Your lungs are a paired set of organs in your chest that allow you pull in oxygen and help your body meet its energy needs. They belong to a network of organs commonly known as the respiratory system. When you exercise, your lungs must work to meet the demands of your activity and help you get rid of carbon dioxide waste in your bloodstream.
Basics
The upper end of your respiratory system is formed by your mouth, nose and windpipe, which allow you to drawn oxygen-rich air into your lungs. Once inside your lungs, this oxygen passes through a series of passageways to small, inflatable sacs called alveoli, which are surrounded by tiny blood vessels, or capillaries. The oxygen in your alveoli passes into your bloodstream through minute openings in your capillaries, then flows throughout your body in a portion of your red blood cells called hemoglobin.
Supplying Extra Oxygen
Your body needs oxygen to burn up its supply of glucose, a primary source of fuel derived from certain foods you eat. When you exercise, you burn through glucose more rapidly and therefore require more oxygen. To pull in this oxygen, your brain sends signals to the muscles in your ribcage, as well as a muscular sheet below your lungs called the diaphragm. In response to these signals, your rib muscles and diaphragm contract more frequently and force your lungs to draw in oxygen more rapidly. The actions of these muscles also add to the influx of oxygen by making you breathe more deeply. To get inhaled oxygen to your body more quickly, your body also produces an acceleration of your heart rate that increases your blood flow.
Purging Carbon Dioxide
The burning of extra glucose during exercise leads to buildup of carbon dioxide waste. If you don't get rid of this waste, you can alter your body's pH level, or relative acidity, and develop a dangerous condition called acidosis. To avoid this possibility, the same hemoglobin that delivers oxygen to your tissues also picks up carbon dioxide and transports it through your bloodstream to the capillaries that surround your alveoli. The gas then passes into your alveoli and is expelled from your lungs when you breathe out.
Considerations
If you develop an extremely rapid heartbeat during exercise, the carbon dioxide in your bloodstream won't pass through to your alveoli and your lungs won't be able to perform their normal purging function. This greatly increases your chances for developing acidosis. If you exercise regularly, you can eventually increase the amount of oxygen your lungs can supply to your body both during activity and at rest. Some form of regular exercise is especially important for people with chronic lung disorders, who frequently can't pull in enough oxygen to perform the most basic daily tasks.
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