NSCA-CPT Exercise Physiology 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is PRIMARILY attributed to which of the following?
- Continued glycolysis after exercise
- Restoration of phosphagen stores and elevated body temperature (Correct answer)
- Increased pulmonary ventilation
- Muscle protein synthesis
Correct answer: Restoration of phosphagen stores and elevated body temperature
EPOC is mainly driven by resynthesis of creatine phosphate, lactate removal, elevated body temperature, and hormonal effects that persist after exercise.
Question 2: Type IIx (fast-twitch) muscle fibers are characterized by which combination of properties?
- High oxidative capacity, slow contraction speed
- Low oxidative capacity, high glycolytic capacity, fast contraction speed (Correct answer)
- High oxidative and glycolytic capacity, fast contraction speed
- Low glycolytic capacity, moderate contraction speed
Correct answer: Low oxidative capacity, high glycolytic capacity, fast contraction speed
Type IIx fibers have low oxidative capacity, high glycolytic capacity, generate high force rapidly, and fatigue quickly.
Question 3: Which hormone is most directly responsible for increasing blood glucose during intense exercise?
- Insulin
- Glucagon
- Cortisol
- Epinephrine (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Epinephrine
Epinephrine (adrenaline) is rapidly released during intense exercise and stimulates hepatic glycogenolysis to raise blood glucose.
Question 4: What is the primary role of hemoglobin in exercise physiology?
- Buffering blood lactate
- Transporting oxygen in the blood (Correct answer)
- Regulating blood pH
- Storing glycogen in red blood cells
Correct answer: Transporting oxygen in the blood
Hemoglobin binds oxygen in the lungs and releases it to working muscles, serving as the principal oxygen transport protein in blood.
Question 5: The lactate threshold is best described as the exercise intensity at which:
- Lactate production equals zero
- Blood lactate begins to accumulate exponentially above resting levels (Correct answer)
- The glycolytic system shuts down
- VO2max is achieved
Correct answer: Blood lactate begins to accumulate exponentially above resting levels
The lactate threshold marks the exercise intensity where lactate production exceeds clearance, causing a nonlinear rise in blood lactate.
Question 6: Which pulmonary adaptation occurs with long-term aerobic training?
- Significant increase in total lung capacity
- Improved ventilatory efficiency and reduced ventilatory equivalent at submaximal workloads (Correct answer)
- Permanent increase in tidal volume at rest
- Decrease in respiratory rate during maximal exercise
Correct answer: Improved ventilatory efficiency and reduced ventilatory equivalent at submaximal workloads
Endurance training improves ventilatory efficiency, meaning less air needs to be moved per liter of oxygen consumed at submaximal intensities.
Question 7: During the initial seconds of high-intensity exercise, ATP is regenerated PRIMARILY by:
- Beta-oxidation of fatty acids
- Aerobic glycolysis
- Creatine phosphate hydrolysis (Correct answer)
- Gluconeogenesis
Correct answer: Creatine phosphate hydrolysis
Creatine phosphate rapidly donates its phosphate group to ADP to regenerate ATP during the first few seconds of maximal effort.
NSCA-CPT Exercise Physiology 3
Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is PRIMARILY attributed to which of the following?