02: Explain why there is so much difference between the amounts of air breathed in before and after
the race?
Answers
Explanation:
When you exercise and your muscles work harder, your body uses more oxygen and produces more carbon dioxide. To cope with this extra demand, your breathing has to increase from about 15 times a minute (12 litres of air) when you are resting, up to about 40–60 times a minute (100 litres of air) during exercise.
Unfortunately, breathing 100% oxygen for long periods of time can cause changes in the lungs, which are potentially harmful. Researchers believe that by lowering the concentration of oxygen therapy to 40% patients can receive it for longer periods of time without the risk of side effects.
During exercise or race there is an increase in physical activity and muscle cells respire more than they do when the body is at rest. The heart rate increases during exercise. The rate and depth of breathing increases - this makes sure that more oxygen is absorbed into the blood, and more carbon dioxide is removed. Postrun nutrition is very important too, so feed your body within 30 minutes of finishing a run. Your body goes into repair mode as soon as you finish your run so blood sugar levels continue to plummet even though you are no longer running, which may contribute to delayed fatigue, especially if you don't eat...