Exercise Effects and Fitness
Your pulse rate shoots up during exercise because your muscle cells are screaming for more oxygen and glucose to fuel increased respiration. It's like pressing the accelerator on your body's engine.
When you exercise, your cardiac output increases dramatically. This means more blood pumps around your body each minute, creating higher blood pressure and faster blood flow to your working muscles. The result? More oxygen and glucose delivery, plus quicker removal of waste products like carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
Here's where fitness levels really show. Unfit people have higher resting heart rates, experience bigger heart rate spikes during exercise, and take much longer to recover afterwards. Their circulatory systems simply aren't as efficient at meeting the body's demands.
Think of it like comparing a well-tuned sports car to an old banger - both can get you there, but one does it much more efficiently. Regular exercise trains your heart to become a more powerful pump, just like any other muscle.
Exam Focus: Be ready to explain why heart rate increases during exercise and how fitness affects recovery time - this comes up frequently in exam questions.