My favorite part of exercise physiology was learning about anaerobic ATP production and how that contributes to specific types of exercise. For example, according to one of the charts from our chapter 3 powerpoint, the anaerobic contribution to ice hockey is close to 90% compared to aerobic ATP production contribution. This was really interesting for me to learn about because one of our fitness tests is to run a mile and a half, which according to the same chart lies somewhere between 60 and 80% aerobic contribution. Knowing this, it is puzzling to me why we would be tested on an exercise that requires a heavy contribution of the type of ATP production that we don’t use during our sport. People tend to perform the worst on the mile and a half test compared to the 300 yard  shuttle sprint test and this makes a lot of sense now knowing that the processes used to fuel the sprint test are more in line with our sport than those used to fuel the distance test. It was also cool to learn about all the different factors that impact performance, especially because these concepts were supplemented by the Endure book. I also thought the labs were really cool because we got to be our own subjects so it made it more interesting because we were learning about our own bodies. Lastly, being an athlete, I feel as though I have gained a better understanding of how exercise impacts the body and therefore have a better scientific insight on how to improve my performance.

For my presentation I am researching the physiological impacts of a Crossfit training regime. I chose this topic because being an athlete, I have heard of/been exposed to many different types of training programs and Crossfit time and time again brings about the most controversy. On one hand, I have been told by strength coaches that Crossfit can be extremely dangerous and harmful and on the other hand, I have spoken to people who consistently do Crossfit and they absolutely swear by it. I don’t know enough about Crossfit to agree with one argument or the other so that’s why I think it’ll be really interesting to research it and see the science behind how it works, what it does for your body, and maybe even how it compares to other workout regimes. I expect that I will find some mixed research in terms of if it is beneficial or not or if it is only beneficial for a certain type of athlete training for something specific. I also expect that I will find that it works better with a specific type of diet. Other people in the class should be interested in this topic because Crossfit is currently a quite popular workout regime so learning about it, especially if the research has positive results, might encourage people to give it a try. On the flip side, if the research shows negative results and class members know people who do Crossfit, they can use the science presented in the presentation to suggest that the person tries a different regime. So far I have only researched what exactly Crossfit entails in effort to gain a solid foundational understanding of the workout prior to researching the science behind it and the bodily costs/benefits of it. I hope to get a start on the more specific research tomorrow or this weekend.

Any suggestions of other directions I can take this in are much appreciated! 🙂

For this week’s blog post I am discussing the idea that lactic acid accumulation during muscle activity is advantageous. Many people believe that lactic acid accumulation is the cause of muscle fatigue but this is not true and is supported by the information in the Point:Counterpoint article as well as a further reason study that I found.

The Point:Counterpoint article explains how there are a few main causes of muscle fatigue, none of them being accumulation of lactate. The authors describe muscle fatigue as a “disturbance to any of the steps in excitation-contraction (EC) coupling” (1410). Based on this definition, they then explain the types of muscle fatigue, which include a buildup of K+ in the T-system and metabolic fatigue.  A buildup of K+ in the T-system depolarizes the fiber, which then slows or prevents the Na+ channels from recovering, and ultimately results in failure of action potentials. On the other hand, metabolic fatigue refers to the effects of metabolites and decrease in substrates. They even add that the slightly lowered pH as a result of lactate ions and high intracellular H+ seems to slow the onset of fatigue.

A research article that further the supports the idea of lactate having a positive impact rather than a negative one, describes an experiment performed on mice. They investigated mouse skeletal muscle tissue under the conditions of control, injected lactate, injected cardio toxin, and injected lactate after injected cardio toxin. The injections were performed 5 days a week for 2 weeks. The results showed that in the lactate group and lactate after cardio toxin group, there was an increase in muscle weight, fiber cross-sectional area, and facilitation of the recovery process as a result of the damages caused by the cardio toxin. These findings suggest that lactate can potentially stimulate muscle hypertrophy and/or the generation of muscle tissue and therefore support the idea that lactate accumulation is positive. Applied to exercise in humans, maybe the lactate helps to regenerate our muscle cells that get damaged from exercise such as weight lifting.

Ohno, Y.; Ando, K.; Ito, T.; Suda, Y.; Matsui, Y.; Oyama, A.; Kaneko, H.; Yokoyama, S.; Egawa, T.; Goto, K. Lactate Stimulates a Potential for Hypertrophy and Regeneration of Mouse Skeletal Muscle. Nutrients 2019, 11, 869. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/4/869.

1. My favorite athletic accomplishment is making it to the Division 1 level for ice hockey. Growing up, it was always my dream to play collegiate ice hockey and playing at the highest level makes the realization of my dream all the more special. Playing hockey has always brought me so much joy and kept me healthy and fit. Throughout my childhood, I had to sacrifice many hours for hockey that could have been spent socially with friends and that was very difficult because at times I felt like I was missing out and getting left behind. Making it to the Division 1 level made all of the sacrifices worth it. To get to play the game that I love while also getting an incredible education is the best combination I could ask for. Further, I have learned valuable skills from hockey, such as discipline and effective communication, and these are part of what makes this my favorite athletic accomplishment because I can apply these skills to many different aspects of my life.
2. Exercise physiology can serve as a paradigm for understanding biology because in order to under how the body functions for exercise/in response to exercise, you need an understanding of the biological processes that occur in the body. For example, to understand how a runner most efficiently utilizes their breathing for peak success, you need to understand how respiration works and what biological processes/body systems work together to cause breathing. Further, some people are better suited for different types of exercise/sports so understanding this can serve as a paradigm for understanding selection and evolution of different traits that can contribute to athleticism.
3. I can use many concepts that I have learned from previous upper-level courses to contribute to our exercise physiology discussions. One way that I can contribute is through what I have learned in anatomy/physiology courses that I have taken (and am currently taking). The things I have learned about body systems, body composition, and how the body functions can be an asset in class discussion. To add, I can use concepts I learned in evolutionary biology to help piece together why certain traits that may have an influence on body components that contribute to exercise, such as muscles, have been selected for and how they have evolved throughout time.