Just as a car engine requires tuning to achieve maximum efficiency, the human body also requires physical fitness to perform to its full potential. Parizkova (2012) described physical activity as the capacity of the human body to function without undue instances of fatigue and getting tired. Before the industrialization age, physical fitness was a great aspect of human life, but this change as different inventions made things easier. The invention of the car and train reduce the amount of time people spent walking; therefore reduced physical activity (Parizkova, 2012). The increased number of technological developments in the twenty-first century has resulted in reduced activity one can get all services from the comfort of the home or the office. The reduced instances of physical activity have resulted in a physically unfit society, characterized by instances of lifestyle diseases. Due to the busy lifestyle, people have sort to perform different exercises to ensure they achieve certain levels of physical activities; therefore, keep fit. This assignment involves an assessment of a personal fitness routine, conducted for four weeks; therefore, explain the impact of the exercise routine on different body organs, as well as how the body reacts as the routine progress.
Initial and Final Measurements
Before the development of an exercise plan, it is important to take several measurements including body composition and basic energy expenditure. These measurements will assist in determining the impact of the exercise routine after for weeks. At the fourth week of the course, my Basic Energy Expenditure rate was 2098 kCal. My body composition during the fourth week was above the average range for females my age as my fat composition was 54.6% of my body weight with my free-fat mass being 45.4% of my body weight. At the fourth week, my lean body mass was 34.9 pounds, which was 12.4 % of my total body weight. My Basal metabolic rate during the fourth week was 2010 kCal, with my Daily Energy Expenditure rate being 3016 kCal. After four weeks of a constant exercise routine, there was no much change although the percentage of my body weight composed of fat had increased to 55.1%. At the eight-week mark, my lean body mass had reduced to 32.7 pounds, which was 11.5% of my body mass. My Basal Metabolic Rate had reduced to 2000kCal while my Daily Energy Expenditure dropped to 2601 kCal. The drop in DEE explains a reduced amount of energy spent during physical activity. The reduction in my lean body mass illustrates reduced fitness due to reduced muscle building activities (Portman, 2014).
My designed exercise routine involved the use of an elliptical machine. The exercise routine involved a warm-up session that involved sitting in a sauna for ten minutes. Sitting in the sauna allowed me to loosen my joints while at the same time. The warm up also involved stretching exercises while still in the sauna. My main exercise component involved exercising on the elliptical machine for forty minutes at a moderate and constant pace. The main exercise component did not involve any weight exercises. The cool down session took ten minutes and involved me performing stretching exercises. The exercise routine was performed three times every week; therefore, I went through twelve exercise sessions.
Exercise Regiment Assessment
Benefits of Exercise to Each Organ
Physical exercise and activity even if not regularly practiced results in several health benefits. Various body organs including the brain, lungs, and heart benefit differently from exercise. Ahlskog, Geda, Graff-Radford, and Petersen (2011) explained aerobic exercises to result in several benefits to an individual’s cognitive abilities. Physical exercises promote neurogenesis, which is the ability of the human brain to grow and adapt brain cells irrespective of an individual's age. This process of brain cell production allows improved memory; therefore, exercising would help to improve memory. Constant exercise also helps to prevent shrinkage of the brain, which may occur due to age; therefore thwarting cognitive deterioration (Ahlskog, Geda, Graff-Radford, & Petersen, 2011). Other than assisting in brain development, physical exercise protects the brain from depression and stress. According to Hillman, Erickson, and Kramer (2008) exercise assists the body to normalize resistance to insulin as well as boost the production of natural neurotransmitters, including endorphins, and glutamate, which influences the mood of an individual. Hillman, Erickson, and Kramer (2008) explained that women who were highly inactive reported more instances of depression as compared to those who regularly participated in physical activities and exercise.
In America Cancer and heart diseases account for the highest number of deaths among individual of different ages. The high instances of heart diseases mainly occur due to lack of physical exercises as well as dietary issues. Physical activity helps to prevent different issues that may affect the heart and the circulatory system. Shiroma and Lee (2010) explained individuals who participated in regular physical activity were at a lower risk of suffering from a coronary heart attack. Aerobic exercise such as walking in both males and female assisted in the offsetting of different metabolic activities, including the burning of fat and calories as well as the stabilization of body sugars. Blair and Morris (2009) explained that physical exercise helps in insulin optimization; therefore, prevent the build-up of redefined sugars, which may result in several coronary issues. Physical activity also helps in strengthening of the heart’s muscle; therefore, improving the ability of the heart to pump blood to all body parts. Physical activity also helps to prevent clot build-up in the artery; therefore, preventing a heart attack.
Another organ that benefits from exercise is the lungs. According to Hardman and Stensel (2009), the lungs and the heart are the most involved organs during physical exercise. Exercise often result in an increased respiration rate; therefore, a need for high amounts of oxygen. This process allows an increased lung function, which leads to the improvement of the lung capacity. Regular physical exercises also promote muscle efficiency; therefore, reduced need excess oxygen during exercise. The increase in muscle efficiency helps to reduce the strain that lungs face during exercise. Regular exercise also helps to reduce instances of obesity, which has been linked to several respiratory issues including sleep apnea. McClean, Kee, Young, and Elborn (2008) explained that physical exercise assisted in the reduction of weight among obese individuals, which in turn resulted in solving of respiratory problems affecting such individuals. Weight reduction also assisted in reducing the intensity of several respiratory conditions including asthma.
Body Energy Systems used in Exercise
The physical exercise involves the burning of different foods substances, as well as the use of different energy streams to provide needed energy. During my ten-minute warm-up, the first energy system employed by my body was Adenosine triphosphate. However, the human body stores a maximum of 100 grams of ATP, which results in fast depletion of this energy system (Chandler & Brown, 2008). During the warm-up, my body made use of ATP before moving to other energy streams. After the burning of ATP, the body then switches to Phosphocreatine System, which provides a faster way to produce ATP. Utilization of the PC energy system occurred during the first minutes while in the sauna. The utilization of the Phosphocreatine system does not employ oxygen but involves anaerobic respiration. During this stage, the body also resynthesizes the Phosphocreatine; therefore, providing energy before other streams of energy are exploited (Chandler & Brown, 2008). The PC energy system does not last for long; therefore, is mainly utilized during the warm up stage.
Another anaerobic energy system providing energy during physical activity was the Lactic Acid System. Utilization of the lactic energy system occurs mainly occurred as I was conducting my stretching exercises, which was during the last minutes in the sauna. The lactic energy system involves burning of glucose in the absence of oxygen to provide high streams of energy (Chandler & Brown, 2008). The process results in the production of lactic acid, which is later regenerated to glucose. The lactic energy system does not provide energy for a long time; therefore, the need for a more stable energy source to support the main exercise routine. The 40 min elliptical exercise involved the utilization of aerobic energy streams. Aerobic energy streams provide constant energy for long periods, but energy generation is usually slow. Aerobic energy systems mainly involve the burning of glucose, fatty acids, lactic acids, as well as proteins in the presence of oxygen. (Chandler & Brown, 2008) A major source of energy during the elliptical exercise is carbohydrate. Conversion of carbohydrates to glucose occurs faster than fats; therefore, faster energy release. However, since the exercise took forty minutes, I utilized a high percentage of the carbohydrates energy stream; therefore, use of fats and proteins. However, fat and protein metabolism takes longer periods to occur; therefore, were mainly utilized during the cool down stretch session. The cool down session also allows conversion of lactic acid to glucose; therefore, help reduce instances of fatigue.
Energy Sources Changes during Exercise
During physical exercise, the body employs different sources of energy based on the exercise intensity. The main energy sources for the body during exercise are mainly fats and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates mainly provide energy for highly intense activities while fats provide energy for low-intensity activities (Gropper & Smith, 2012). The exercise procedure conducted was quite mild and only involved using the elliptical machine for forty minutes. The increase in exercise intensity is likely to result as the workout progresses. At the start of the exercise, the main energy source employed by the body was fats. Intramuscular fat provide the highest percentage of energy produced from fats during the initial stages of the exercise.
Increased exercise intensity results in the use of carbohydrates as energy sources. The human body mainly stores carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, a complex form of glucose that is stored in the muscles and liver. Gropper and Smith (2012) explained that muscle-stored glycogen is only used for muscle activity, but not for general energy provision. Glycogen stored in the liver provides the main source of energy during highly intensive exercises. The glycogen is usually converted to glucose, which combines with energy to provide energy for different tissues. Intense workout sessions often result in exhaustion of the muscle-stored glycogen. This exhaustion resulted in muscle cramps, as the liver was unable to convert enough glycogen to glucose to counter the loss experienced in the muscles.
The human body does not have any natural methods of storing proteins. However, excess proteins are collected in the muscles and burnt during instances of starvation. During exercises, only a small percentage of protein found in the muscles is broken into energy. Proteins are only used as an energy source during instances of calory insufficiency (Gropper & Smith, 2012). Energy provision using proteins mainly involves the burning of amino acids. Higher amounts of protein are also used during highly intense endurance exercises. While at rest the body mainly uses fat as the main energy source.
Supplementary Recommendations
Other than constant exercising, the use of ergogenic aids would aid to improve performance as well as reduce fatigue during exercise procedures. Krans (2014) described ergogenic aids as substances that provided one with the mental and physical edge while conducting different exercises. Ergogenic aids include sports drinks that may have electrolytes and carbohydrates. These drinks contain carbohydrates which provide the needed energy to sustain long workout sessions. Other ingredients are electrolytes, which replace salts lost during workouts, and caffeine, which helps to boost brain and overall physical performance during exercise. These drinks may, however, contain high amounts of calories, which is quite unhealthy. Sports drinks should only be consumed before or during exercise, but not when one is not exercisinng.. Caffine drinks may also help to improve efficiency during exercise. Using caffeine during exercise impoves the basal metabolic rate, whil at the same time enhance the oxidation of fats while exercising (Triathlete.com, 2011). Some of the advantags of using caffeine during exercise include increased aerobic endurance; therefore, reduce usage of glycogen. Caffeine also improves alertness as well as help to prevent asthma, which may occur due to exercise. Using caffeine during exercise results in several disadvantages including decreased hand steadyness and tremors, and may cause withdrawal symptoms. Other ergogenic aids that may assist to help fight fatigue and improve performance are food supplements, including vitamin and mineral pills. Such suppliments and pills would assist in increasing creatine and carminite levels; therefore, allowing improved performance and effectiveness during a workout. Some of the advantages of these vitamin and mineral suppliments is that they help prevent tissue damage during workout. These substances also help to improve the lean body mass and also promote reduced recovery time after exercise. According to Krans (2014), use of natural and mineral suppliments has not been reported to have major side effects as scientific studies have been inconclusive. Although these supplements may claim to help boost performance, the best way to help fight fatigue during exercise is by conducting constant trainig., taking a well-balanced diet and consuming a lot of fluids to help fight dehydration.
References
Ahlskog, J. E., Geda, Y. E., Graff-Radford, N. R., & Petersen, R. C. (2011). Physical Exercise as a Preventive or Disease-Modifying Treatment of Dementia and Brain Aging. Mayo Clinic, 876-884. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2011.0252
Blair, S. N., & Morris, J. N. (2009). Healthy Hearts—and the Universal Benefits of Being Physically Active: Physical Activity and Health. Science Direct, 19(4), 253-256. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.01.019
Chandler, T. J., & Brown, L. E. (2008). Conditioning for Strength and Human Performance. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Gropper, S. S., & Smith, J. L. (2012). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.
Hardman, A. E., & Stensel, D. J. (2009). Physical Activity and Health: The Evidence Explained. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hillman, C. H., Erickson, K. I., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 58-65. doi:doi:10.1038/nrn2298
Krans, B. (2014). Performance Enhancers: The Safe and the Deadly. Retrieved from Healthline: http://www.healthline.com/health/performance-enhancers-safe-deadly#1
McClean, M., Kee, F., Young, I. S., & Elborn, J. S. (2008). Obesity and the lung: 1 · Epidemiology. tHORAX. Retrieved from 10.1136/thx.2007.086801
Parizkova, S. (2012). Body Fat and Physical Fitness: Body Composition and Lipid Metabolism in Different Regimes of Physical Activity. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.
Portman, R. (2014, April 10). How To Increase Lean Body Mass. Retrieved from Triathlete: http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2014/04/10/how-to-increase-lean-body-mass
Shiroma, E. J., & Lee, I.-M. (2010). Exercise in Cardiovascular Disease. Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health, 743-752. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.914721
