Intensity

Question 1

Ultimate goals

Answer 1

Sports: Produce a winning performance at the right time and place
Rehab: to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life of those with physical impairments

Question 2

Exercise intensity

Answer 2

Refers to how much energy is expended when exercising. Perceived intensity varies with everyone. Intensity is the amount of physical power that the body uses when performing an activity

Question 3

How to measure exersice intensity/load

Answer 3

-Parameters related to performance output
- Parameters related to energy expenditure
- Parameters related to subjective feeling (RPE)
- Combination of above
- Using either maximal or submaximal anchor measurements.

Question 4

Parameters related to performance output

Answer 4

Absolute force/power/velocity
- Coordinated action (cycling, ligting weights, speed during running)
- Isolated muscle group
- Does not always reflect intensity. many influencing factors like equipment, terrain.

Measured by percentage of maximal force/power output (%MVC, %Pmax)

Question 5

Parameters related to metabolism/energy expenditure

Answer 5

• absolute energy expenditure, VO2, heart rate
• Percentage of max/peak VO2 (%VO2Max; %VO2peak) or VO2 reserve
• Percentage of maximal heart rate or heart rate reserve
• Anaerobic/lactate/ventilator/gas exchange threshold

Question 6

Difference between %VO2Max & %HRR

Answer 6

VO2max has an offset. HRR can be equal to zero.

difference between minimum and maximum VO2 is bigger for ‘fit’ people.

Question 7

Why intensity levels?

Answer 7

Different levels of intensity (low, moderate, heavy, severe) will provoke specific homeostatic pertubations
- Changes in musle energy turnover
- oxygen demand
- Metabolite accumulation
- Mechanical stress
Different fiber type recruitment:
- Moderate –> type 1 fiber
- higher levels –> type 2

Different levels of intensity has critical effect on performance and duration of performance.

Question 8

Heart rate and intensity

Answer 8

%HRmax or %HRR
HRmax is highly reliable.
Large ranges are associated with the GET. Thresholds can be different for each individual.

Question 9

Problems with HR monitoring

Answer 9

Affected by many factors.
HR-VO2 relationship is not alway linear.
Problems with monitoring in some individuals / groups
Cannot often be used to prescribe exercise intensity.
Max is estimated. Max HR isn’t often really the max. can’t be trained is based on age.

Question 10

Lactate Thresholds

Answer 10

Aerobic & anaerobic. Determine what zone you in. Is measured by blood lactate levels. measured by blood from finger or ear. Hard to say what the levels in the muscles actually are.
Exercise at 4mM LA suggested as most favorable for optimal physiology adaption. Difficult to measure the threshold.

Question 11

Ventilatory Threshold

Answer 11

Related to LT1. LA increases –> More H+ –> buffered with HCO3 –> Splits in CO2 and H2O. –> More CO2 = more ventilation needed to remove CO2

Question 12

Gas Exchange Threshold (GET)

Answer 12

Both VCO2 and VO2 increase. At some point VCO2 increases relatively more than VO2. That’s the GET.

Question 13

TRIMP

Answer 13

Training impulse.
Duration of training * HR ratio * Y
You need higher TRIMP to get better. But variation is good to make sure you don’t get too much strain.

Question 14

Critical Power (CP)

Answer 14

Of a muscle (group) is the maximum rate (of work) that it can keep up for a very long time without fatigue.

Above CP you will not be able to maintain exercise forever at that level. below the threshold you will be able to maintain that level.

CP is at 80%VO2max, halfway between LT and VO2max.

Question 15

W’

Answer 15

Curvation constant. Energy reservoir. Represents a fixed work capacity available during exercise. Exhaustion occurs when W’ = 0.

Question 16

Tlim = W’ / (P-CP)

Answer 16

P = W’ / Tlim + CP. You can calculate what your power output should be without getting exhausted (when you know Tlim (how long you are going to exercise)).

Question 17

There are only two components to the energy supply system for human exercise, termed
aerobic and anaerobic.

Answer 17

Overall there are two systems, but in fact it is more complex. Both of these systems
consist of a couple of other energy systems.

Question 18

The aerobic supply is unlimited in capacity, but this is rate limited. This limiting parameter is
the critical power, CP.

Answer 18

You don’t have unlimited energy stores. You only have a certain amount of fat and
carbohydrates in your body. The idea behind it is true, but the statement is not
correct.
 The second part about CP to be a rate limiter is true, because you cannot use more
oxygen at some moment in time.

Question 19

The anaerobic supply conversely is not rate limited, but is capacity limited by the parameter
AWC (=aerobic work capacity = W’).

Answer 19

The anaerobic supply is rate limited, because you cannot use the whole tank all at
once. You can open the tap only to a certain extend.

Question 20

Exhaus琀椀on, and by implica琀椀on termina琀椀on of exercise, occurs when all of AWC has been
utilized.

Answer 20

Well, the anaerobic energy tank can be restored from the aerobic energy tank.

Question 21

2 parameter CP model

Answer 21

Might be too simple
- Aerobic training: Increasing CP
- Anaerobic training = increasing W’
- Interval training = might increase both, but its not ideal.