Training of an Athlete

Training of an Athlete

When training a football player, or any athlete for that matter you want to make sure that they are not smoking. Smoking is very harmful and addictive to the body and causes increased airway resistance. When smoking is done it takes 24 hours to clear the poisons from 1 cigarette. The effects of smoking can be damaging for life by causing heart disease, cilia damage, throat cancer and other many life-treating effects. If an athlete is smoking the results of smoking they will see will be decreased endurance, decreased ventilation, decreased Max VO2, and decreased oxygen capacity. For athletes to be able to perform at their best it is important for them not to be smoking.

When training or playing games endurance athletes will sometimes experience something that is called "second wind". Second wind is the feeling of relief upon making the necessary metabolic adjustments to a heavy exercise intensity. The major change that takes place for "second wind" to happen is when there is a changeover from labored breathing which is called (dyspnea) to normal breathing which is called (eupnea). This respiratory adjustment however is only a reflection of metabolic adjustment to the exercise intensity. The way that "second wind" is most likely explained is by a change in skeletal muscular efficiency as increasing muscular temperature brings it on.

When an athlete is training there is some type of pain experienced in the lower lateral aspects of the thoracic wall this pain is called "stitch in the side". This is caused by the body making a respiratory adjustment to an intense exercise such as distance running. A "stitch in the side" usually occurs when the body is adjusting to new metabolic demands, it is believed that ischemia of either the diaphragm or intercostal muscles are the cause. Scientist have not been able to find any scientific evidence to explain the cause of "stitch in the side".

Innervation is the stimulation of the heart and how the heart is stimulated. The heart is stimulated by four parts starting first with the SA node- a wave of excitation begins in the sa node and travels throughout the heart. The wave of excitation is then sent by way of ephaptic conduction in the atria to the AV node, this is located at the base of the atria in the interatrial septum. From there the impulse travels through the atrioventricular bundle and the to the purkinje network, which are fibers of the heart that conduct impulses.

An athlete who is highly trained and has a higher cardiac output would have an advantage over an athlete whose cardiac output is not as great. Cardiac output is the amount of blood sent by the heart each minute. Cardiac output is measured and determined by two factors, which are heart rate and stroke volume. Cardiac output is measured by taking HR x SV = CO, this also shows that cardiac output can be altered by changing the heart rate or stroke volume.

When an athlete exercises is causes many good reactions to occur. When exercising blood redistribution also known as shunting occurs. Max VO2 also is effected because as you condition your oxygen max consumption goes up, also causing your hemoglobin, and myoglobin to go up, Max VO2 is effected by how much oxygen on can carry and use. Altitude also effects how exercise is effected on the body. There are three capacities to success for exercise and they are high Max VO2, high anaerobic thresh hold, and high efficiency.

Hyperventilation is when the lung ventilation rate is greater than is needed for the existing metabolic rate. In the case of hyperventilation, carbon dioxide is blown off faster than it is produced.