Health Components of

Physical Fitness

Aerobic Capacity

Aerobic Capacity definitionAerobic capacity is the ability to take in, transport and use oxygen to sustain prolonged periods of aerobic/sub-maximal work.

Aerobic capacity

• The definition shows that aerobic capacity is dependent upon the efficiency of the systems studied in the AS year

• Pulmonary ventilation and external respiration (the take in of 02)

• Internal transport via the heart, blood and bllod vessels (transport of 02)

• Muscle cells to use 02 for energy production (use 02)

VO2 MAXAerobic capacity is associated with VO2 max and the two terms are used interchangaebly, but there is a distinct difference between the two.

VO2 Max is defined as the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal/exhaustive work

Aerobic capacity Aerobic capacity is the ability to take in, transport and use oxygen to sustain prolonged periods of aerobic/sub-maximal work.

Aerobic Capacity

What are the similarities and differences between

the 2 definitions?

Aerobic Capacity

Copy down Table 1 P409 Typical values for VO2

MAX!!!!

WATCH EASY EXPLANATION

Anyways, lets discuss about VO2 Max.

Something that all athletes are trying to

push higher and higher.

Starring in this play are:

VO2 Max Explained

• To make this discussion simple, I'm using the absolute definition of VO2 Max as it is simpler and easier to understand. You can read about the other definition when you understand more about it. Also I'm omitting a lot of details as I'm trying to make this as simple as possible.

• So, what is VO2 Max?

To simply put it, VO2 Max is the amount of oxygen brought to and used by the muscle in a minute. Since oxygen is used in the metabolism of energy, it can be (directly or indirectly) translated to capability of the muscle producing energy. Loosely used, the higher your VO2 Max is, the more power you produce, the longer you last (hihi).

• VO2 Max in a well-trained person, like Awea. could reach numbers up to 8L/min!!

In a normally functioning, untrained, triathlete-wannabe person, the usual VO2 Max level is around 3.5L/min. Like this person down here.

• Generally, there are 3 ways for the wannabe to improve his VO2 Max.

1. Optimize muscle condition to utilize oxygen better (train the muscle).Like people, muscle behaves in various ways. There are lazy muscles, there are hardworking muscles. Lazy muscles need a lot of whipping to get the work done, kinda like me during school days. So they require a lot more oxygen to produce enough energy. Hardworking muscle is different. Because these kind of muscles are used to hard work, they require less oxygen to produce the same amount of energy, thus increasing efficiency.

• 2. Improve blood circulation (have a good heart i.e. training).The heart is a natural pump in the body. A weak heart response poorly to exercise. That is why if you try to run 5 km after a month of Manjalara-marathon in front of the TV, you feel your heart is pumping too fast. A well-worked heart adapts better with exercise, thus maintaining adequate circulation of blood throughout the body during physical activity.

• 3. Improve the capacity of blood to carry oxygen (more training, specifically high-altitude training).About 42% of blood is made up of red blood cells. Red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a substance that is responsible in making your blood red and carrying oxygen. If you increase the amount of red blood cells in blood, you will also increase the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. However, this is difficult to achieve naturally.

Now, when comparing these 2 types of muscle in terms of VO2 Max, it will

look something like this:

• The limit for trained muscle is the oxygen carrying capacity. This happen because the muscle is now optimized a.k.a. turned to a lean, mean oxygen-burning machine. On its own, it can burn virtually limitless amount of oxygen. The only limit from it doing so is the supply of oxygen itself.

• The limit for untrained muscle is the muscle itself. Since weak muscle can't utilize oxygen optimally, there is a lot of 'oxygen waste'. Even if you're able to supply the muscle with maximum amount of oxygen, the muscle simply can't use them, because it's too weak.

Class presentations

• Well done to all those who performed!!!!!

• CHARLIE HARRIS HAS YET TO BE ASSESSED ON HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE AEROBIC SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!

CHARLIE’S TASK

• IDENTIFY THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS THAT TAKE PLACE AS A RESULT OR AEROBIC TRAINING AND SAY HOW EACH ADAPTATION WILL HELP TO IMPROVE A PERFORMERS VO’2 MAX

• PRESENT YOUR FINDINGS AS A REVISION POSTER THAT YOU AND YOUR CLASSMATES CAN LEARN FROM…. For tomorrow! p418

Tuesday the 15th MarchOpen book test

• Complete 10 Revision questions with help from book Questions Page 422.

• Need to be completed by end of lesson ready to be marked!!!

Aerobic capacity complete