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Physiological Exercise Responses

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Physiological Exercise Responses

Read the athlete profile and data, then answer each question. Focus on how the cardiovascular, respiratory and thermoregulatory systems respond, and distinguish immediate responses from long-term training adaptations.

Athlete profile and exercise data

Mere completes a repeated shuttle-run session. At rest, her muscles need relatively little energy. During the hard intervals, muscle cells use ATP rapidly and need more oxygen and fuel. Her body responds straight away to meet this demand and to manage the extra heat produced. The measurements below were taken at rest, near the end of a hard interval, and after recovery.

Measure

Rest

Hard interval

2 min recovery

Heart rate (beats/min)

178

112

Breathing rate (breaths/min)

Skin temperature (°C)

33.5

35.2

34.6

Analyse the responses

Use specific evidence from the athlete profile and recorded responses where appropriate.

1.Calculate Mere’s heart-rate increase from rest to the hard interval. Show the subtraction and include the correct unit.

2.Which response best explains why Mere’s heart rate rose during the hard interval?

The heart pumps more blood per minute to deliver oxygen and fuel to working muscles and carry away waste products.
The heart slows blood flow so the muscles can store more oxygen.
The heart rate rises mainly to digest food more quickly.
The heart pumps faster to prevent the muscles from contracting.

3.Name the two main gases involved in the increased exchange at the lungs during exercise: one taken into the blood and one removed from it.

4.Explain how a higher breathing rate and a higher heart rate work together to support Mere’s working muscles.

5.Mere’s skin temperature is higher during the hard interval than at rest. Identify one body response that helps limit overheating, and explain how it helps.

6.True or false: The increase in heart rate and breathing rate during this interval are acute responses, while a larger stroke volume developed over months of training is a chronic adaptation.

TrueFalse

7.Match each response to its most direct role during exercise.

Increased heart rate
Increased breathing rate
Sweating

Increases ventilation and gas exchange
Raises blood flow per minute to meet tissue demand
Promotes heat loss as sweat evaporates

8.Use the table to describe what happened to Mere’s heart rate during the first two minutes of recovery. What does this change suggest about her body after she stopped the hard interval?

9.A training partner says, “Mere’s heart rate returned to normal as soon as she stopped running.” Use two values from the table to assess this claim.

10.Regular endurance training can produce chronic cardiovascular adaptations. Describe one adaptation and explain how it could affect heart rate during submaximal exercise.

11.Mere is planning another shuttle-run session. Give one practical way to use heart-rate or recovery information to guide training safely and effectively.