lung adaptation

[wnowak06]

does anyone know/ can they explain the technical details of what happens when fitness increases?

do your lungs increase in size, or do you grow bigger alveoli...i dont understand the changes that occur in the lungs when fitness increases...any help appreciated.


thanks

 

[frenchyge]

Performance is typically limited by oxygen utilization, rather than oxygen intake, in most healthy people. The lungs are already plenty big to satisfy the body's needs.

What changes is the ability of the muscle cells to use the oxygen in the production of energy for contraction.

Lots of good stuff here: http://home.hia.no/~stephens/exphys.htm