Exercise over a sustained period of time usually more than 8 weeks will bring about some long term adaptations to the body. These adaptations will be determined by the intensity, duration and frequency of the activities in the programme. The physiological changes will impact upon the musculo-skeletal, cardio – vascular/respiratory and the energy systems
Content
- Long-term physiological adaptations after a period of aerobic training.
- Long-term physiological adaptations after a period of anaerobic training.
- Potential improvements to sporting performance.
Posted by Chloe Gray for Strength
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We know that exercise is important for keeping fit day-to-day, but a new study has shown that sticking to your workouts now can have huge benefits on your long-term health.
Good things come to those who wait, or so the saying goes, and that’s never more true than when talking about fitness. While we all want to reap as many of the immediate benefits of exercise, the real magic happens when we are committed to our training.
Science supports this. According to a new study, we should be getting at least double the recommended minimum amount of moderate exercise every week whilst in our 20s not just to stay fit, but also to reduce the odds of developing hypertension in later years. This potential benefit is even greater in those who continue the exercise habit into their 30s and beyond, where it decreased the risk of high blood pressure by up to 18%.
So, it’s not just about gains in the present, but building a routine that helps prepare your body for the future.
Building a stronger and more resilient body and mind happens over the long-term – taking days, weeks, months or even years of training. The results and benefits are worth it though, so pushing through the lulls in motivation and mindset you might be experiencing now are important. If you don’t believe it, let personal trainer from the Strong Women Collective Esmée Gummer explain just some of the big changes you see over time when you stick with exercise.
Studies show that regular exercise can prevent Alzheimer’s disease by up to a huge 45%, but until recently the reason for this brain boost was always a mystery. Now new research shows that it’s all to do with a protein called Gpld1 which is excreted by the liver after exercise. The study then found that this protein improved the brain health in older mice, and the enzyme is also elevated in the blood of elderly humans who exercise regularly.
Muscle growth
The day after exercise you can’t help but notice that you have aching muscles, known as DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). This happens because the muscles have been torn and damaged, but get stronger as they repair themselves.
“When you first start out exercising, doing five squats might cause you to ache. A few months on, you could do five squats and it doesn’t even affect you,” says Esmée. That’s because we experience muscular hypertrophy, aka muscle growth, and so it takes more weight, reps or intensity to damage the muscles.
Cardiovascular health
But it’s not just the visible muscles that grow: all of those sessions where your heart is pumping hard will result in cardiac hypertrophy. This means that you’ll have a stronger pump which will push more blood around the body. Combined with an increase in oxygen-carrying red blood cells, your heart rate will be able to lower. “Your heart just won’t have to work as hard to get blood to the organs and cells. That’s why you might find the things that used to make you really out of breath become easy after sustained periods of training,” explains Esmée.