Adaptations to all systems
What can the improvement in the lactate inflection point (LIP) of an endurance athlete be attributed to?
an increase in the ability of the muscle fibres to oxidise fats and carbohydrates
There are a number of different sports drinks on the market but they fall mainly into two categories: isotonic and hypertonic.
Outline the difference between an isotonic sports drink and a hypertonic sports drink.
Isotonic drinks have the same osmolality as the body’s own fluids and similar carbohydrate and electrolyte levels. They are absorbed as fast as normal water and contain less than 4 grams/100 mL of carbohydrate.
Hypertonic drinks are more concentrated and have a higher osmolality than the body’s own fluids. They are absorbed slower than normal water and contain approx. 8 grams of carbohydrate/100 mL.
Training anaerobically can lead to a significant increase in the body’s what?
ability to buffer the metabolic by-product build-up.
What adaptation would be observed in the respiratory system after 12 weeks of fartlek training three times per week?
increased ventilation at maximal intensity
During exercise, an individual’s heart rate and the force of their heart’s contractions are increased.
As a result, there is what?
an increase in systolic blood pressure.
If an anaerobic athlete wanted to increase their tidal volume, how would they best do so?
fartlek training
The Under-21 Australian women’s hockey team has just completed a tournament in The Netherlands playing a series of games over a 10-day period. The Australian coach instructed her athletes to consume a snack consisting of bananas, muffins and Gatorade drinks within 30 minutes after each game.
Briefly explain why it is important to consume this type of snack within 30 minutes after the game.
This type of snack promotes replacement of glycogen stores so that recovery is enhanced/promoted for preparation for the next day’s game. Replenishment of glycogen stores is more efficient when foods with a high GI are provided in the first 15 minutes or so post-exercise.
Explain, physiologically, how regular aerobic training leads to an increase in an athlete’s lactate inflection point (LIP).
Aerobic training leads to an increase in mitochondrial size and number and an increased capability to oxidise fat and carbohydrate, leading to an increase in LIP. The body can therefore work aerobically at higher intensities before the production of lactate exceeds removal.
A chronic respiratory adaptation to aerobic training is an increase in pulmonary diffusion.
State what occurs physiologically with an increase in pulmonary diffusion.
A greater amount of oxygen can diffuse into the blood in the same time period as there is an increase in surface area of the alveoli in the lungs.
As a result of endurance training, stroke volume will increase at rest and during submaximal exercise.
The mechanisms responsible for this increase are
increased venous return, cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac contractility.
Explain how a 100m sprinter can benefit from increased pulmonary diffusion.
Increased pulmonary diffusion results in increased oxygen into the body.
This increases the ability to replenish creatine phosphate and remove wastes between heats/at training and allows the athlete to work harder for longer.
The training program is overloaded during the 12-week period. However, in week 12 there is a significant decrease in training volume.
Name the training strategy applied in week 12 and explain the importance of implementing it.
Tapering reduces the effects of fatigue, so the athlete is physiologically and psychologically refreshed prior to the event.
A chronic adaptation to training that may lead to an increase in an endurance athlete’s LIP would be increased what?
mitochondrial mass.
Explain why training at speeds beyond an athlete's VO2 max. would be detrimental to improving the athlete's VO2 max.
What is the a-VO2 difference a direct measure of?
Explain the relationship between exercise intensity and EPOC.
The greater the intensity, the higher the EPOC.
The greater the reliance on the anaerobic systems, the greater the EPOC due to the increased need to remove wastes.
Suggest why an athlete would ingest protein in combination with carbohydrates after a race to aid recovery
Consuming proteins assists with muscle-growth and repair, and combining proteins and carbohydrates assists with faster absorption of the carbohydrates
A chronic adaptation to aerobic training is an
increase in fat oxidation at the same energy expenditure.
The ability of the blood to extract oxygen from the alveoli can be a chronic adaptation to training. What is this process called?
Pulmonary Diffusion
What is a variable that decreases as a result of aerobic training?
sub-maximal heart rate
An elite male’s VO2 maximum score is generally about 10% above that of an elite female’s. Outline two physiological reasons that may account for this.
Any two of the following:
Explain why a combined protein-carbohydrate snack or meal following a heavy weight-training workout may be a more effective recovery strategy than consuming protein alone
The protein is used for muscle repair and adaptation to training, and carbohydrates provides fuel to restore muscle glycogen levels. Carbohydrate stimulates an increase in the hormone insulin that, in turn, stimulates the muscle to take up the amino acids for rebuilding.
The most likely muscular adaptation resulting from a 12-week long-interval training program is
increased size and number of mitochondria.
During submaximal exercise, it is possible for trained aerobic athletes to have a lower ventilation than untrained individuals.
Explain how this is possible.
The extraction of more oxygen through pulmonary diffusion (creating O2 efficiency) with a lower ventilation.
The increase in AVO2 difference at the muscle site (creating O2 efficiency) with a lower ventilation.
A trained marathon runner ran the 42.2 km in just over 2 hours and an untrained runner ran the marathon in about 4.5 hours.
Explain why the trained runner was able to complete the marathon in a shorter period of time than the untrained runner.
As the marathon is an aerobic sport, the person with the greater aerobic capacity will perform better. This means at maximum, the trained athlete is
able to supply the muscles with more oxygen. Therefore, the trained athlete can work at a higher intensity while still working aerobically.