Your body is constantly working to maintain a state of homeostasis, or balance, all the way down to the cellular level. The lungs and cardiovascular system play an integral role in keeping this balance, especially through the introduction of oxygen and the removal of waste products like carbon dioxide throughout the day. This ability is tested further each time you exercise, as exercise substantially increases the amount of carbon dioxide produced in your body.
Energy Use
Carbon dioxide production starts with energy use. When you exercise, you increase the amount of energy being consumed by your muscles, forcing the body to react by speeding up the energy creation process of our cells. The process takes the foods that you eat, or other energy sources, like stored fat, and creates both energy and waste products like carbon dioxide and water. The body prefers carbohydrates to other food sources for energy based on how easily carbohydrates can be broken down into glucose, a primary component of creating energy.
Oxygen
For energy to be produced, substances like oxygen must be present for a reaction called aerobic respiration. Since exercise increases energy use, the body must compensate by increasing the introduction of oxygen into your bloodstream through breathing. This results in a faster respiratory rate. Your body also increases your heart rate to increase how quickly both oxygen and glucose are available to the cells for energy creation.
Carbon Dioxide Production
Energy is finally produced through the combination of glucose, represented by C6H12O6, and oxygen. When these combine during aerobic respiration, energy is created in the mitochondria of the needy cell. Besides energy, the reaction produces water and carbon dioxide.
Carbon Dioxide Removal
Carbon dioxide is a waste product from the energy creation process, and as such needs to be removed from the body. To do this, the carbon dioxide is placed back into the bloodstream, where it is taken by the veins back to your lungs. Once passed into the lungs, carbon dioxide leaves as a gas as you exhale. Because carbon dioxide is being produced at an accelerated rate due to exercise energy demands, the increased respiratory and heart rate assist in eliminating the extra carbon dioxide by speeding up how quickly the waste product is expelled from your lungs.
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