Exercise Physiology

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  • Training and Competition in Warm Conditions

    Training and Competition in Warm Conditions

    Training and Competition in Warm Conditions
    Training and Competition in Warm Conditions

    This Training and Competition in Warm Conditions article is contributed by Phil Watson – Research Student, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University Medical School, Aberdeen

    Training and Competition in Warm Conditions
    For those living in the UK, the summer is now upon us, and the prospect of training and / or competing in warm conditions is a (albeit remote) possibility. But should this make a difference to your training, and what considerations should be made before, during and after exercise to compensate for the environmental conditions? (more…)

  • Basic Skeletal Muscle Physiology

    This is intended to be a bare-bones review of physiology of muscle function. The concepts here have direct application to understanding how specific training improves (or decreases) endurance performance capacity. (more…)

  • Skeletal Muscle Physiology

    Skeletal Muscle Physiology

    Skeletal Muscle Physiology
    Skeletal Muscle Physiology

    Under this section we shall discuss muscles and their functioning, including the various tests that have been done to discover how muscle fibres differ and how they effect performance

    In the first inclusion we shall discuss the physiology of muscle function, from its Basic Architecture to its Firing Pattern.

    With more to follow…

  • Basic Skeletal Muscle Physiology – The Motor Unit

    Basic Skeletal Muscle Physiology – The Motor Unit

    Regulation of Muscular Force
    Regulation of Muscular Force

    The Motor Unit
    Each fiber of a muscle can contribute to force production only if it is recruited by the brain. One motor nerve can branch into tens, hundreds, or even a thousand branches, each one terminating on a different muscle fiber. One motor nerve plus all of the fibers that it innervates is called a motor unit. A single muscle can consist of hundreds of motor units. (more…)

  • What body type are you?

    What body type are you?

    What body type are you?
    What body type are you?

    In the 1940s, William H. Sheldon introduced his theory of Somatypes in two major works, The Varieties of Human Physique (1940) and The Varieties of Human Temperament: A Psychology of constitutional Differences (1941). His theory proposed three basic body types and associated them with a sets of personality characteristics. Today, Sheldon’s description of three body types has become central to much of the literature in weight loss, exercise and body-building. (more…)

  • Exercise and the Immune system

    Exercise and the Immune system
    Exercise and the Immune system

    This Exercise and the Immune system article is contributed by Phil Watson – Research Student, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University Medical School, Aberdeen

    Exercise is good for your health. Isn’t it?

    It is generally accepted that regular participation in physical activity is an important factor in the maintenance of health and well being. However in recent years, exercise physiologists have realised that athletes are at a greater risk of developing infections, particularly of the upper respiratory tract (a sore throat), during periods of heavy training and / or competition (see figure 1). (more…)

  • Exercise Physiology and its origins

    Exercise Physiology and its origins

    Exercise Physiology
    Exercise Physiology

    Exercise Physiology and its origins

    The first edition of Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance appeared in 1981; since then, knowledge of the physiologic effects of exercise in general – and the body’s unique and specific responses to training in particular – has exploded. (more…)