Environmental effects on the body

Question 1

what happens to the partial pressure of oxygen at altitude?

Answer 1

it decreases as altitude increases

Question 2

what’s the partial pressure release of CO2?

Answer 2

40mmHg

Question 3

whats the diffusion gradient at sea level?

Answer 3

119mmHg
(159-40=119mmHg)

Question 4

what’s the diffusion gradient at altitude like Mexico Stadium?

Answer 4

75mmHg
(115-40=75mmHg)

Question 5

What does the reduction of mmHg at altitude cause?

Answer 5

it severely effects oxygen diffusion into the blood stream

Question 6

what happens to haemoglobin at altitude?

Answer 6

it’s not fully saturated, which results in lower oxygen-carrying capacity in blood

Question 7

How does the body react to a decrease in aerobic energy production?

Answer 7

-breathing frequency increases both at rest and during exercise
-blood volume decreases and increases rbc density
-sv decreases which causes hr to increase to compensate

Question 8

whats the partial pressure of O2 at altitude?

Answer 8

132mmHg

Question 9

what does a reduction in VO2 max do?

Answer 9

places a greater strain on the anaerobic energy system leading to earlier lactic acid prodcution.

Question 10

what sporting events is altitude training popular with?

Answer 10

endurance events as they’re reliant on aerobic capacity

Question 11

what’s acclimatisation?

Answer 11

the process with which an athlete goes through to adopt to the environment. Usually is above 8000ft or 2400m

Question 12

what are advantages of altitude training?

Answer 12

• increase in rbc production due to release of erythroprotein
• increased conc of haemoglobin
• better O2 transport
• altitude training will last up to 2 weeks. Useful for competition

Question 13

what are disadvantages of altitude training?

Answer 13

• expensive to set up due to travel and accomodation costs
• altitude sickness
• training is tough and requires high levels of motivation
• benefits can be quickly lost so no benefit of competition