AGING

AGING
AGING. Most people are afraid of it. In reality it is a natural, physiological process. With technology today some people are lucky enough to either slow down this unfortunate process or just fake their appearances with surgeries and procedures. When you age, not only your appearances change, but the insides of your bodies, and even the choices you make are different from the ones you would have made when you were once a kid. AGING IS CAUSED BY GENETICS AND LIFESTYLES


When it comes to genetics...cells are dividing which results in our telomeres becoming shorter with each division. The length of the telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes protect these genes from the tears that occur daily within our body. When we are born, the telomeres are of certain length. As stated before...as we age the telomeres get shorter due to the division of our cells. Eventually, cells lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. This is known as senescence. Unfortunately while the telomeres become shorter and shorter from this division process, sometimes the critical parts of DNA can be damaged following the new divisions.



Lifestyle choice plays a big role in aging too. In one study, The New England Centenarian included 850 people entering the ages of their 100s. They identified several behavioral and personality traits that are critical to longevity, and literally living life as long as possible. These included not smoking, being extroverted versus introverted, and easygoing and staying lean or in shape. It is very important to take care of your body over your life time. It can help maintain your youth. It has been known that becoming involved in risky lifestyle choices could speed up the aging process. Doctors everywhere always say how critical it is to exercise throughout the week. A lack of exercise can even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Smoking is another big thing to stay away from. Smoking damanges your lungs and makes it harder to breathe but it also speeds up the rate at which telomeres decay. Because of this, your body will age at a faster rate than anyone would want.

The next VERY IMPORTANT factor of aging has to do with good cholesterol also known as  high-density lipoprotein (HDL).  FACT: People with higher levels of HDL tend to live longer. This is because the HDL removes the bad cholesterol and the LDL from the body. This is important because it helps decrease the risk of heart disease.

EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

Exercise Physiology is the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to a wide-range of physical exercise conditions

 Exercise physiologists study the effect of exercise on diseases or on a diagnosis of some sort.


Energy Pathways

It is important to note that it is hard for the body to store ATP. Because of this the body needs to continuously circulate for ATP during exercise via aerobic or anaerobic respiration.

1)       ATP-CP: This is known as the phosphate system; the combination of ADP and CP are both stored in muscles and create ATP, but this only lasts around 2-3 seconds and the re-synthesis of ATP from CP continues unto CP storage are depleted. ( This is key for short sprints)

 2)      Aerobic Metabolism: Known as the endurance exercise energy production; oxygen from the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain manufacture ATP from glucose; This is the prime energy source during endurance activities, yet it is slower than anaerobic energy because it relies on the circulatory system for transporting oxygen to muscle cells in order to generate ATP

3)     Anaerobic Metabolism:  This is glycolysis and lactic acid production; ATP is produced without oxygen once the CP reserves are depleted. This makes energy for a short amount of time during high intensity activity (or until lactic acid build-up reaches a threshold with muscle pain and fatigue). ( key with longer sprints)

VOCABULARY FOR EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

VO2 max: The maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual.

Lactic Acid: A chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemical processes. (Regarding exercise..) when the rate of demand for energy is high, lactic acid is produced faster than the ability of the tissues to remove it, so lactate concentration begins to rise. 

Aerobic Respiration: This requires oxygen in order to generate energy. Although carbohydrates, fats, and proteins can all be processed and consumed as reactant, it is the preferred method of pyruvate breakdown in glycolysis.  Pyruvate enters the mitochondrion in order to be fully oxidized by the Krebs cycle. The product of this process is ATP (a form of energy)

Anaerobic Respiration: A form of respiration using electron acceptors and instruments other than oxygen. It is respiration without oxygen.

ATP (Adenosine triphosphate): A multifunctional nucleotide used in cells as a coenzyme. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism. It is produced by cellular respiration and used by enzymes and structural proteins in many cellular processes, including cell division.

CP (Creatine Phosphate): A molecule that serves as a reserve of high-energy phosphates in the skeletal muscle and brain; it can anaerobically supply a phosphate grout to ADP in order to form ATP during the first 2-7 seconds following an intense muscular effort

Glycolysis:  The first stage of both aerobic and anaerobic respiration; glucose is converted into a 3 carbon sugar in ten reduction/oxidation reactions. The energy released is used to for ATP and NADH

Carbohydrates: An organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen to oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (Eat before working out)

Fats: Consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. (Do not want to eat fatty food before exercise)

Proteins: Biochemical compounds that are sequences of amino acids which are the building blocks of the body; proteins repair and rebuild muscle that is broken down during exercise.