The immediate physiological responses to training are numerous, but for Preliminary PDHPE are limited to heart rate, ventilation rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and lactate levels. The immediate physiological responses to training are proportional to the intensity of the training. Physical activity demands oxygen delivery along with the removal of carbon dioxide and lactic acid. The immediate changes help to achieve a higher delivery of oxygen, faster removal of carbon dioxide and conversion of pyruvic acid to lactate.
The physiological responses to training can take around 3 minutes to fully adapt to the intensity of training and the speed at which the responses return to resting levels relates to fitness levels and the body’s ability to recover from training sessions. The reason for many of the immediate physiological responses to training is the increased amount of carbon dioxide produced by the working muscles, stimulating an increase in heart rate, ventilation, stroke volume and cardiac output. Lactate levels increase in response to an increased use of the lactic acid energy system, and the muscle’s need to remove lactate to delay fatigue.
The Preliminary PDHPE syllabus states:
Students learn about:
- Immediate physiological responses to training
Students learn to:
- examine the reasons for the changing patterns of respiration and heart rate during and after submaximal physical activity.
Practice Exam Questions
Explain the relationship between training intensity and heart rate. 3 marks
Describe the physiological responses that occur during a 20-minute continuous aerobic training session. 6 marks
Analyse the immediate physiological responses to training. 8 marks