Exercise and Muscles Physiology

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1) Contrast the normal distribution of cardiac output with the distribution of cardiac output during aerobic (sustained) exercise and anaerobic (brief maximal burst) exercise. Include local regulation of blood flow and the role of capillary reserve in altering skeletal muscle blood flow.
2) Define VO2MAX and identify situations in which it is limited by cardiac output, pulmonary gas exchange, and skeletal muscle blood flow and oxygen uptake.
3) Explain the control mechanisms responsible for the increases in minute ventilation and heart rate that accompany exercise and how they can occur without any measurable change in arterial blood gas values.
4) Explain how each of the following can alter exercise performance: muscle fatigue, VO2MAX, anaerobic threshold, gender, and age
5) Describe how exercise training alters insulin action and glucose entry into cells.
6) Describe the health benefits of exercise training on the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, endocrine, immune and nervous systems.
7) Explain mechanisms of central and peripheral fatigue
8) Explain metabolic substrate utilization at varying intensities and durations of exercise and the impact on weight control.