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A Look Inside Your Cells When Exercise Gets Intense
Developing
In Short: Understanding what happens inside the body during intense exercise can provide valuable insights into health benefits and vitality. Patients and doctors should consider these physiological changes when guiding exercise routines.
Exercise intensity is a critical factor in reaping health benefits, according to experts. Kate Baird, an exercise physiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery, suggests that doctors should talk to patients about the importance of exercise intensity, even if it means pushing them to try higher-intensity workouts.
However, many physicians struggle to get patients to engage in any form of exercise, let alone intense exercise. Brendon Gurd, a professor at Queen’s University, emphasizes that the majority of people should focus on exercising as much as possible, occasionally pushing their limits.
Defining intensity is complex, but one clear indicator is whether exercise is above or below the lactate threshold. Gurd's research, published in Sports Medicine, shows that exercising above the first lactate threshold is crucial for maximizing cardiometabolic health benefits compared to lower-intensity exercise.
For practical guidance, Brad Schoenfeld, a professor at Lehman College, recommends using the talk test to gauge lactate threshold. This method helps determine if the exercise intensity is high enough to be considered intense.
The physiological benefits of intense exercise stem from how the body manages energy demands. When ATP is broken down during intense exercise, adenosine diphosphate is produced, which acts as an 'error signal' to activate signaling molecules that induce mitochondrial biogenesis.
Recent headlines have highlighted that just three minutes of intense exercise can be more beneficial than 90 minutes of moderate activity, underscoring the importance of intensity in exercise.
What this adds
The research by Gurd and colleagues provides a clearer understanding of the physiological benefits of high-intensity exercise, emphasizing the importance of exceeding the lactate threshold.
What's still developing
- While it’s more complicated than many consumer publications make it sound, it does appear exercising at a certain intensity brings unique benefits — so much so that study co-author Kate Baird, CSCS, an exercise physiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, said doctors should be talking to people about exercise intensity, perhaps even encouraging them to experiment with higher intensities.
- “Exercise in itself is an ATP [adenosine triphosphate] problem,” she said, referring to ATP.
- When you stop, your body begins preparing for it to happen again.
- Still, what happens inside the body during intense exercise is undeniably intriguing from a standpoint of health benefits and vitality.
- Here’s what to know about what’s happening physiologically during moderate vs intense exercise and how to guide your patients (and yourself!) accordingly.