Environment and Gene cs 1

Exercise and the Environment

Heat Exchange
• Two major challenges imposed by heat are
o Increase core temperature
o Loss uids
• Core temperature increases during
o Hot
o Humid environments
• Metabolic heat produc on increases during vigorous exercise intensity
• Convec on
o Occurs when heat is transferred from one place to another by mo on of a substance

▪ E.g. breeze blowing across skin

• Conduc on
o Is the transfer of heat via direct contact between two objects that are di erent
temperatures

▪ Cooling vest
• Radia on

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 Environment and Gene cs 2

o The transfer of heat between objects through electromagne c ac vity

▪ Radia on from the sun causes us to gain heat when we are outside
• Evapora ve
o Heat loss occurs via evapora on of sweat

▪ This is the main response to increase core temperature

▪ If humidity is high the thermal gradient between the skin surface and the
ambient air is reduced = decreasing the ability to lose heat

Temperature Regula on
• Body maintains body temperature at 37 degrees Celsius
• Thermal regulatory center is in the hypothalamus
• Body temperature is monitored by
o Central thermal receptors in the anterior hypothalamus
o Peripheral receptors located in the skin
o Deep body receptors located in the spinal cord, abdominal viscera, and larger veins
• Sensory receptors send the message to the posterior hypothalamus which triggers re exes to
regulate core temperature
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 Environment and Gene cs 3

Cardiopulmonary Responses
• Thermoneutral environment
o Cardiac input increases during exercise
o Blood ow is directed to working skeletal muscle
• Exercise in the heat
o Blood ow to the skin is increased to remove the heat (as high as 8L)
o The increase of blood ow to the skin and the need to maintain blood ow to working
muscle CARDIAC OUTPUT INCREASES SUBANTIALLY HIGHER
o Blood ow to the splanchnic region (kidney, liver and intes nes) and inac ve muscles
decrease more than typically
o Note: decrease blood volume during exercise in the heat is a por on of the cause of of
reduced stroke volume = increase HR in the Heat to maintain Q

▪ Also increase HR can be caused by increase sympathe c in uence

▪ Increase HR = decrease diastolic lling (means that increase HR decreases SV

instead of the other way around)
o The main cause of decrease stroke volume

▪ Increase HR

▪ Decrease blood volume/plasma

• Under any environment
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 Environment and Gene cs 4

o Blood plasma decreases (also means blood volume decreases) = decrease preload =
decrease stroke

▪ Due to sweat loss

▪ In ho er and humid can decrease quicker

o Decrease SV (decrease Q)= lower peak VO2max

▪ Even though HR increases it cannot go higher than max in a thermoneutral

environment

Metabolic Responses
• Exercise in the heat
o Strains O2 delivery system
o Increase in VO2 at a given absolute submaximal exercise intensity = increase in caloric
expenditure

▪ Two reasons this occurs

• Motor unit recruitment increases
• More O2 is needed for oxida ve phosphoryla on in the ETC for
enhances ATP produc on
o VO2max is decreased in during exercising in the heat = increase in submaximal VO2
• Anaerobic contributes to ATP increases in the heat
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 Environment and Gene cs 5

o More Lactate
o Increase reliance on Type II fast twitch muscle bers
• Increase in SNS
o Increased in plasma catecholamines increase blood lactate
o Increase in epinephrine = glycogenolysis and vasoconstric on
• Altered blood ow = reduc on of lactate from clearance sites (liver, kidney and inac ve muscle)
• Increase Q10 increases glycolysis rate
Neuromuscular Response in the heat
• Brain serotonin increases = fa gue and drowsiness
• Decrease force genera ng capacity

Heat Acclima on and Acclima za on

• Acclima on
o physiological adapta ons to heat or humidity that occur in controlled condi ons (lab,
gym, or home)
• Acclima za on
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 Environment and Gene cs 6

o Physiological adapta ons due to repeated exposure to ambient condi ons that are hot
and possibly humid
• People with higher level of tness before heat acclima za on will be less impaired when
exposed to hot environment and will acclimate faster than an individual who is less t
• Endurance trained
o Lower threshold for sweat response
• Endurance trained and acclima zed
o lowest threshold for sweat response
• lower sweat response allows for be er body temperature control in hot and humid
environments

• When an athlete is exposed to a heat stress during exercise a number of event occur including
• Elevated skin temperature
• Vasodila on
• Swea ng
o These are posi ve and facilitate e ec ve heat transfer from the body to the
environment and helps to minimize increases in core body temperature
• Prolonged exercise in the extreme heat can lead to a variety of heat related disorders
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 Environment and Gene cs 7

Overall adapta ons

• Increase blood plasma
• Lowered core temperatures
• Changes in swea ng rate
Thermal Adapta on in heat
• Most important adap on of exercising in the heat is reduced risk of heat-related illnesses
• Increase sweat output to for more e cient cooling
o Increase from 1L/h- 1.5L/h
• The threshold for swea ng is lowered – to reduce a hasten response to heat stress
• Sweat is also more dilute of sodium in acclima zed individuals
• Increase blood ow to the skin – helps reduce core temperatures
• People with higher body fat have a harder me to adapt to heat than people with less fat
Cardiovascular Adapta on
• Takes 5 days of exposure for adapta ons
• Increase of sodium reten on by the kidneys + Increase in plasma proteins = expansion of plasma
volume (can increase by 30% can occur as li le as 3d of training)
• Increase plasma volume = greater venous return
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 Environment and Gene cs 8

Metabolic Adapta on
• Decrease in uence of SNS and glycogenolysis = less blood lactate

Time course of Adapta ons and other Considera ons

• Di erent for everyone
• Most individuals can be acclima zed within 2 weeks of daily exposure with adapta ons
occurring 4 – 6 days of beginning the acclima on regimen
• Withholding uids has not been proven to speed up the acclima za on
• Fluids should be provided before, during and a er to return to near pre-exercise body weight
• Athlete should be able to relax in a cool environment when not par cipa ng in exercise
• Some adap ons can occur by wearing excess clothing – should not include non-breathable
materials (plas cs)
• Best results daily exercise in heat for 120 minutes – can be broken into two 1 hour sessions
Thermal Injury
• Muscle cramp = dehydra on and changes in electrolytes concentra ons – sodium loss through
swea ng
o Or heat causes muscle fa gue, increases muscle spindle sensi vity and decreases in
Golgi tendon organ sensi vity
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 Environment and Gene cs 9

• Syncope (pallor, skin hypotension, dizzy and risk of fain ng) = increase swea ng = less venous
return
• Heat exhaus on
o Can result from strenuous exercise in the heat due to either deple on of sodium or
water
o People with larger body mass are at higher risk
o Symptoms

▪ Headache, dizziness, fa gue, irritability, tachycardia, hyperven la on, diarrhea,

nausea, profuse swea ng, ataxia, coordina on problems and vomi ng.
• Exer onal heat stroke
o Life threatening – swea ng response is fa gued = increase skin and core temperatures
o Can result in

▪ Muscle accidity, involuntary limb movement, seizures, coma, tachycardia, and

possible death.
o Hyperthermia (core temperature >40 degrees Celsius – associated with CNS
disturbances and mul ple organ failure
o S mulants can increase heat produc on and inhibit swea ng pg 239
o Elderly and children are more suscep ble to overhea ng due to decrease swea ng
ability and increase metabolic heat produc on and much more
Correc on measures for the rst four disorders
• Rest, removing excess clothing, transferring to a cooler area and replacing uids and electrolytes
• Athletes should digest 150-300 mL of uids every 15 – 20 min to avoid illnesses
• A er exercise accumulate 150% more uid volume lost in body weight
Heat stroke considera on measures
• Emergency medical a en on is needed
• Aggressive a empts to lower core temperature
Sports Drinks and other coping strategies
• Help aid against heat illnesses
• Need to consider electrolytes loss as well as uid loss
• Use a commercial drink that has water and electrolytes and CHO
o Recent trend is uids with protein
o Need to consider gastric emptying and the absorp on
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 Environment and Gene cs 10

• Acclima zed athletes will need to digest more uids then none acclima zed athletes because of
earlier swea ng
• Methods to measure hydra on status
o Weighing before and a er exercise – 150% uid intake
o Colour of urine
o Bioelectrical impedance
o Speci c gravity and osmolarity
o Plasma osmolarity
o Hemoglobin and hematocrit concentra on

▪ Note: the thirst mechanism is not reliable for adequate hydra on

• Other strategies
o Cooling vest
o Cooling helmets – induce brain hypothermia
o Intermi ent cooling technique
o Mis ng fans

Cold
• Athletes tend to dress in layers which reduce the changes in skin and core temperatures and
they are balanced with the temperatures in the environment
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 Environment and Gene cs 11

• Leaner individuals tend to lose heat faster

• Heat loss is more e ec ve in aqua c environment – 20 folds more faster than air (or 4-5x greater
loss in water than on air)
• Moving through water = quicker loss of heat compared to submersion
o Submersion acts as an insula ng layer, as moving through the water disrupts the
insula on layer
Shivering
• Reduce skin temperatures = shivering (protec ve response)
o Increase metabolism = increase produc on of heat
• If body temperatures decrease during exercise that causes shivering = increase submaximal
VO2max and decreased exercise economy
• Glycogen stores become depleted more quickly when shivering – shivering relies on CHO
o Marathon runners a er a race are depleted of glycogen stores from the race and are
given thermal blankets – as they are risk of rapid heat loss and may not have the energy
available to shiver = danger
o Alcohol has similar e ects on shivering – reduces the mechanism = danger
Cardiovascular E ects
• Heart decreases
• SV increases
o Peripheral and skin blood ow is constricted = enhanced venous return to the heart
• VO2max only declines if core temperature is reduced 1 degree of Celsius or greater (5-6%
reduc on for every degree)
o Reduc on in VO2max also caused by

▪ Decrease HR and SV

▪ Bronchospasm
• Can be enhanced if an person has asthma or other hyperac ve airways

▪ Reduced cardiac muscle temperature = decrease contrac bility of the le

ventricle

▪ Skeletal muscle temperature decline = impair key metabolic enzymes (Q10

e ect)
• Also recruits fast twitch muscle motor units = increase blood lactate =
fa gue
• Other reasons for increase lactate
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 Environment and Gene cs 12

o Increase catecholamines
o Increase reliance on CHO

▪ Increase insulin sensi vity during acute cold exposure – could be due to
shivering
Health risk from cold exposure
1. Frostbite
a. Skin reaches temperature reaches -2 to -6 degrees Celsius (environment needs to less
than -29 degrees Celsius
b. Crystalliza on of the skin
c. Frost nip = epidermal or super cial skin
d. Higher risk of frostbite running in the wind
2. Hypothermia
a. Body temperature drops below 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit
b. Occurs from prolong exposure
Pg 246 under hypothermia discusses the Boston marathon with runners experiencing both hyperthermia
and hypothermia and why.
Considera on for Exercise in the Cold
• Base layer
• Insula ng layer
• Protec ve layer
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 Environment and Gene cs 13

Al tude
• Reduc on in par al pressure of O2 in the blood
o Due to low atmospheric pressure compared to sea level
• At rest the reduc on in PO2 doesn’t a ect the body because the pulmonary system is over built
o Only 25% of the O2 loaded onto the hemoglobin is extracted by the ssues
• During exercise capillary transient me is much faster, me for O2 di usion is reduced = less O2
delivery to exercising skeletal muscle may be impaired
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 Environment and Gene cs 14

Cardiopulmonary Response
• Delivering O2 is a greater physiological challenge even though the metabolic rate is not di erent
• Two adap ons occur
o Increase pulmonary ven la on (hyperven la on)

▪ Increase CO2 exhaled and increase in pH

▪ Reduc on in blood volume from exhaled water vapor

o Cardiac output increases
• VO2max is reduced at al tude
• Chemoreceptors are triggered at al tude
Metabolic Responses
• Decline in VO2max = submaximal intensity will be performed at a higher percentage of
maximum.
o Why submax tends to not be tolerated at al tude
• Increase lactate accumula on
o Higher reliance on anaerobic ATP produc on in hypoxic state
o However, peak lactate levels a er intense exercise are lower at al tude and higher at sea
level

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 Environment and Gene cs 15

▪ Known as lactate paradox

Performance at Al tude
• Poorer performance for distance runners
• Increase results in throwing, sprin ng and jumping sports
o Advantage over the lower air resistance
Acclima za on to Al tude
• Athletes that live and train at al tude tend to win long distance events
• Live high train low concepts
Physiological adapta ons
• Increase hypoxia inducible factor-1
o Triggers the kidneys to produce more erythropoie n = more RBC

▪ More RBC with decrease plasma volume = increase in hematocrit

o Increase hemoglobin concentra on and blood viscosity
o Increase the transcrip on of vascular endothelial growth factor – increase capillary
density in skeletal muscle
• 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate levels increase
o = lower a nity of hemoglobin for O2 and enhancing O2 uptake in muscle – right shi to
oxyhemoglobin curve
• Increase in blood lactate accumula on at submaximal is reduced = less fa guing
• Decline in VO2max with al tude exposure
Al tude training and sea level performance
• Minimal bene ts of al tude training as to it improving sea level performance
• Al tude training maybe bene cial for some athletes and detrimental for others
• Training al tude athletes can not train as hard which may o set the physiological changes
• To get the bene ts of both worlds athletes live high and train low
o Use chambers to make this easier
• People that should avoid al tude
o Coronary artery disease
o Various lung diseases
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 Environment and Gene cs 16

Underwater
• Two speci c challenges
o High atmospheric pressure (hyperbaric)

▪ Gases and di usion changes

o Cannot breath

Scuba Diving
• Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
o Breathing in mixed air 20.93% O2, 0.03% Co2, and 79% nitrogen
• Helps air enter the lungs (overcomes the pressure)
Risks
• Air embolus
o Holding breathing while surfacing the volume of air in the lungs increases and can cause
alveoli sacs to expand to the point of rupture

▪ Divers are trained to exhale on ascend

▪ This can cause free air and blood emboli which can restrict blood ow in the
heart and brain

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 Environment and Gene cs 17

• Spontaneous Pneumothorax
o Alveolar rupture can also cause an accumula on of air in the intrathoracic space an
result in a collapsed lung or pneumothorax
• Nitrogen Narcosis – known as the bends
o A person ascends to rapidly = nitrogen forms bubbles = gas emboli
Free diving
• PCO2 increases = decrease in pH
• Chemoreceptors trigger the brain stem that urges a person to breath
• Hyperven la ng expels more CO2 = higher amounts of O2 in the blood stream and less CO2 =
more alkaline (increase pH)
• Risk is to black out on the ascend

Microgravity
• Three major challenges
o Bone demineraliza on
o Muscle atrophy
o Cardiovascular decondi oning

▪ Lowered VO2max
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 Environment and Gene cs 18

▪ Decrease in uid volume

• Decrease SV and increase HR

▪ orthosta c intolerance
Exercise performance a er exposure to microgravity
• decrease in VO2max
• exercise in space can minimize the muscle atrophy and decrease strength

Body Structure, Gene cs, Physiology and Performance

• physical characteris cs cannot be 100% accurate there are outliers
Body structure
• anthropometrics to iden fy swimmers
o height – tall but more relevant for sprint swimmers
o arm span – long upper extremi es
o body fat – 8.8% males and 16.8% females
o somatotype – ectomorphic mesomorphic body type
o propor onality: upper extremity lengths of the limbs are important for higher power
and veloci es
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 Environment and Gene cs 19

• Other methods
o Kinathropometric

▪ The study of human size, shape, propor on, composi on, matura on, and
grows-func on in order to understand growth, exercise, performance, and
nutri on
o Physiological assessment
o Psychosocial assessment
o Biomechanical measurements
o Perceptual assessments
o Body composi on

▪ Important for sports with weight classes

▪ This can hamper performance – reducing uids and CHO

▪ Factors that a ect body composi on

• Age, sex and gene cs
o Lean body

▪ More speed and power development

o Higher body fat

▪ More buoyancy for swimming

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 Environment and Gene cs 20

Gene cs
• Gene c makeup has in uence on performance measures
o Muscle ber composi on
o Strength and power
o Lung capacity and exibility
• 25-50% of the determina on of VO2max – the same is true for muscle strength and power
• 200 gen variants currently are associated with elite athle c performance
• Vast array of phenotypes
o Such as body morphology (muscle ber type, limb length, strength and power) and
composi on (body fat, leanness)
• Two genes that have been consistently associated with performance
o ACEI/D (Angiotensin conver ng enzyme gene polymorphism

▪ Regula on of the renin-angiotensin system

▪ I/I – associated with endurance

• I allele = endurance performance

▪ I/D- less associate with moderate endurance

▪ D/D nonsigni cant change in endurance

• D allele = expressed in swimmers over short distances less than 400m
and 200m
o ACTN3 X/R

▪ Speed and power events

▪ Found in type II muscle bers

▪ X/X = more endurance

▪ R/R = power and strength

• Gene cs is important to iden fy poten al health issues
• Elites athletes are being assessed for gene c manipula on and other drugs
o Biological passport
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 Environment and Gene cs 21

Fuel system
o Speci city training in sport should focus adequately stressing the fuel systems
o The table depicts the metabolic systems along with the types of ac vi es that rely on each
o To transfer one mode of ac vity to another the training s mulus and neuromuscular pa erns
used in an ac vity need to closely mimic the other ac vity for which a carryover bene t is
desired
o Interval training allows for race speci city and the ability to stress the di erent energy systems.
o When considering interval training session important to consider

▪ What energy system based on

• HR
• Subjec ve e ort
• Race pace

▪ What is the distance and me

▪ What is the rest work ra o

▪ What type of recovery will be performed

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Environment and Gene cs 22

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 Environment and Gene cs 23

ATP-CP
o Crea ne phosphate = substrate that quickly donates phosphate group to ADP to reform ATP
o 2-7 seconds
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 Environment and Gene cs 24

o 7.3 kcal . mol of ATP

o Speci city
o Movements need to be high in intensity and very short
o Goal is to enhance the rate of rephosphoryla on of ADP
o Relies on the availability of ADP and CP and the concentra on and ac vity of enzyme
crea ne kinase
o Crea ne is produced endogenously by the liver as well exogenously through dietary
consump on
o Properly warming up before performing high intensity will posi vely a ect the rate of the
chemical reac on
o Crea ne kinase enzyme also a ects the rate of the chemical reac on and increases a er a bout
of resistance training and crea ne supplementa on
o Recovery: usually rest and shorter rest intervals versus a longer rest interval results in a possible
increase in VO2max
o Shorter rest period the athlete will need to slightly decrease the intensity
Anaerobic Glycolysis and Lac c Acid-speci c Training
o Exercise dura on 10-15 sec un l 90-120 seconds
o Need a good VO2max and need to exercise at a high percentage of VO2max
o Goals
o Increase VO2max
o Increase bu ering capacity
o Exercising above the blood lactate =
o Quick to fa gue
o Decrease blood pH
o Increase H+ ions
o Adapta on
o Be er bu ering of H+ ions
o Increase mitochondrial volume
o VO2peak and lactate threshold are independent variables

▪ Individuals can improve lactate threshold and not VO2max

o Training 1-3 min enhances muscle bu ering capacity by increasing concentra on of carnosine
o Recovery: need to be long enough and not intense to allow for proper bu ering
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 Environment and Gene cs 25

Aerobic
o Skeletal and neurological systems work together and can be trained to increase endurance at
very high-power outputs for long periods of me.
o Factors for performance
o VO2max
o Resistance to movement (drag)
o Velocity
o Lactate threshold
o Economy of movement
o Fuel supply and use
o Training
o Lower volumes
o Variety of interval work – allow to work at higher intensi es

▪ Long dura on moderate intensity

• Trained – 1-2 d/wk
• 30-120 min
• 70% VO2max under lactate threshold

▪ Moderate dura on, high intensity

• Trained 1-2 d/wk
• 20-30 min
• Slightly above lactate threshold

▪ Fartlek/speed play
• 1 d/wk
• 20-60 min
• 70% VO2max above lactate threshold

▪ Cross training
• Di erent modes of exercise with the goal of transferring e ects
gained from the di erent mode to desired exercise mode
• Can enhance training volume
o Posi ve e ect of training resistance for distance – enhance strength and aerobic
endurance
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 Environment and Gene cs 26

Tapering
o Decrease in training volume with an increase in training intensity
o Not used in team sports such as basketball, football and baseball
o Las ng 2-3 wk – where training volume is reduced progressively – maintain or increase intensity
o Prevents decondi oning
o Reduc on in volume of 60-90% have been reported successful tapers and training frequency
should not be reduced more than 50%
o If performed properly will allow
o Skeletal muscle recovery
o Power enhancement
o Improved psychological status
o For swimmers – improves hematocrit and hemoglobin
o Enhanced stores in liver and skeletal muscle glycogen stores
o Successful tapers can improve performance minimum of 2-3%
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Environment and Gene cs 27

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