The Effect of Training on the Lungs

The effect of training on the lungs

It is difficult to measure the size of the lungs in a living athlete, but we can measure the volume of air that is breathed in and out. This is called the vital capacity. However, even if we breath out hard we can never expel all of the air in the lungs - if we could, the moist surfaces would stick together like the sides of a rubber balloon which has been blown up and then deflated. This is what happens with a collapsed lung.

The volume of air left in the lungs after breathing out is called the residual volume.

Total lung capacity = vital capacity + residual volume.

Predict....

What effect do you think physical training might have of the size of an athlete's lungs over a period of time?

Data analysis....

In 1968 Backman and Horvath studied the effect of training on the lung volume of swimmers and compared them to non-exercising students of the same age (the control subjects).
The vital capacity, residual volume and total lung capacity were measured and calculated for the subjects before they started training and then after a 4 month training period. The results are shown below.

A comparison of students before and after a period of swimming training with control subjects.

Swimmers / Controls
no training)
Before training / After training / Before training / After training
Mean Vital Capacity / 5.62 / 5.94 / 5.80 / 5.78
Mean Residual Capacity / 1.70 / 1.44 / 1.28 / 1.35
Mean Total Lung Volume / 7.33 / 7.38 / 7.08 / 7.13
Mean Resting Breathing Rate (breaths/min) / 16.8 / 14.8 / 14.2 / 14.0

Analyze....

1)Look at the mean vital capacity and mean residual volume results for the swimmers. Write down how they change after 4 months of training.

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2)Compare the results for the swimmers with those of the control subjects who did no training.

3)The mean total lung volume in the swimmers does not change as much as the mean vital capacity and the mean residual volume. Try to explain this.

4)Is there any difference in the resting breathing rate between the swimmers and the control subjects? If so, what?

5)Explain why the changes that you have noted in the swimmers would help them with their sport.