Regular aerobic exercise improves your body's capacity to perform physical activity. Steady training is important in the process, as your body must go through several physiological adaptations during exercise to support contracting muscle with adequate amounts of oxygen.
Aerobic Exercise
You have two forms of energy production: aerobic and anaerobic. Anaerobic respiration is extremely fast, does not require oxygen and involves the metabolism of glucose. During short sprinting exercises, the burning sensation you experience is anaerobic respiration kicking in and driving your muscular contractions. Aerobic respiration is slower, requires oxygen and occurs through the breakdown of fatty acids and glucose. In large, energy-consuming mammals such as humans, anaerobic respiration simply does not provide sufficient energy for all bodily functions. By employing aerobic respiration in tissues throughout the body, you are getting a much higher yield of energy molecules, or ATP, for each nutrient digested.
Oxygen Supply
For your muscles to maintain aerobic respiration, they require a constant flow of oxygen. When blood flow is reduced or oxygen demand exceeds supply, skeletal muscle resort to anaerobic respiration. Although this change is inefficient and suboptimal, it is a necessary adaptation to support muscle function during periods of strenuous exertion. To properly train for aerobic exercise, a steady supply of oxygen to contracting muscle cells must be present.
Cardiovascular Training
The primary regulator of oxygen supply to tissues is the cardiovascular system. By altering the distribution of blood between different organ systems, your blood vessels are able to respond to a variety of physical demands placed on the body. During exercise, through a process known as vasodilation, arteries that supply skeletal muscles increase in diameter. This adaptation allows for an increase in oxygenated blood flow to these regions, thus supporting aerobic respiration. Regular aerobic exercise helps keep your blood vessels limber and ready to dilate as necessary.
Respiration
Another critical component in the oxygen supply chain is the respiratory system. Breathing is completely automatic for most people; even when you exercise, your pulmonary system adapts to changes in blood oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration to maintain stability, or homeostasis, throughout your system. However, regular training helps develop your muscles of respiration, ensuring that the pulmonary system is well equipped to meet the increasing oxygen demands seen during aerobic exercise.
Member Comments