Essay Example: Impact of Physical Activity on the Respiration

Introduction

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It is apparent that the body is in constant need of energy to work, and energy is supplied in the form of chemical potential energy at the cellular level (Bogdanis, Nevill, Boobis, Lakomy, 1996, p877). The chemical potential energy is stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and when such a form of energy is used by the body, the resulting products are adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphorus. The two products are formed through the process of hydrolysis of ATP. To fuel more activities in the cell, ADP needs refueling which can be done either aerobically (in the presence of oxygen) or anaerobically (in the absence of oxygen). It is, however, apparent to appreciate that aerobic process helps in regenerating more ATP although it takes a longer time as compared to the anaerobic process (Astrand, 1956, p308). Such helps in understanding the role of both the aerobic and the anaerobic process in the daily activities in which people engage.

Anaerobic processes are mainly useful in fueling physical activities of moderate intensity such as long distance running whereby anaerobic process are crucial for the high-intensity workouts such as strength training, sprinting among others (Ghosh, 2004, p25). Such is because an anaerobic process of production of energy greatly helps in the provision of energy at the required rate which is right for muscle contractions. However, the problems with an anaerobic process are that it produces acidosis which limits production of energy through the same process. In this relation, anaerobic metabolism is unreliable for the production of energy for the high-intensity workouts causing increased reliability to aerobic metabolism for the supply of energy. Increased demand for aerobic metabolism requires a higher demand for oxygen which in turn leads to a higher demand for oxygen in the muscles; this stimulates an increase in the heart rate. There, is, however, the need to appreciate that amount of oxygen that a body requires depends on individual metabolism, the degree of fitness to engage in anaerobic exercises is, therefore, dependent on the aerobic capacity of the body (Kaikkonen, Yrjama, Siljander, Byman, Laukkanen, 2000, p212). The aim of the paper is to examine how physical activities affects both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic processes. Moreover, the paper seeks to evaluate the differences in aerobic capacities in individuals by carrying engaging in some experiments aimed at changing the pulse rates. The hypothesis of this research paper is that moderate physical exercise requires aerobic metabolism while the high intensity exercise requires anaerobic respiration in the human body.

Methods

In examining the impacts of physical activities on both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, there are various physical activities to be carried out which would allow for the measurement of relevant factors.

Results

The results of the experiment are presented in the table where pulse rates are recorded before and after the experiment. This allows for detecting the changes in the pulse rates making it easy to calculate the pulse rates of subjects that engage in the study. Because the subjects were given the liberty of stopping upon exhaustion, the table shows differing numbers of push-ups which help in examining the correlation between the number of push-ups and percentage differences in the pulse rates.

Figure 1: The increase in rates of respiration with increase in level of physical activity. Units of Carbon dioxide produced during the exercise is also measured in the form of micromol of CO2 (this is 10-6 of CO2 per mol of dry air). The bars show the amount of carbon dioxide gas produced from the processes.

Moreover, the results show the different pulse rates between the males and females which help in showing the relation between the pulse rates of both genders. Finally, statistical analysis of the data is of great importance in the examining hypothesis in the study which is of great importance in the analysis of the spread of data. There is also a clear representation of the step up exercise where pulse rates are recorded before and after the exercise. There is also a statistical analysis of data from the step-up exercise to confirm the hypothesis under study; this is apparent in the beats per minute and standard deviation.

Figure 2: Showing the energy sources and during physical activity and depletion of energy sources with time. There is also a correlation between various energy sources and the percentages of energy produced by the sources of energy. Threshold point is the point during physical activity when all the energy sources have been depleted and the body cannot support further physical activity

It is apparent from the above figure that all the systems of the body are working to provide the energy required for the body. It is also evident from the graph of the ATP where which first takes place under aerobic respiration, in this manner, there is mass production of energy, however, the energy can only support the moderately light physical activities to provide energy for the relevant body parts. The ATP graph coincides with aerobic respiration that cannot last long hence cannot provide the required energy for the strenuous physical exercise, all systems of the body work to produce the required amount of energy in the body where the body is effective is responsible for replenishing of ATP and limiting anaerobic respiration in the society. Threshold point is the point where the organs of the body are exhausted and lack of oxygen limits activities of the body.

Figure 3: Energy provided by both aerobic and anaerobic respiration during a physical exercise.

The graph above shows a state in the second physical exercise where anaerobic respiration is unable to provide the energy required for the body because of the self-limiting aspect of production of acidosis which reduces the effectiveness of this metabolic process requiring the need for aerobic respiration. The graph helps in explaining the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration and how they impact provision of energy in the body of human beings.

Discussion

In the experiment, the first test is used to initiate aerobic metabolism while the second is used for the anaerobic metabolism. From the results, it is evident that the number of push-ups relates directly to the pulse rate where the higher the number of push-ups, the higher the pulse rate (Tomlin and Wenger, 2001, p5). The increase in pulse rates means that there is the increase in demand for oxygen which requires the subjects to increase their rates of breathing to provide the required amount of oxygen. It is also evident that the subjects that did few number of push-ups had a lower percentage difference because of lack of necessity for oxygen in the body. With regards to the step-up experiment, it is evident that there were minimal changes in the pulse rates, this is because the exercise is that which requires anaerobic metabolism (Medbo and Tabata, 1989, p1882). As the findings were presented in statistical analysis, the results followed a standard t-test which proved that the hypothesis under investigation was met and the levels of acceptance were confirmed. Despite the fact that both experiments were successful, there were limitations that exposed the study to various challenges.

One of the limitations that there were less males than the females which had detrimental effects to the research process, because the males perform better in the physical exercises, the less number of males could have led to inconclusive results because of the few number of males. The second limitation was that there was lack of the necessary equipment that were to be used in testing pulse rate after the experiment was done. In this relation, the participants had to test their pulse rates which had two challenges. The first challenge was that it took longer time to take the measurements and this could have led to wrong measurements because delays could provide the opportunity for the body to stabilize where the effects of the exercise could not have been felt. The second effect of participants testing their own pulse rates is that there is the probability that results could not be accurate and could therefore misleading.

Bibliography

Astrand PO (1956) Human physical fitness with special reference to sex and age. Physiological Reviews, 36, 307-335. Accessed 17th January 2017 from: http://physrev.physiology.org/content/physrev/36/3/307.full.pdf

Bogdanis GC, Nevill ME, Boobis LH, Lakomy HKA (1996) Contribution of phosphocreatine and aerobic metabolism to energy supply during repeated sprint exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 80, 876-884. Accessed 17th January 2017 from: http://jap.physiology.org/content/jap/80/3/876.full.pdf

Ghosh AK (2004) Anaerobic threshold: its concept and role in endurance sport. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 11, 24-36. Accessed 1st February 2017 from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3438148/pdf/mjms-11-1-024.pdf

Kaikkonen H, Yrjama M, Siljander E, Byman P, Laukkanen R (2000) The effect of heart rate controlled low resistance circuit weight training and endurance training on maximal aerobic power in sedentary adults. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 10, 211-215. Accessed 17th January 2017 from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1034/j.1600-0838.2000.010004211.x/epdf

Medbo JI, Tabata I (1989) Relative importance of aerobic and anaerobic energy release during shortlasting exhausting bicycle exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 67, 1881-1886. Accessed 17th January 2017 from: http://jap.physiology.org/content/67/5/1881.long

Tomlin DL, Wenger HA (2001) The relationship between aerobic fitness and recovery from high intensity intermittent exercise. Sports Medicine, 31, 1-11. Accessed 17th January 2017 from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12110879_The_Relationship_Between_Aerobic_Fitness_and_Recovery_from_High_Intensity_Intermittent_Exercise