The short term responses to exercise and changes in the body
I can identify the short-term effects of exercise on the body and apply them to sporting examples.
The short term responses to exercise and changes in the body
I can identify the short-term effects of exercise on the body and apply them to sporting examples.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Short-term effects of exercise on the circulatory system include increased heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output.
- Blood is redistributed to the working muscles in response to exercise to deliver more oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
- Respiratory rate, tidal volume and minute ventilation all increase in response to exercise.
- Our muscles increase in temperature when we exercise.
- Lactic acid is produced when we exercise at higher intensities.
Keywords
Lactic acid - a waste product produced in the muscle tissues during strenuous exercise where he anaerobic energy system is in use
Fatigue - muscle tiredness when the body has a lack of energy
Rate of recovery - the speed at which the body returns back to normal after exercise
Redistribution of blood - when you exercise, the blood is diverted from inactive areas to the muscles that are being used. This action is completed through vasodilation and vasoconstriction (aka the vascular shunt mechanism)
Common misconception
Pupils often mix up what changes happen in response to exercise and what changes happen as a long term adaptation to training.
Short-term responses of the body are what happens as soon as we start exercising to cope with it, but if we train regularly, then the body adapts to be better able to cope with the stress of exercise and hence work more efficiently in performance.
To help you plan your year 10 physical education lesson on: The short term responses to exercise and changes in the body, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 physical education lesson on: The short term responses to exercise and changes in the body, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom.
Explore more key stage 4 physical education lessons from the Anatomy and physiology: the short and long term effects of exercise unit, dive into the full secondary physical education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
cardiac system
respiratory system
circulatory system
muscular system
skeletal system
the number of times you heart beats per minute
the amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle per contraction
the volume of blood pumped per minute by each ventricle of the heart
the number of breaths taken in a minute
the amount of air entering the lungs during normal inhalation at rest
Exit quiz
6 Questions
of arteries supplying the digestive system to reduce blood flow
of arteries supplying the working muscles to increase blood flow