Instructions: For each unit answer one of the thought questions completely. You must cite at least one reference other than your text in your answer. You may provide graphic material if appropriate. Papers are due no later than 12 noon on the Monday following posting of each unit questions. Paper must be typed and include the names of the people in your group who helped.
Unit I (History; Chapters 1, 2)
1. With such a rich history and strong scientific basis, why do some students in exercise physiology (kinesiology, physical education, exercise science, etc.) still feel a need to justify their choice of academic major?
2. How can an understanding of the scientific method enhance professional development in areas related to exercise physiology (e.g., physical fitness program development, athletic training, personal training)?
3. Outline your presentation to a high school class about how to eat well for a physically active, healthy lifestyle.
4. Given that most college students do not eat well-balanced meals, what recommendations would you make concerning nutrient intake to ensure proper energy reserves for moderate and intense physical activities? Are nutritional supplements necessarily required?
5. Explain the importance of regular carbohydrate intake when maintaining a high level of daily physical activity. Additionally, what are some "non-exercise" benefits for a diet rich in food sources containing unrefined complex carbohydrates.
6. Discuss your rationale for recommending adequate carbohydrate intake, rather than an excess of protein, for a person desiring to increase muscle mass through heavy resistance training.
7. Outline reasons why exercise physiologists debate whether the current protein RDA is adequate for individuals involved in heavy exercise training.
8. Many of the foods we consume are processed and/or chemically altered, which reduces their nutritional value. What dietary modifications can be made to keep from consuming vitamin and mineral supplements yet maintain the recommended intake of micronutrients?
9. Exercise and sport training often require intense and prolonged expenditure of energy. Discuss whether and under what circumstances individuals involved in such training should consume vitamins and minerals above recommended values?
10. In what ways does micronutrient intake protect against the potential for oxidative stress from free radical formation?
11. A middle-aged woman is concerned about maintaining and even increasing bone mass as she ages. Advise her concerning exercise and diet to promote bone health.
12. Many young girls and women engaged in sports likely suffer from at least one of the disorders of the "female athlete triad." Discuss the factors related to this syndrome and how a coach might guard against their occurrence.
Unit 2 (Optimal Nutrition; Energy Value of Food, CH. 3,4)
1. Among physically active men and women, how can individuals who consume the greatest number of calories weigh less than those who consume fewer calories?
2. Under what circumstances might an athlete require nutritional supplementation?
3. Your soccer team has three matches scheduled on consecutive days. Give specifics and rationale for nutrient intake recommendations following each day's competition.
4. In terms of energy metabolism, respond to a student who raises the question: "How can elite marathoners run 26.2 miles at a 5-minute per mile pace, yet very few can run just one mile in 4 minutes?"
5. Suppose you are a personal trainer to Victorio Katchazon, the worlds best ultar-marathoner, what advice regarding fluid and food intake during racing would you provide him. In particular, Victorio is concerned about what to eat/drink during his assult on his run-across-America (continuous run across America, sleeping whenever you can (want) this coming fall.
6. Are athletes any different in terms of food consumption than normal individuals? Explain.
Unit III (Energy Transfer in the Body - CH. 5,6)
1. Apply your understanding of aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism to a discussion of the optimal energy transfer capacity for a (a) 100-meter sprinter, (b) 400-meter hurdler, and (c) marathon runner?
2. In terms of energy metabolism, respond to a student who raises the question: "How can elite marathoners run 26.2 miles at a 5-minute per mile pace, yet very few can run just one mile in 4 minutes?"
3. In prolonged aerobic exercise like marathon running, explain why exercise capacity diminishes when glycogen reserves deplete, even though there exists more than adequate energy reserves from stored fat.
4. Your high school physical education class attempts to run 1.5 miles as fast as possible. Part way through the run, many students begin to slow down and walk. From the perspective of energy metabolism, explain to the students the reasons for their feelings of fatigue, and inability to maintain their original pace throughout the run.
5. If the maximal oxygen uptake represents such an important measure of a person's capacity to resynthesize ATP aerobically, why doesn't the person with the highest VO2max always achieve the best marathon run performance?
6. How does an understanding of the energy spectrum of exercise contribute to formulating optimal training to improve specific exercise performance?
7. Several members of your high school track team must perform repeat individual and relay events of 400-m distance during competition with only about 15 minutes rest between events. What advice should you give concerning the best way to recuperate between races?
Unit IV, V (Energy Transfer in the Body - CH. 5,6; Energy Expenditure During Rest and Physical Activity)
[NOTE: These thought questions are for units 4 and 5. You must answer two questions for this week.]
1. Explain how an exercise physiologist determines that a
marathoner derives up to 70 to 80% of the total energy from fat
combustion during the final 3 miles of the race.
2. A high-tech computer company asks you to validate their
new wrist-mounted device to measure exercise energy expenditure.
The person simply exhales one breath onto the top of the instrument
while exercising. The device's electronic components and microprocessor
analyze expired air to compute VO2 and
energy expenditure. Outline the steps necessary to perform your
evaluation of the device. What criteria will you use to determine
the instrument's accuracy?
3. You are the physical fitness director of a summer camp.
The camp's director asks you to set-up an evaluation procedure
to document aerobic fitness changes, during the summer's regular
exercise program. How would you assess these changes and what
factors must be considered?
4. While there appears to be significant specificity in physiologic
function and exercise performance, how can one reconcile the observation
that certain individuals perform exceptionally in many diverse
physical activities, i.e., they appear to be "natural"
athletes?
5. Answer a person training for a triathlon who raises the
question: "Why is it important to train in each of the sport's
three events? Since they all require a high level of aerobic fitness,
why can't I just train aerobically by running?"
6. In training studies for aerobic fitness, why is it important
for the researcher to demonstrate objectively that the true VO2max was obtained in both pre- and post-test
measures? Include in your answer the criteria usually applied
in assessing whether the subject gave appropriate effort in a
graded exercise test.
7. A 60-kg (132 lb) elite marathoner who trains year-round
expends about 4000 kcal daily over a four-year training period
prior to Olympic competition. Assuming body mass remains unchanged
and 70% of total caloric intake comes from carbohydrate and 1.4
g per kg body mass from protein, compute the runner's total four-year
calorie intake and total grams consumed from carbohydrate and
protein.
8. A company that makes a "passive" exercise machine
claims that using its equipment burns an average of 1.25 kcal
each minute. How well does this equipment contribute to the total
daily energy expenditure?
9. Most people assume they expend more total calories if they
run a given distance faster. Explain why this is not true. Why
is correcting this misunderstanding important in recommending
exercise for weight loss?
10. Respond to the following question: "If it requires running 36 miles to burn the calories in one pound of body fat, how can anyone seriously consider regular physical activity for weight loss?"
Unit VI (Energy Expenditure- CH. 10,11)
1. A 60-kg (132 lb) elite marathoner who trains year-round expends about 4000 kcal daily over a four-year training period prior to Olympic competition. Assuming body mass remains unchanged and 70% of total caloric intake comes from carbohydrate and 1.4 g per kg body mass from protein, compute the runner's total four-year calorie intake and total grams consumed from carbohydrate and protein.
2. A company that makes a "passive" exercise machine claims that using its equipment burns an average of 1.25 kcal each minute. How well does this equipment contribute to the total daily energy expenditure?
3 Most people assume they expend more total calories if they run a given distance faster. Explain why this is not true. Why is correcting this misunderstanding important in recommending exercise for weight loss?
4. Respond to the following question: "If it requires running 36 miles to burn the calories in one pound of body fat, how can anyone seriously consider regular physical activity for weight loss?"
5. You are responsible for selecting new clothing for firefighters. You can choose one of two items: an outer coat or boots. The weight of each has been reduced by two pounds compared with standard issue. Justify your selection based only on the perspective of energy expenditure during the job.
Unit VII (Pulunction and Exercise- CH. 12,13,14)
1. How would the relationship change between VE/VO2 under the following conditions: (1) aging person who remains sedentary versus aging person who performs regular aerobic exercises; (2) person recovering from cardiac surgery; (3) transition from adolescence to young adulthood; and (4) person training for football?
2. As an exercise physiologist, what would you say to a person who feels the need to work on proper techniques of breathing to increase their "wind" and eliminate the feelings of being "out of breath" when running continuously for 20 to 30 minutes?
3. How would you respond to the high school football coach who asks you about the advisability of having a tank of oxygen on the sidelines so players might breathe from it during time outs or rest breaks?
4. One of the techniques during "natural" childbirth requires the woman to breathe rapidly in order to effectively "work with" the normal ebb and flow of uterine contractions. Why does this technique work?
5. A person attempts to "squeeze out" a maximum lift
in the standing press. After straining to complete the lift the
person states: "I feel slightly dizzy and see spots before
my eyes?" Provide a plausible physiologic explanation. What
should you do?
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Unit VIII (Cardiovascular Function and Exercise- CH. 15,16, 17)
1. Provide the physiologic rationale for biofeedback and relaxation techniques to treat hypertension and stress-related disorders.
2. Discuss the following statement: "Task-specific aerobic exercise training not only trains the cardiovascular system and local musculature, but also trains the nervous system to facilitate physiologic adjustments to the specific form of exercise."
3. The Romans executed criminals by tying their arms and legs to a cross mounted in the vertical position. Discuss the physiologic responses that would cause death under these circumstances.
4. If heart transplantation surgically removes all nerves to
the myocardium, why does heart rate increase for these patients
during physical activity? Explain.
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Unit IX (Physical Training- CH. 21)
1. Discuss whether regular physical activity benefits a person even if exercise remains insufficient to stimulate a training effect.
2. Your personal training client insists that a single mode of "cross-training" exercise improves aerobic fitness for all physical activities requiring a high level of aerobic fitness. Give your opinion regarding the effectiveness of single-mode cross training exercise?
3. Respond to the question: "How long must I exercise to get in shape?"
4. Outline the information you would need to know to develop a program to effectively improve aerobic capacity for the specific physical job performance requirements for (1) firefighters, (2) police officers, and (3) oilfield workers.
5. As a personal trainer, outline your approach to establishing
training guidelines and personalizing the exercise prescription
for four clients who begin an exercise program?
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Unit X (Training Muscles to Become Stronger- CH. 22)
1. For a football lineman, how would you apply the principle of specificity to (a) evaluate current muscular strength and power, and (b) improve muscular performance for football?
2. If women respond to resistance training essentially the same as men, why doesn't the upper arm girth of female body builders equal their male counterparts?
3. Outline steps you would take to design a resistance training program for previously sedentary middle-aged men and women.
4. Discuss the statement: "There is no one best system of resistance training."
5. Describe the ideal resistance training equipment for a competitive sprint swimmer.
6. Outline a series of tests to evaluate muscular performance that would best reflect the force-power requirements for the job of firefighter.
7. Why is it nearly impossible to precisely determine an individual's maximal strength in the typical testing situation?
8. How do you explain why many well-trained resistance athletes
have their spotters during a free-weight bench press (free weights)
apply external force (to make lift more difficult) in the early
phase of the lift and provide assistance toward its completion?
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Unit XI (Body Composition- CH. 27, 28, 29)
1. What arguments would you give to counter the position that there exists no true sex difference in body fat, but only a difference that results from sex-related patterns of regular physical activity and caloric intake.
2. A friend of yours complains that three different fitness centers determined her percent body fat from fatfolds as follows: 25%, 29%, and 21%. How can you reconcile these differences?
3. How come a singular prototype for body composition (% fat, fat-free body mass) does not emerge when one analyzes the body composition of elite athletes in diverse sports?
4. A person seeks your advice for losing weight. This person has attempted diverse diets, but has never experienced long-term success. What strategy, advice, and words of encouragement can you offer?
5. Respond to the person who claims: "The only way to lose weight is to stop eating. It's that simple!"
6. Outline your response to a student who asks: "How come by some criteria for obesity I'm considered overfat while with other measures my body fat assessment falls within normal limits?"
7. A colleague comments that the obesity "war" would
easily be won if the overfat could just learn to apply greater
willpower and self control. Your response?
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Unit XII (Physical Activity and Health- CH. 30)
1. The following case provides general descriptive information
about an individual including personal information and results
of a graded exercise stress test. Analyze the case, list the risk
factors and react to the results of the stress test. Make recommendations
for the person for exercise, risk reduction, and health maintenance.
DATA: Caucasian male stockbroker, age = 39 yr.; body mass = 92
kg; stature = 179 cm; percent body fat = 29%; total cholesterol
= 255 mg<cd>dL<su>-1, HDL cholesterol = 35 mg<cd>dL<su>-1,
mother died of heart attack at age 46; been sedentary since college
days when he regularly participated in intramural sports.
Balke GXT test: 3 m per hr; 2.5% increases in treadmill elevation
per every 2 min
| Grade% | METs |
SBP (mmHg) |
DBP (mmHg) |
HR | ECG | Symptoms |
| Rest | 128 | 89 | 82 | normal | none | |
| 2.5 | 4.3 | 149 | 89 | 140 | normal | none |
| 5.0 | 5.4 | 154 | 88 | 154 | normal | none |
| 7.5 | 6.4 | 162 | 84 | 165 | normal | none |
| 10 | 7.4 | 180 | 83 | 172 | normal | none |
| 12.5 | 8.5 | 186 | 83 | 184 | normal | none |
| 15 | 9.5 | 198 | 86 | 197 | normal | none |
2. If regular physical activity contributes little to extending overall life span, what other reasons exist for maintaining a physically active lifestyle throughout middle and old age?
3. How would you determine the "biological age" of a 65-year-old healthy woman?
Unit XIII (Clinical Exercise Physiology- CH. 31)
1. Give possible reasons why exercise proves more effective for coronary heart disease patients than for patients with pulmonary disease.
2. A GXT on a bicycle ergometer has established 600 kg-momin-1 as the desirable exercise intensity for training a CHD patient. Discuss whether this exercise intensity would also be appropriate arm-crank exercise for this patient.
3. What recommendations would you give to a middle-aged man who wants to begin an aerobic training program because he feels breathless and chest discomfort while walking the golf course?
4. What type of aerobic training exercise prescription would prove most beneficial for a CHD patient who experiences angina during upper-body work as a plasterer and paper hanger. Why?