Long-Term Effects of Exercise
Physical Education: AQA GCSE, topic 1.4.2
Long-Term Effects of Exercise on Muscles
Exercise can result in the following improvements to muscular performance:
Muscle size
- By training anaerobically, the body will also increase in muscular size (hypertrophy).
- This happens when a performer trains using heavy weights at a high intensity. They can do repetitions (lifts per set) and sets (cycles of repetitions) to build muscle mass and develop muscular strength.
- This would include a low amount of repetitions and a high amount of sets (4x6).
Joint flexibility
- Over time, the tendons (attach muscle to bone) and ligaments (attach bone to bone) surrounding a joint become stronger.
- This makes the joint more stable during movement, which reduces the chance of becoming injured.
- By repeating movements at joints, a performer can increase the flexibility at the joint.
Muscular endurance
- Training can be manipulated (changed in a certain way) to develop muscular endurance.
- By training anaerobically, a performer can develop muscle definition (shape) over time.
- Training anaerobically includes doing a high amount of repetitions and a low amount of sets (15x3).
Long-Term Effects of Exercise - Cardiovascular Gains
If a performer trains at a lower and more repetitive intensity over a period of time, then they will improve their cardiovascular endurance (the ability of the heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to your body tissues).
Hypertrophy of the heart
- The heart is a muscle. This means that when made to work at a higher intensity than usual over a period of time, it will develop and grow in size.
- This is called hypertrophy of the heart. A stronger heart will need to beat less often as it can eject (pump out) more blood with each beat (increase in stroke volume).
Cardiovascular endurance
- Running, cycling and swimming are all examples of activities that require cardiovascular endurance.
Bradycardia
- If the heart has a better stroke volume, the heart will need to beat less often at rest (heart rate) to produce the same cardiac output (volume of blood pumped out).
- We call this bradycardia, where resting heart rate is lower because of long-term exercise.
Body Image and Performance
Exercise can also make an athlete feel and perform better.
Weight loss
- Regular exercise will cause weight loss. This is because the body breaks down fat stores to use the glucose for energy.
Increased performance
- If a performer trains using fast anaerobic movements (e.g. sprinting), they can increase their speed.
- Exercises that help achieve this include short sprints, bounding and box jumps.
Test yourself on Long-Term Effects of Exercise
What would be the best way to increase muscle size through weight training?
What aspect of their joints can a performer affect through exercise?
Cardiovascular endurance is defined as the ability of which of the following to deliver oxygen to your body tissues?
Which of the following is NOT an example of an activity requiring cardiovascular endurance?
Why does weight loss occur in the long term as a consequence of exercise?