INTRODUCTION TO EXERCISE

PHYSIOLOGY
EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND EXERCISE
PRESCRIPTION
Introduction To Exercise Science
(Definition)

An umbrella term used to describe the study of numerous
aspects of physical activity, exercise, sport, and athletic
performance that have the common characteristic of
movement and the adaptations that occur as a result of
physical activity and regular exercise
or

an academic discipline or field devoted to the study and
understanding of human movement
or

The scientific study of human movement performed to
maintain or improve physical fitness (U.S. Library of
Medicine)
Other Terms…

Sport
– all forms of competitive physical activity which,[1] through
casual or organized participation, aim to use, maintain or
improve physical ability and provide entertainment to
participants.

Sport science
– a discipline that studies the application of scientific principles
and techniques with the aim of improving sporting
performance.

Physical education
– An educational process that uses physical activity as a means to help
people acquire skills, fitness, knowledge, and attitudes that contribute
to their optimal development and well-being.
Other Terms…

Physical activity
– Movement activities of daily living including work- and job-
related activities, leisure time activities, and activities
performed around the home.

Exercise
– A structured movement process that individuals consciously and
voluntarily engage in and includes those activities that improve
or maintain fitness and health
 Exercise Science vs. Physical Education

Exercise Science Physical Education

Discipline devoted to
Discipline devoted to
the scientific study of investigating how the
human movement teaching process can
be most effectively
used to acquire motor
skills
Subdisciplines of Exercise Science
1. exercise physiology

According to Pottieger ( 2011)

2. clinical exercise physiology
3. nutrition
4. motor control and learning
5. psychology
6. biomechanics
7. athletic training and sports medicine
Subdisciplines of Exercise Science
1. philosophy of physical activity

According to Hoffman ( 2009)

2. history of physical activity
3. sociology of physical activity
4. motor behavior
5. exercise and sport psychology
6. biomechanics
7. physiology of physical activity
Subdisciplines of Exercise Science
1. exercise physiology
2. sport nutrition

According to Brown (2001)

3. epidemiology
4. clinical exercise physiology
5. clinical biomechanics
6. sport biomechanics
7. athletic training
8. exercise and sport psych
9. motor behavior
10. sport history
11. sport sociology
Focus of Exercise and Sport Physiology

Anatomy
– Study of an organism’s structure, or morphology
– Basic structure of various body parts and their interrelationships

Physiology
– Study of body function
– How the body’s organ systems, tissues, cells, and the molecules
within cells work and how their functions are integrated to
regulated the body’s internal environment →homeostasis
Focus of Exercise and Sport Physiology

Exercise physiology
– The study of how the body’s functions are altered when we are
exposed to exercise, a challenge to homeostasis.
– the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to a
wide-range of physical exercise conditions. (Wikipedia)

Sport physiology
– Further applies the concepts of exercise physiology to
enhancing sport performance and optimally training the athlete.
Historical Note on Exercise Physiology

The earliest written record referring to the physiology of exercise:

“Eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise.
For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work
together to produce health. For it is the nature of exercise to use up
material, but of food and drink to make good deficiencies. And it is
necessary, as it appears, do discern the power of the various
exercises, both natural exercises and artificial, to know which of
them tends to increase flesh and which to lessen it.”

Hippocrates, Regimen in Health, ~400 B.C.

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Historical Note on Exercise Physiology

The earliest published use of the specific term, “physiology of

exercise”:

William Byford, On the Physiology of Exercise, American

Journal of Medical Sciences, 1855

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Historical Note on Exercise Physiology

The first published textbook on exercise physiology:

Physiology of Bodily Exercise (written in French) by Fernand

LaGrange, 1889

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Early Exercise Physiologists

16 October 1923 – a significant milestone in

the history of exercise physiology

Archibald V. Hill

British Nobel Prize winner (1921)

Studied energy metabolism
and muscle physiology

First studies on runners

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Harvard Fatigue Laboratory (U.S.)

Founded by Lawrence J. Henderson in 1927

Directed by David Bruce Dill

Focused on the physiology of human movement and the effects of

environmental stress on exercise

Pioneered studies that resulted in an explosion of
interest in exercise physiology

Closed in 1947

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Early Exercise Physiologists

David Bruce (“D.B.”) Dill

Directed Harvard Fatigue Laboratory
(HFL) from 1927-1947

Later studied human tolerance to
exercise in the desert and at altitude

Sid Robinson

Studied exercise and aging
while a student at HFL

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Early measurements of exercise metabolism

Smith, 1922
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 EARLY MEASUREMENT DEVICES
Douglas bag for collection
of expired air

August Krogh measuring

oxygen and carbon dioxide in
expired air with a gas analyzer

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Scandinavian Influence

Erik Hohwü-Christensen

Published important early
research on carbohydrate and
fat metabolism

Per-Olof Åstrand

Conducted studies on
physical fitness and
endurance capacity

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Scandinavian Influence

Bengt Saltin
• Contributed greatly to exercise
and clinical physiology
• Most cited exercise physiologist

Jonas Bergstrom
• Reintroduced biopsy needle to
study human muscle biochemistry

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Exercise Physiology and Physical Fitness

Peter Karpovich

Introduced physiology to physical
education

Thomas K. Cureton

Taught many of today’s leaders
in physical fitness and exercise
physiology

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Contemporary Exercise Physiologists

John Holloszy, Charles Tipton, and Phil Gollnick

Introduced biochemical approach to exercise
physiology research

First to use rats and mice to study muscle metabolism
and fatigue

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Women in Exercise Physiology

Birgitta Essen

Adapted micro-biochemical methods
for better studying muscle samples
obtained with muscle biopsy

Karen Piehl

Published several studies
illustrating which fibers were
activated during aerobic and
anaerobic exercise

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Women in Exercise Physiology

Bodil Nielsen

Studied human responses to environmental heat
stress and dehydration

Barbara Drinkwater

Studied environmental
physiology and the physiologi-
cal issues unique to female
athletes

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Research Methodology

Laboratory research allows investigators to carefully
control variables and use accurate equipment.

Field research allows for less control of variables and
equipment, but the participant’s activities are often more
natural.
Research Tools: Ergometers

An ergometer is an exercise device that allows
the intensity of exercise to be controlled
(standardized) and measured.
Cycle Ergometer

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Treadmill

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Research Methodology

Longitudinal research tests the same subjects and
compares results over time.

Cross-sectional research collects data from a diverse
population and compares the data for each group in that
population.

Longitudinal studies are often more accurate than cross-
sectional studies, but they can’t always be done.
 CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH
In this study, high
density lipoprotein-
cholesterol (“good
cholesterol”) was
measured in groups of
subjects undergoing
different volumes of
exercise

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 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH

In this study, HDL-C was

measured over time in a
group of subjects training
with distance running and
a group of sedentary
persons

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Structure and Function of Exercising
Muscle
Review:

Excitation-contraction coupling

The sliding filament theory

Muscle relaxation
Type I (Slow-Twitch) Muscle Fibers
• High aerobic (oxidative) capacity and fatigue resistance
• Low anaerobic (glycolytic) capacity and motor unit
strength
• Slow contractile speed (110 ms) and myosin ATPase
• 10 to 180 fibers per motor neuron
• Low sarcoplasmic reticulum development
Type IIa (Fast-Twitch Type a)
Muscle Fibers
• Moderate aerobic (oxidative) capacity and fatigue
resistance
• High anaerobic (glycolytic) capacity and motor unit
strength
• Fast contractile speed (50 ms) and myosin ATPase
• 300 to 800 fibers per motor neuron
• High sarcoplasmic reticulum development
Type IIb (Fast-Twitch Type b)
Muscle Fibers
• Low aerobic (oxidative) capacity and fatigue resistance
• High anaerobic (glycolytic) capacity and motor unit
strength
• Fast contractile speed (50 ms) and myosin ATPase
• 300 to 800 fibers per motor neuron
• High sarcoplasmic reticulum development
 Classification of Muscle Fiber Types
Fiber Classification
System 1 (preferred) Type I Type IIa TypeIIx
System 2 Slow-twitch (ST) Fast-twitch a (FTa) Fast-twitch x (FTx)
System 3 Slow oxidative (SO) Fast oxidative/glycolytic Fast glycolytic (FG)
(FOG)

Characteristics of Fiber Types

Oxidative capacity High Moderately high Low
Glycolytic capacity Low High Highest
Contractile speed Slow Fast Fast
Fatigue resistance High Moderate Low
Motor unit strength Low High High

*Refer Table 1.2 in Physiology of Sport and Exercise also.

Muscle Fiber Recruitment

Intensity of the activity ↑, the number of fibers recruited ↑
in the following order:
Type I → Type IIa → Type Iib

Principle of orderly recruitment
− Motor unit are generally activated on the basic of a fixed order
of fiber recruitment

Size principle – related to the size of their motor neuron
 A Photomicrograph Showing Type I, Type IIa, and
Type IIb Muscle Fibers

A Photomicrograph showing type I (black), type IIa (white), and type IIx (gray) muscle fibers
Fiber Type and Athletic Success

Leg muscles of distance runners have a predominance of type
I fibers.

Sprinter runners have a high percentage of type II fibers in
their leg muscles.

Fiber type differences between good and elite swimmers are
not apparent.

Fiber composition alone is not a reliable predictor of athletic
success.
Muscle Biopsy

Hollow needle is inserted into muscle to take a sample.

Sample is mounted, frozen, thinly sliced, and examined under a
microscope.

Allows study of muscle fibers and the effects of acute exercise and
exercise training on fiber composition.