There are three types of muscle found in the body:

There are three types of muscle found in the body:

1. Cardiac muscle

2. Smooth (Visceral) muscle

3. Skeletal muscle

Cardiac muscle is only found in the heart, is striated in appearance and under involuntary
(unconscious) control.

Smooth muscle makes up the walls of organs and blood vessels, is involuntarily controlled and
appears without striations.

Skeletal muscle is attached to the skeleton to produce movement. It is striated in appearance and
under voluntary control.

The functions of muscle in the body are to produce movement, maintain posture and shape,
stabilise joints and generate heat. As well as this muscle has four main characteristics:
excitability (it responds to stimuli), contractility (it can shorten forcefully), extensibility (it can
stretch) and elasticity (it returns to its resting length after stretching).

respiratory system

What does the respiratory system do?

1. Oxygenates blood.
2. Removes Carbon dioxide from the body.

What happens in the lungs when we breath?

The respiratory system works using the principle of diffusion. Gases (e.g. oxygen and carbon
dioxide) move from areas of high concentration, across pressure gradients, into areas of lower
pressure. Due to the fact that thoracic cavity volume is changed using the respiratory muscles
(internal and external intercostal muscles, abdominals and diaphragm) the air flows in and out of
the lungs depending on the external pressure.

When we inhale (breathe in) the respiratory muscles make the chest cavity bigger creating lower
pressure in the lungs than outside the body. Air then flows in to equalise the pressure.

When we exhale (breathe out) the respiratory muscles make the chest cavity smaller and raise the
pressure of air in the lungs. At the first opportunity this air will flow out of the lungs.

 
Diffusion of Gases in the Lungs

Due to a pressure gradient in the alveoli diffusion of gases takes place. High levels of oxygen in
the alveoli causes the gas to diffuse into the red blood cells through the alveoli wall where
oxygen pressure is low in the deoxygenated blood as it flows past.

As this is happening the high levels of carbon dioxide in the deoxygenated blood diffuse into the
low carbon dioxide pressure area of the alveoli. Blood that leaves the alveoli is now oxygenated
and it heads back to the heart via the pulmonary vein.

What happens to the lungs during exercise?

 The rate and depth of breathing increases.

 A higher percentage of oxygen is extracted from the air available.
 More blood flows through the lung capillaries to expel CO2 and absorb O2.

What are the long-term effects of training on the pulmonary system?

Aerobic training such as swimming, jogging and cycling:

1. Increased capillary density around alveoli.

2. Increased endurance of respiratory muscles.
3. Increased respiratory muscle power.

Anaerobic training such as weights and sprinting:

1. A small increase in power of respiratory muscles.

What do these training effects mean to the athlete?

Aerobic training will bring about an improved blood flow (and therefore oxygen absorption) in
the lungs. More blood flowing past the alveoli means more haemoglobin is potentially saturated
with oxygen. Also, more CO2 can be expired. This increase in the supply of oxygen to the
working muscles and an improvement in the endurance of the respiratory muscles means that the
athlete can work much harder for longer periods. These pulmonary changes coupled with the
muscular improvements in aerobic respiration mean the athlete will see a vast improvement in
performance.

The Physiological Effects of Training

The Physiological Effects of Training

The effects of training can be studied at various levels:

 Biochemical changes - Tissue level

 Systemic changes - Circulatory & Respiratory
 Other changes - Body composition, blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood
pressure and heat acclimatisation.