Chapter 2-

EXERCISE
PHYSIOLOGY
SPS 135- Introduction to Kinesiology
Learning Outcome (LO)
At the end of the class, students should
be able to:
 Explain the cardiovascular system of the human body
 Identify the skeletal muscle and structure of the
human body
 Understand the function of energy system
 Identify the types of energy production and the
process involved
 Understand the nervous system and control of
movement
Cardiovascular
System
Structure & Function of CV
Major CV functions fall into 5 categories:
1. Delivery – O2 & nutrients
2. Removal – CO2 & metabolic waste
3. Transport – hormones to receptors
4. Maintenance – body temperature, blood
buffering capacity (balance the pH value in
body)
5. Prevention – dehydration, infection
Structure & Function of CV
The circulatory system has 3 components:
 A pump (heart)
 A system channel (blood vessels)
 A fluid medium (blood)

The red blood cell (RBC) is the most prominent

cell type, containing a protein called Hemoglobin.
Blood Flow through the Heart
Extrinsic Control of Heart Activity
 Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
 Slow impulse conduction
 Decrease HR
 Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
 Increase impulse conduction
 Increase HR
 Endocrine system (hormones)
 Release catecholamines (norepinephrine & epinephrine)
 Increase HR
Cardiac Arrhythmias
2 types:
 Bradycardia
◦ “Slow heart”
◦ RHR < 60bpm
 Tachycardia
◦ “Fast heart”
◦ RHR > 100bpm
 Symptoms of both arrhythmias include fatigue,
dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting,
 Tachycardia can cause palpitations (Palpitations
are the awareness that your heart is beating
forcefully, rapidly, or irregularly)
Terminology of Cardiac Function
 Heart rate (HR)
- the number of heart beats per minute

 Stroke Volume (SV)

- the volume of blood pumped from the heart
during each beat)

 Cardiac Output (Q)

 Total volume of blood pumped by the ventricle per
minute or simply the product of HR and SV

Q = HR x SV
Terminology of Cardiac Function
 Calculate the stroke volume in milliliters if heart rate
equals 130bpm and cardiac output equals 10 L. min-1.

SV = Q / HR
= 10 / 130
= 0.077 L or 77 ml
The Blood
Functions:
 Transportation
 Temperature Regulation
 Acid-base (pH) balance
Blood Volume
Total blood volume in the body varies
considerably. Larger BV is associated
with :
 Larger body size
 High level of endurance training
Blood Composition
 Blood is composed of:
 55% plasma
 90% H2O
 7% plasma protein
 3% cellular nutrients, electrolytes, enzymes, hormones,
antibodies and waste

 45% formed elements

 >99% RBC (erythrocytes)
 <1% WBC (leukocytes) and platelets (thrombocytes)
Blood Composition
 WBC
 Protect the body from disease organism invasion via:
 Directly destroying invading agents through phagocytosis
(ingestion)
 Forming antibodies to destroy them
 Platelets
 Required for blood coagulation (clotting), which
prevent excessive blood loss
Blood Composition
 RBC
 Adequate oxygen delivery to body tissues depends on
having a sufficient number of carriers (RBC)
 RBC transport oxygen primarily bound to their
hemoglobin.
 Hemoglobin is composed of a protein (globin) and a
pigment (heme)
 Heme contains iron, which binds oxygen.
Ventilation
 The movement of air into (or out of) the lungs is
knows as Ventilation
 Two factors affected the volume of air moved per
minute:
1. Respiratory frequency
2. Tidal volume – total volume of air moved per breath.
Skeletal Muscle:
Structure & Function
 Skeletal Muscle:
Structure & Function
 The human body contain over 400 skeletal muscles, which
constitute 40-50% of the total body weight.
 3 functions:
 Force generation for locomotion & breathing
 Force generation for postural support
 Heat production during periods of cold stress
 Skeletal muscles are attached to bones through a
connective tissue called tendon
 One end of the muscle is attached to the bone that does
not move (origin), while the opposite end in fixed to a
bone (insertion) that is move during muscular
contraction.
 Muscles that decrease joint angle are call flexors, while
muscle that increase joint angle are called extensors
Fiber Types
 Muscle fibers can be classified into 2 categories:

 Type I - Slow twitch (ST) (slow oxidative)

4
 Type II - Fast twitch (FT)
 Type IIa (fast oxidative glycolytic)
 Type IIb or IIx (fast glycolytic)
Max Short
velocity

0
Type I Type IIa Type
IIb/IIx
Characteristics of Fiber Types
Fast Fibers Slow Fibers
Characteristic Type IIb / IIx Type IIa Type 1

Number of Low High/Mod High

mitochondria
Resistance to Low High/Mod High
fatigue
Predominant energy Anaerobic Combination Aerobic
system
ATPase activity Highest High Low

Vmax (speed of Highest Intermediate Low

shortening)
Efficiency Low Moderate High

Specific tension High High Moderate

 Fiber Type & Performance

Sports % Slow Fibers % Fast Fibers

(Type 1) (Type Ila & Ilb)
Distance runner 70-80 20-30

Track Sprinters 25-30 70-75

Non athletes 47-53 47-53

Types of Muscle Action
 Three types of actions can occur when tension
generated by muscle cells

1. Concentric = muscle shortens

2. Eccentric = muscle lengthens
3. isometric = muscle doesn’t change in
length while tension is
being generated
Generation of Force
Depends on:

 The number of motor units activated

 More motor unit – more force
 The type of motor units activated
 FT generate more force
 The size of the muscle
 Larger muscle generate more force
 The muscle initial length when activated
 Increasing or decreasing the muscle length beyond 20% reduce force
production
 However, in general, the amount of power generated by a muscle group
increases as a function of movement velocity.
-END OF PART 1-
Energy for Muscular Work
 The process by which energy transformed from
one form to another is called Transduction
 Ex. Automobile engine (chemical energy like
gasoline is transformed to the mechanical energy
of engine)
 Muscle can actually get its energy from different
sources
Universal Energy Source

 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

 Is a chemical form of energy used by all cells
 In skeletal muscle, energy from ATP is used for
movement
Energy Sources With Limited Supply
 Limited supply of chemical energy stored as ATP
within the muscle cells
 Source of chemical energy that can replenish supplies
of ATP is a Creatine Phosphate
 CP stores in small amount within a skeletal muscle
cell
 generated from ATP when energy needs of muscle cell
are low
 When high, CP can then be used to regenerate ATP
Energy Sources With Large Supply
 Supplies of ATP and PC are limited
 Additional supplies of chemical energy found in food
 Our bodies convert into usable form, ATP
 Amount of chemical energy available measured in
units (calories)
 Three nutrients provide calories: carbohydrate, fat
and protein
 Carbohydrate and fat as a two major sources of ATP
regeneration for muscular action
 Protein provides only small amount of energy
Energy from Glycogen and Glucose
 To maintain supplies of ATP, muscle breaks down
glucose molecules using a no. of biochemical reaction
 Supply of glucose limited in muscle, glucose
molecules are stored as Glycogen
 Stored in skeletal muscle and liver
 Glycogen in skeletal muscle available as energy source
within the actual muscle cell where it is stored
 Glycogen in liver can mobilized and carried by blood
 helps to maintain adequate levels of glucose in blood
Energy from Fats

 The usable form of fat within the body called a Free

Fatty Acid
 Storage form of fat is called Triglyceride
 Limited stores of triglycerides found in skeletal
muscle, large stores are found in the Adipose/fat cells
of the body
 Energy Production
Enzyme Systems
 Enzymes are specialized proteins that act as catalysts to
speed up chemical reaction
 Myofibrillar ATPase is an enzyme located on the myosin
crossbridge head that liberates energy in ATP for
development of muscular force
 Regeneration of ATP from CP, glucose, or free fatty acids
requires other enzymes
 Each type of energy source requiring different enzyme
system
 Ex. The enzyme responsible for transferring the chemical
energy stored in CP to ATP is Creatine Kinase
Glycolysis

 Glucose begins the conversation to ATP in the

enzymatic system known as glycolytic
pathway/glycolysis
 During initial steps of Glycolysis, a part of chemical
energy in glucose is transformed directly into ATP
 The glycolytic pathway enzymes are found in the
intracellular fluid of the muscle cell
 The transfer of energy to ATP via the enzymatic pathways
located in intracellular fluid does not require oxygen
(anaerobic)
 These anaerobic enzymes include: myofibrillar ATPase,
creatine kinase and glycolytic pathway
 Majority of chemical energy in glucose is transferred to
ATP through:
1. Enzymatic steps of glycolysis
2. Two more enzyme systems ( Krebs Cycle and Electron
Transport Chain)
 Most glucose and all FFA converted to ATP in Krebs cycle
& Electron transport chain
 These enzyme systems are located within mitochondria of
muscle cells
Beta-Oxidation

 FFA transfer of their chemical energy to ATP in the

enzyme system called beta-oxidative pathway
 Then, continue through both Krebs Cycle and
Electron transport chain before transformation to
ATP accomplished
 the enzymes of beta-oxidative pathway which FFA
conversion to ATP are located in the muscle cells
mitochondria
 The transfer of energy to ATP requires oxygen
(aerobic)
 When ATP is formed, waste product carbon dioxide is
produced, must removed from muscle cell
 The delivery of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide
are accomplished by cardiorespiratory system
Figure 2-5
Table 2-1.
THE NEUROMUSCULAR SYSTEM
 The nervous system can be partitioned into a peripheral
nervous (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS)

 The PNS includes sensory nerves that tell the CNS about
the current state in the environment

 The information from sensors in the limbs is carried from

periphery to spinal cord (CNS)

 In addition to “sensory” part of the PNS, there is a “motor”

part that causes muscle contraction to occur
 The basic nerve cell is called a neuron

 the particular neurons that connect to muscle originate in

the spinal cord and are called motor neurons

 Single motor neuron produce a contraction in several

hundred muscle fibers at the same time

 The whole structure comprised of single motor neuron

and all muscle fibers connected to that motor neuron is
called motor unit
 Motor neurons work by electrical impulses
 Without activity in the motor neurons, no movement is
possible
 Muscle produce force by acting on lever system composed
of bones, tendons, and ligaments
 To produce skilled movement, performer has to recognize:
Ø how much force to produce?
Ø When to produce it?
Ø For how long?
 VISUAL CONTROL OF MOVEMENT
 Vision often called the dominant sense

 Tend to use vision when other senses give us faster, more

reliable information
 i.e.: kids dribble a basketball

 They keeps their eyes locked on bouncing ball, seldom for

skilled basketball player

 They used Kinesthetic sense

“ the ability to determine limb and body position in space
The End