ExercisePhysiologyLabReport

By:MadisonSalvitti
Date:April5,2016
TA:JavierSolivan

Introduction
Peopleexerciseforvariousreasonssomeincludelosingweight,thehighitcangiveyou,and
forthevarioushealthbenefitsamongstnumerousotherreasons.However,fewtrulyunderstandthe
physiologicaleffectsthatexercisehasonthebodyduringtheactualactofexercising.Threeofthemajor
effectsthatexercisehasonthebodyincludetemperature,O
concentration,andCO
concentration.
2
2
First,withrespecttotemperature,duringexercise,bodytemperatureshouldriseslightly
(Silverthorn2013).Thisoccurswhenthebodyscentralandskinthermoreceptorssenseachangein
temperatureduetotheheatlossfromexercising(Silverthorn2013).Theysendthissensoryinformation
fromthebaroreceptorstothehypothalamustotriggeraresponse(Gleeson1998).Thisisbecausewhen
oneisexercising,theexcessenergythatthebodycreatesfromATPproductionisreleasedintheformof
heat(Silverthorn2013).Withtheexcessheatlosswhenthesubjectcontinuallyexercisestheirbody,the
excessheatlossraisesthebodyscoretemperature(Silverthorn2013).However,thebodydoessweatas
awaytocontrolhomeostasisandreturnitbacktoalowertemperature(Gleeson1998).Thisactof
sweatingdoescounteracttheincreaseincorebodytemperature,butonlyaslightincreaseasopposedto
adramaticincrease(Gleeson1998).
Asecondeffectthatexercisehasonthebodyiswithrespecttotheconcentrationofoxygenin
theblood.Whenapersonexercises,oxygenconsumptionincreases,andasaresult,itsconcentrationin
theblooddecreases(Silverthorn2013).Thisisfromthecellsbecomingoxygendeprivedduringexercise
duetotheuseofoxygeninaerobicrespirationtomakeATP(Silverthorn2013).Throughthisaerobic
respiration,themusclecellsuseasmuchofthetheoxygensstoresaspossibletocreateATPandasa
result,createadeficitandloweringtheconcentrationintheblood(Silverthorn2013).However,once
exercisestops,theoxygenconsumptionslowsdownandthebloodoxygenconcentrationincreasesand
returnsbacktotheoriginallevels(Silverthorn2013).

Thethirdmajoreffectthatexercisehasonthebodyistheeffectoncarbondioxideconcentration.
Similarly,asoxygenconcentrationinthebodydecreaseswithexercise,theconcentrationofcarbon
dioxidewillincrease(Silverthorn2013).Whenheavyexercisingbegins,thebodyschemoreceptors
senseadecreaseinoxygenthereforealertingthebodythatanincreaseinventilationneedstooccurso
thatmoreoxygencanreachthebodysmusclecells(Silverthorn2013).Asaresult,morecarbondioxide
iscreatedasabyproductofventilationandrespirationinthemusclecells,leadingtoanincreasein
carbondioxideconcentration(Silverthorn2013).Thisalongwiththeotherbiologicalresponsesallplay
animportantroleinthebodyandmakesurethathomeostasiscanoccurevenduringstress.
Inthislab,homeostaticprocessofcertainbiologicalfunctionsaretrackedthroughout
preexercise,exercise,andrecovery.Foursubjectswillrunonthetreadmillforupto21minutes,and
theirvitalsignswillbeobservedduringbothchangesintreadmillinclineandspeed.Basedonthe
physiologyofthebody,itisexpectedthatheartrate,carbondioxideclearance,oxygenconsumption,
meanarterialpressure,andtemperature(onlyslightly)willincreasewithexercisecomparedtothe
restingvalues.Thenduringtherecoveryphase,theywilldecreaseandbegintoreturntobaselinevalues.
Ontheotherhand,itisexpectedthathemoglobinsaturationwilldecreaseduringexercisecomparedto
therestingvalues,andthenincreaseandbegintoreturntobaselinevaluesduringtherecoveryphase.
Methods
Thegoalofthislabwastoobservethephysiologicaleffectsofexerciseonthebody,andthis
wasaccomplishedbyfollowingtheguidelinesinthethirdeditionofthe
PhysiologyLaboratoryManual
writtenbyJohnWatersandNanetteTomicek.Thisprocedurewasaccomplishedbyusingthefollowing
instruments:PowerlabwithgasanalyzertolookatCO
andO
data,Spirometer/Powerlabwith
2
2
Spirometerpodfortherespiratoryvolumes,scale,measuringtape,timer,pulseoximeterformeasuring
hemoglobinsaturation,oralthermometer,sphygmomanometerformeasuringbloodpressure,

stethoscope,treadmill,mouthpieces,alcoholforsterilizingequipment,adatacollectioncomputer,and
finally4participants.Aftertheinstrumentswereobtainedandsetup,theexperimentcouldbegin.
First,therestingheartratewasfoundandthenmaximalheartratewascalculated.Maximalheart
ratewasdeterminedbysubtractingthesubjectsagefrom220.Theexerciseheartratewasthen
calculatedforeachsubject,whichwas80%ofthemaximalheartrate.Exerciseheartratewas
calculatedtodeterminetheguidelineforwhatwasasafeheartratetoachievewhenthesubjectwas
exercising.Ifthesubjectsheartrateexceededtheexerciseheartrate,thatwaswhentheexperiment
neededtostop.
Directlybeforetherestingdatawascollected,thesubjectrelaxedforafewmoments.Then,the
restingdatapointswerecollectedasthesubjectwassittingdownwiththeirlegsuncrossed.Thisresting
datawascollectedovera6minutetimeintervalwhile2roundsoftherestingdatawerecollected.The
restingdataactedasacontrolbecauseitgavetheexperimenterssomethingtocomparetheexercisedata
too.Withoutthisaccuraterestingdata,theexperimentwouldnothavebeenvalidbecausetherewould
nothavebeenconsistentbaselinevaluesfortheexercisedatatobecomparedto.
Whiletheexercisedatapointswerecollected,thesubjectcontinuedtorunonthetreadmill.Each
datapointwasobtainedevery3minutesatasettreadmillspeedandincline.Thisphaseofthe
experimentlasteduntileitherthesubjectreachedanunsafeheartrate,the21minutetimelimitcame,
ortheycouldnolongerperformtheexperimentbecausetheyweretophysicallyexhausted.Thetable
belowsummarizesthechangesinthespeedandinclineofthetreadmillateachoftheseintervals.The
settingsofthetreadmillwerenotchangeduntilallofthedatapointswerecollected.Thedatacollection
beganexactlyateachtimeintervalandthedatacollectorswereready60secondsbeforedatacollection
began.

Table1:ExerciseDataPointParameters
TimeIntervals

TreadmillIncline

TreadmillSpeed

3minutes

0degrees

6minutes

3degrees

9minutes

6degrees

12minutes

10degrees

15minutes

15degrees

18minutes

15degrees

21minutes

15degrees

Table1illustratestheexacttimeinterval,treadmillincline,andtreadmillspeedateachdatapoint.
Thiswaspredeterminedbeforethelab,andevenifeachsubjectdidnotreachthesamedatapoint,
theyfollowedthesameexerciseguidelines.

Aftertheexercisedatapointswereallcollected,therecoverydatapointswerethencollected.
Recoverydatawascollectedtwice,at3minutesandthenagainat6minutes.Whenthesubjectalerted
theexperimentersthattheycouldnolongercontinueonwiththeexperiment,theysteppedoffofthe
treadmillandbloodpressureandbodytemperaturewascollected.Then,thetreadmilloperatoradjusted
thetreadmilltotherecoverysettingssothatthesubjectcouldwalkforthefirst3minutesofrecoveryat
a0degreeinclineandaspeedsettingof2.Thenat3minutes,thefirstrecoverydatawascollected.After
that,thesubjectsatfor3minutesthesamewaytheyhadfortherestingdata,andthenat6minutes,the
secondsetofrestingdatawascollected.Datawascollectedevery3minutesfromthetimethe
experimentstartedtothetimeitended.Datawasnotcollectedateveryphaseoftheexperimentbecause
noteverysubjectwasabletocompleteeachphase.Whenthesubjectalertedtherestoftheteamthat
theywereexhausted,itmaynothavebeenat21minutes.Asaresult,noteveryphaseoftheexperiment
wascompleted.
Finally,specificmeasuresforcarbondioxideclearance,oxygenconsumption,andmeanarterial
pressurewerecalculated.Carbondioxideclearancewascalculatedusingtheequation
(CO2ofexhaledair) (tidalvolume) (respirationrate), oxygenconsumptionwascalculatedusingthe

equation (0.209 O2ofexhaledair) (tidalvolume) (respirationrate), andfinallymeanarterial

pressurewascalculatedusingtheequation ( 23 diastolicpressure) + ( 13 systolicpressure). Withthis,
resultswereobtainedandanalyzed.Amoredetailedprocedurecanbefoundinthelabmanual.
Results
Thefollowingresultswereobtainedfortheseparameters:changesinheartrate,changesin
hemoglobinsaturation,changesinoxygenconsumption,changesintemperature,andchangesinmean
arterialpressure.Withrespecttothecarbondioxideclearancenodatawasabletobecollecteddueto
secondaryinstrumentationproblems.

Figure1.ChangesinHeartRate
Figure1illustratesthechangesinheartrateeverythree
minutesoftheexperiment.Thegapsinthedataarearesultof
notallsubjectsrunningthesameamountoftime.The
restingdatawascollectedwhilethesubjectsweresitting,as
wellasthelastdatapointfortherecoverypoints.Thefirst
recoverypointwascollectedwhilethesubjectswere
walking.

First,withrespecttothechangesinheartrate,therewasanoverallincreaseinratecomparedtothe
restingdata.Thesubjectsheartrateseemedtoincreaseduringexercise,andthendecreaseandreturnto
closetothebaselinedataoncetherecoveryperiodbegan.However,Subject2seemedtobeanoutlier
anddidnotfollowthattrend.

Figure2.ChangesinHemoglobinSaturation
Figure2illustratesthechangesinhemoglobinsaturationbefore,
duringandafterexercise.Thisdatawascollectedusingapulse
oximeter.Thegapsinthedataarearesultofnotallsubjects
runningthesameamountoftime.Therestingdatawas
collectedwhilethesubjectsweresitting,aswellasthelastdata
pointfortherecoverypoints.Thefirstrecoverypointwas
collectedwhilethesubjectswerewalking.

Withrespecttohemoglobinsaturation,all4subjectswereobservedtofollowthesametrend.Aslight
decreaseinhemoglobinsaturationduringactivitywhencomparedwiththerestingdata.Then,therewas
anobservedslightincreaseandreturntobaselineduringtherecoverystage.

Figure3.ChangesinOxygen
Consumption
Figure3illustratestheoxygenconsumptionbefore,during,
andafterexercise.Thisdatawascollectedusingthe
Powerlabwithgasanalyzerapparatus.Thegapsinthedata
arearesultofnotallsubjectsrunningthesameamountof
time.Therestingdatawascollectedwhilethesubjectswere
sitting,aswellasthelastdatapointfortherecoverypoints.
Thefirstrecoverypointwascollectedwhilethesubjects
werewalking.

Withrespecttooxygenconsumption,therewasanoverallincreaseinexercisevalueswhencompared
withtherestingdata.Thenduringtherecoverydatapoints,theretendedtobeadecreaseandreturnto
baselinevalues.Subjects3and4bothdeviatedslightlyfromtherestofthedatahowever,indifferent
areas.
Table2.ChangesinTemperatureBefore,During,andAfterExercise

Table2illustratesthechangesintemperaturebeforeduringandafterexercise.Temperaturewastakenusinganoralthermometer.Exercise
datawasonlytakenonce,anditwasattheendofexercise.

Withrespecttochangesintemperature.Theredidnotseemtobeasignificantchangeintemperature
betweenthedifferentstages.Forall4subjects,temperaturewasobservedtostayrelativelystable.

Table3.ChangesinMeanArterialPressureBefore,During,andAfterExercise

Table3illustratesthemeanarterialpressurechangesbefore,during,andafterexercise.Itwascalculatedbyaddingtogetherofthe
diastolicpressurewithofthesystolicpressure.Thesphygmomanometerwasusedtoobtainthebloodpressurevalues.Exerciseblood
pressurewasonlytakenonce,andthatwasattheendoftheexercisestage.

Finally,withrespecttomeanarterialpressure,therewasanobservedincreaseforall4subjectsduring
exercisewhencomparedtotherestingvalues.Thenduringtherecoverystage,therewasadecreaseand
observedreturnbacktothebaselinevalues.Overall,variedresultswereobtainedthroughoutthe
experiment.
Discussion
Forthislab,therewerevaryingresultsthroughoutthedifferentparameters.First,withrespectto
heartrate,itwashypothesizedthatheartratewouldincreaseduringexercise,andthenbegintoreturn
backtobaselinevaluesduringtherecoveryphase.Withrespecttotheresultsfromthedatashownin
Figure1oftheresultssection,forallfoursubjects,thereweremanyfluctuationsinheartratethroughout
theexercisingphase.However,therewasanoverallupwardstrendinheartratefromtherestingvalues.
Then,therewasageneraldecreaseinheartrateduringtherecoveryphase.However,Subject2didhave
anunusualtrendinwhichheartratefluctuatedgreatlyduringtheexercisephase,decreasing
significantlyinthebeginningandthenincreasing.Then,duringtherecoveryphase,heartratecontinued
toincrease,whatwasnotwhatwassupposedtobeobserved.Overall,withtheexceptionofSubject2,
whoseresultsseemednotonlyphysiologicallyincorrect,butdidnotmatchtherestofthesubjects,there
wasanoverallincreaseinheartrateduringexercise.

Withrespecttohemoglobinsaturationduringexercise,itwashypothesizedthattherewouldbea
decreaseduringtheexercisephase,withanincreaseandreturntobaselinevaluesduringtherecovery
phase.WhenanalyzingthedatashowninFigure2,therewasnotahugecorrelationwithhemoglobin
saturationhowever,theredidseemtobeaslightdecreasefrombaselinevaluesacrosstheboard.Itwas
notadramaticdecrease,butall4subjectsdidseesomeformofdecreaseifevenbyasmallamount.This
time,therewerenotanydramaticvariationsbetweenthesubjects,andtheyallseemedtobehave
similarlyintheirhemoglobinsaturationthroughoutexercise.Overall,thisisthefirstexampleofaweak
correlationinthedatahowever,thedatastillsupportedthehypothesis.
Withrespecttooxygenconsumptionduringexercise,itwashypothesizedthattherewouldbean
increaseinoxygenconsumptionduringtheexercisephaseoftheexperiment,thenadecreaseandreturn
tobaselinevaluesduringtherecoveryphase.Againtherewasafluctuationindata,whichcanbe
observedinFigure3oftheresultssection.However,therewasanoverallincreaseinoxygen
consumptionduringtheexercisephase,withadecreaseandreturnbacktobaselinevaluesduringthe
recoveryphase.Thistime,Subject3hadadecreaseinoxygenconsumptionduringthe3to6minute
sectionofexercise,whichwasnotsupposedtooccur,andSubject4hadacontinuedincreaseinoxygen
consumptionduringtherecoveryphase,butsmall.Therefore,onlytwoofthesubjectsexerciseresults
agreedwiththehypothesisofanincreaseinoxygenconsumptionduringtheexercisephaseandthen
returnbacktobaselinevaluesduringtherecoveryphase.Theothertwosubjectsweaklyagreed.
Withrespecttotemperatureduringexercise,itwashypothesizedthattherewouldbeaslight
increase,ifany,duringexercise,withareturnbaselinevaluesduringtherecoverystage.Withrespectto
theresultsfromtheexperiment,showninTable2,therewerevaryingresults.However,therewasnota
significantchangeintemperatureduringtheexercisephase.Acrosstheboardwithall4Subjects,the
temperaturethroughoutallofexercisedidnotseemtochangemuchatall.Asaresult,thisdatadoesnot
disprovethehypothesis,butitalsodoesnotvalidatethehypothesisaswell.

Finally,withrespecttomeanarterialpressureduringexercise,itwashypothesizedthatthere
wouldbeanincreaseinmeanarterialpressureduringtheexercisephase,withadecreaseandreturn
backtorestingvaluesduringtherecoveryphase.AccordingtotheresultsshowninTable3,therewas
anoverallagreementinthedatawithwhatwaspredicted.Subjects1,2,and4showedincreasesinmean
arterialpressureduringtheexercisephase,whileSubject3showedadecreaseinmeanarterialpressure
whencomparedtothesecondrestingvalue.Therefore,otherthanSubject3,itcanbeconcludedthat
therewasanoverallincreaseinmeanarterialpressureduringtheexercisephasewithatrendtowards
returningbacktobaselinevaluesduringtherecoveryphase.Overall,itcanbeconcludedthatthedata
takenduringtheexperimentagreedwithwhatwashypothesizedbasedonphysiologicalpredictions.
Overall,thislabhadsignificantsourcesoferrorduringthedatacollectionphase.Mostofthis
errorwasaresultofinstrumentationmalfunction.Unfortunately,thiscannotalwaysbeprevented
therefore,thebestwaytocorrectthiswouldhavebeentoperformmoretrials,removethesignificant
outliers,andreevaluatethedatatoseeiftherewasanydifferenceinthedata.
Withrespecttovariationsforoxygenconsumption,theapparatususedwasveryhardtohold
steadytoobtainconsistentdataso,adifferentapparatusmaywanttobeusedthatcancollectmore
reliabledata.Withrespecttothetemperaturedata,itmaybemorebeneficialtocollectskintemperatures
insteadofusinganoralthermometertoseeifthatresultedinlessvariationinthedata.Overall,thedata
collectorswereverydiligentincollectingdata,andthereobviouslywillalwaysbesometypeofhuman
errorwhencollectingdatahowever,thevastmajorityoftheinconsistencyofthedatacamefromthe
instrumentationerrornothumanerror.Thiscanbecorrectedbythementionedsuggestionsandbetter
instrumentsingeneral.Forfuturestudies,moresubjectsshouldbeusedforabiggersubjectpoolsothe
conclusionsaremorevalid,andthereshouldalsobeconsiderationintryingtofindothermethodsto
obtainthedata,asstatedseveraltimes.However,thisexperimentwaswelldesignedandotherthan
someminoradjustments,theprocedureshouldstayasitis.

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