below).
The de-oxygenated blood then drains from the capillaries into the systemic vein
network that transports the dark blood to the right atrium of the heart. The blood
passes from the right atrium to the right ventricle where it is then pumped out
through the pulmonary trunk. The pulmonary trunk branches into right and left
pulmonary arteries that carry the de-oxygenated blood back to the lung
capillaries where the external respiration process is repeated.

Internal Respiration
Internal respiration is the exchange of gases that occurs between the blood and
tissue cells. The process is the opposite of the external respiration process that
takes place at the lungs. Internal respiration is a process where oxygen is
unloaded from the blood in the systemic capillaries and carbon dioxide is loaded
into the blood (see respiratory gas transport above). The gas molecules diffuse
between the blood and cells down their concentration gradient from an area of
higher concentration to lower concentration. As a result of these gas exchanges,
venous blood in the systemic circulation is oxygen-poor and carbon dioxide-rich.
Effects of Exercise on the Cardio-Respiratory System
At the onset of exercise, energy requirements of the skeletal muscles increase
instantly. This increased metabolic demand places additional stress on the
cardio-respiratory system to deliver oxygen to the working tissue cells and to
remove carbon dioxide and other waste products from the tissue cells.
In order to get more oxygen to the active muscle cells at the onset of exercise,
blood flow to the tissues must increase. This means that the heart must pump
more blood. Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped out of each ventricle
in 1 minute. It is the product of the heart rate times the stroke volume. Stroke
volume is the amount of blood pumped out by each ventricle per heartbeat.
Cardiac output can increase from 4-8 times the resting output during maximal
exercise, depending on the persons fitness level. An increase in cardiac output
produces a proportionate increase in the circulation of oxygen. Both the stroke
volume and heart rate increase in response to exercise. Increased cardiac filling
during diastole followed by a more forceful systolic contraction is a major
physiologic mechanism responsible for increasing stroke volume. Any factor that
increases venous return or slows the heart produces greater cardiac filling during
diastole. An increase in end-diastolic volume stretches the myocardial fibers and
produces a more powerful ejection of blood during contraction. Exercise speeds
venous return by activation of the muscular pump that squeezes the veins
returning blood to the heart. Another factor that increases stroke volume is

enhanced systolic ejection independent of increased end-diastolic volume.

Catecholamine release in exercise enhances the force of heart contraction.
Another cardiovascular response to exercise is greatly increased blood flow to
active muscle in proportion to other organ tissues. During exercise, arteries
feeding the working muscle dilate increasing blood flow. Other blood vessels
feeding tissue with less metabolic demand constrict.
The other major cardiovascular response to exercise other than increased blood
flow is the increased ability of active tissue to extract more oxygen already carried
in the blood. This effect is reflected by an expanded a-v O2 difference. This is a
measurement of the difference in the amount of oxygen carried by the arterial
and venous blood. A greater a-v O2 difference means that more oxygen is being
extracted from the blood resulting in lower oxygen concentrations in the venous
blood.
Maximum cardiac output and a-v O2 difference determine maximal oxygen
consumption.
During exercise, pulmonary ventilation increases to augment oxygen supplies to
working muscle and to remove waste products of metabolism. The volume of air
breathed each minute is referred to as minute volume. Minute volume is the
product of the breathing rate times the tidal volume. Tidal volume (TV) describes
the volume of air moved during either the inspiratory or expiratory phase of the
breathing cycle. Exercise increases both the breathing rate and the tidal volume,
thus increasing minute ventilation. Exercise minute ventilation can increase about
17-20 times the resting value.
The activity of the respiratory muscles is regulated by nerve impulses transmitted
from neural centers located in the medulla and pons. The brain centers send
more impulses to the respiratory muscles during exercise causing a deeper more
vigorous breathing pattern. The most important factor in the regulation of
respiratory rate and depth are the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the
blood. Increased levels of carbon dioxide and decreased blood pH are the most
important stimuli leading to an increase in rate and depth of breathing.

Conversely, changes in the levels of oxygen in the blood are detected by

receptors in the aorta and carotid artery and impulses are sent to the medulla
when blood oxygen levels drop. Regulation of pulmonary ventilation is not
controlled by any one factor during exercise. Rather, it is probably the combined
effects of various chemical and neural stimuli that initiate and regulate exercise
ventilation.
Gas exchange at the blood-alveoli level happens rapidly. Even during highintensity exercise, the increased blood flow velocity through the pulmonary
capillaries does not hamper the full loading of oxygen or the unloading of carbon
dioxide.
Training Adaptations in the Cardio-Respiratory System
Aerobic training typically produces an increase in functional capacities related to
oxygen transport and use in the body. Aerobic endurance training produces
significant increases in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Maximal oxygen
consumption is an indicator of the level of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and
neuromuscular function.
Cardiovascular adaptations to aerobic training include cardiac hypertrophy. This
is characterized by an increase in the size of the left ventricular cavity and a
modest increase in wall thickness. An increase in total blood volume may
contribute to cardiac hypertrophy.
Regular training results in increased cardiac output during subsequent exercise
resulting in improved delivery of oxygen to active muscle. Increased end diastolic
volume as well as an increase in myocardial contractility result in an increase in
stroke volume during rest and exercise. At the same time, the resting and
submaximal exercise heart rate actually decreases. The increase in cardiac
output is a direct result of improved stroke volume.
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure during rest and submaximal exercise
decreases with regular aerobic training.

Much of the improvement in pulmonary function in response to aerobic training is

attributable to strengthened respiratory musculature. The respiratory musculature
becomes more efficient reducing the oxygen costs attributable to breathing.
Strengthened respiratory muscles improve respiratory efficiency and minimizes
respiratory work at a given exercise intensity. Trained athletes can maintain
alveolar ventilation by increasing tidal volume with only a small increase in
breathing rate. Trained athletes can also sustain a higher breathing rate if
necessary.

What Happens in Your Body When You Exercise?

The featured article in Huffington Post2 highlights a number of biological
effects that occur, from head to toe, when you exercise. This includes
changes in your:
Muscles, which use glucose and ATP for contraction and movement. To
create more ATP, your body needs extra oxygen, so breathing increases
and your heart starts pumping more blood to your muscles.
Without sufficient oxygen, lactic acid will form instead. Tiny tears in your
muscles make them grow bigger and stronger as they heal.
Lungs. As your muscles call for more oxygen (as much as 15 times
more oxygen than when you're at rest), your breathing rate increases.
Once the muscles surrounding your lungs cannot move any faster,
you've reached what's called your VO2 maxyour maximum capacity of
oxygen use. The higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are.
Heart. As mentioned, your heart rate increases with physical activity to
supply more oxygenated blood to your muscles. The fitter you are, the
more efficiently your heart can do this, allowing you to work out longer
and harder. As a side effect, this increased efficiency will also reduce
your resting heart rate. Your blood pressure will also decrease as a
result of new blood vessels forming.
Brain. The increased blood flow also benefits your brain, allowing it to
almost immediately function better. As a result, you tend to feel more
focused after a workout. Furthermore, exercising regularly will promote
the growth of new brain cells. In your hippocampus, these new brain
cells help boost memory and learning. As stated in the featured article:
"When you work out regularly, your brain gets used to this frequent
surge of blood and adapts by turning certain genes on or off. Many of
these changes boost brain cell function and protect from diseases such
as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or even stroke, and ward off age-related
decline."

A number of neurotransmitters are also triggered, such as endorphins,

serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. Some of these are wellknown for their role in mood control. Exercise, in fact, is one of the most
effective prevention and treatment strategies for depression.
Joints and bones, as exercise can place as much as five or six times
more than your body weight on them. Peak bone mass is achieved in
adulthood and then begins a slow decline, but exercise can help you to
maintain healthy bone mass as you get older.
Weight-bearing exercise is actually one of the most effective remedies
against osteoporosis, as your bones are very porous and soft, and as
you get older your bones can easily become less dense and hence,
more brittle -- especially if you are inactive.
Interval (Anaerobic) Training: This is when you alternate short bursts
of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set
strength training routine will ensure that you're really optimizing the
possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You can also "up"
the intensity by slowing it down. For more information about using super
slow weight training as a form of high intensity interval exercise, please
see my interview with Dr. Doug McGuff.
Stand Up Every 10 Minutes. This is not intuitively obvious, but
emerging evidence clearly shows that even highly fit people who exceed
the expert exercise recommendations are headed for premature death if
they sit for long periods of time. My interview with NASA scientist Dr.
Joan Vernikos goes into great detail why this is so, and what you can do
about it. Personally, I usually set my timer for 10 minutes while sitting,
and then stand up and do one legged squats, jump squats or lunges
when the timer goes off. The key is that you need to be moving all day
long, even in non-exercise activities.
Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your
back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the
foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening

them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body
less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.