Your body changes in many ways when you exercise -- usually, these are healthy responses. Your body is equipped to deal with the stresses it is put under. Your respiratory rate is one of the physical attributes that change during exercise, increasing as you push your body to perform.
Definition and Measurement
The respiratory rate is defined as the number of breaths you take each minute, with a breath defined as one exhale and one inhale. Average adult respiratory rates while resting fall somewhere between 15 and 20 breaths per minute. The rate is higher when a person is exercising, but the average depends on every individual’s level of fitness, how long she have been exercising and other factors.
Higher Respiratory Rate
When you exercise, your body metabolizes energy much more quickly than it does at rest. As your body metabolizes energy, it uses oxygen and creates carbon dioxide. As energy metabolism speeds up, so does your body's respiratory rate. Oxygen enters your body’s respiratory system via the bronchi, which are any of the passages in the lungs below the windpipe. Air goes from the nose or mouth, to the pharynx, the trachea, the primary or right/left bronchi, the secondary bronchi, tertiary bronchi, bronchioles and lastly the alveoli.
Diaphragm and Diaphragmatic Breathing
Because the lungs are not muscles, the muscles that make up the diaphragm in your ribs control them. When you inhale, the diaphragm moves lower in the chest, making room for the lungs and ribs to expand in the chest cavity. With more space, there is less pressure in the chest cavity, and that lower pressure is what results in the physical intake of air into the lungs. Your lungs expand with the new air, then the pressure level is reversed. Air, now consisting of more carbon dioxide, is pushed out. The diaphragm moves back up, the ribs move back in, and the breath is finished. Athletes can train to control their diaphragms and therefore their breathing by focusing on the diaphragm muscle in training.
Factors
There are a number of factors that can affect your respiratory rate when you exercise. An athlete with high physical fitness -- with more endurance training, for example -- will maintain a lower respiratory rate than somebody who is not in good physical shape. External factors make a difference, too, including heat, altitude, humidity and lung capacity. Better lung capacity, like physical fitness, decreases respiratory rate, while higher heat, altitude and humidity increase respiratory rate.
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