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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Conducting Maximal and Submaximal Endurance Exercise Testing to Measure Physiological and Biological Responses to Acute Exercise in Humans
Published on: October 17, 2018
Responses and limitations of the respiratory system to exercise
Andrew T Lovering1, Hans C Haverkamp, Marlowe W Eldridge
1The John Rankin Laboratory of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1532, USA. atlovering@wisc.edu
Abstract:
During maximal exercise, the gas exchange function of the lung is challenged because of the major cardiopulmonary changes that must occur to meet the increased metabolic demands imposed by exercise. In healthy untrained young adults, the respiratory system is able to meet these demands imposed on it during maximal exercise by implementing several key mechanisms. Nonetheless, there are several exceptional cases in which the lung is unable to accommodate the demands of exercise because of vascular or airway limitations.
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