I think my favorite topic in this class was learning about the immune system and how it can be impacted by exercise. I always thought that working out in the cold would make you sick, and that working out more (higher intensity) meant better health. Now that we understand how the immune system works and how the health benefits only arise after moderate exercise, I feel like I understand why people who over-exert themselves can tend to get sick. I like how the immune system chapter was easy to relate the different cellular components to the effects we feel on a macroscopic level. Being able to relate the open window theory to Endure was also helpful because I feel like we were able to see how the immune system can be compromised in different environments and during endurance training.
Bio 375: Exercise Physiology
Spring 2019
I agree! The open-window theory came as a bit of a surprise to me but it makes sense! The immune system material was useful to learn. It was nice to learn about the parts that comprise the immune system: the innate immune system, the complement system, and the acquired immune system. Just as in other aspects of biology, our body’s have devised layers upon layers of defense against pathogens. Exercising can boost these! Especially the innate immune system like natural killer cells. Not only that but consistent, moderate exercise can dampen the effects of immunosenescence (decline of immune system with age). It was also useful to learn that exercising with a head cold has no adverse immune system consequences but doing when symptoms are below the neck (like upper respiratory infections) is not a good idea. Great stuff to know!
I definitely think the Immune system was cool to learn about too. I thought what you did about working out in the cold could make you sick. it was cool to learn that the cold isn’t the problem. I guess that maybe some coaches could benefit from learning this that sick players shouldn’t go as hard because it might make them more sick or spread it to others! I think the open window theory part of endure was really relatable to the material we learned in class and complemented it nicely.