The American College of Sports Medicine developed an opinion statement on the amount of physical activity needed for optimal functional capacity and health. They proposed that children and adolescents should obtain 20–30 min of vigorous exercise each day. In the beginning of the 1990s this recommendation was refined by the International Consensus Conference on Physical [...]
Although it is not the intention to review the many combinations and permutations that can arise by manipulating the components of a resistance training programme, this section will highlight some of the main points that have some scientific foundation within the literature. As it is not within the scope of this chapter to identify all [...]
Aerobic fitness may be defined as the ability to deliver oxygen to the exercising muscles and to utilize it to generate energy during exercise. Aerobic fitness therefore depends upon the pulmonary, cardiovascular and haematological components of oxygen delivery and the oxidative mechanisms of the exercising muscle. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), the highest rate at which [...]
The work required to inflate and deflate the lung is governed by the equation: work = total intrapleural pressure × change in lung volume. For a given lung volume, it is therefore the internal pressures opposing inflation and deflation that dictate the efficiency of the lung. Three main components contribute to intrapleural pressure other than [...]
Oxidative metabolism is relatively slow to adapt to the demands of exercise and the time constant of the response to heavy exercise is about 25 s. The rate at which ATP can be resynthesized is aerobically much slower than that of anaerobic ATP resynthesis but oxidative metabolism can use carbohydrates, free fatty acids (FFAs) and [...]