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Home > PDHPE > Core 2 - Factors Affecting Performance > How does the body respond to aerobic training? > How does the body respond to aerobic training?
Answers
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Effects of training on oxygen uptake.
- Resting levels
Resting levels indicate the basic level of oxygen required to sustain the functions of the body at rest. This does not change as a result of training.
Explanation: The body requires a certain level of oxygen to maintain basic bodily processes while at rest (basal metabolic rate). The body’s need for oxygen while at rest does not change, regardless of whether a training program has been undertaken. What does change is the efficiency with which the body can provide this oxygen.
- Submaximal levels of exercise
When exercise is performed at submaximal levels, both the trained and untrained athletes require the same amount of oxygen.
Explanation: During submaximal exercise the workload for each individual is the same. Therefore, the amount of oxygen required is the same for both trained and untrained athletes. Despite using the same level of oxygen, the trained athlete will find the workload easier (indicated by a lower heart rate and ventilation rate), because he or she is capable of working at higher maximal levels.
- Maximal levels of exercise
When the athletes work at maximal levels of work, the amount of oxygen used by the muscles in a trained athlete is higher than the amount used by an untrained athlete.
Explanation: An increased use of oxygen is indicative of the higher workloads trained athletes can perform during maximal work. The higher ventilation rates and increased cardiac output of the trained athlete compared with the untrained athlete assist the increase in oxygen uptake.
- Resting levels
- Through training, an athlete’s cardiac output is
increased and ventilation rates improve. This allows the
athlete to absorb and utilise oxygen more efficiently
during exercise. Therefore, he or she will be able to work
harder.
The genetic make-up of the individual’s muscles is another factor that plays a significant role in the amount of oxygen absorbed and used by the body. The greater the number of red, slow-twitch muscle fibres people have, the more oxygen they will be able to absorb. White, fast-twitch fibres tend to reduce the amount of oxygen absorbed.
Athletes with red, slow-twitch muscles also tend to have higher haemoglobin levels than athletes with white, fast-twitch fibres. This is another genetic factor that limits the amount of oxygen that can be absorbed by the athlete.
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