Oxygen Debt

Oxygen debt: why muscles need more oxygen during intense exercise

When we play sports or perform intense physical activity, our muscles work at full capacity, releasing large amounts of energy. However, to produce this energy, muscles use oxygen, which is supplied to them through the blood. When muscles work very intensely, they do not have time to get enough oxygen from the blood, and begin to use the energy reserves that have accumulated in the body. As a result of this process, a so-called oxygen debt is formed.

Oxygen debt is the amount of oxygen that is necessary to oxidize the under-oxidized metabolic products accumulated in the body during intense muscular work. These metabolic products are lactic acid, pyroglutamic acid and other substances that are formed in the muscles as a result of the use of energy reserves without the participation of oxygen.

When muscles do not receive enough oxygen, they begin to work anaerobically, which leads to the formation of lactic acid. Lactic acid accumulates in the muscles and causes fatigue and pain. In addition, during the formation of lactic acid, a large amount of hydrogen is released, which can affect the acid-base balance of the blood.

To avoid oxygen debt, you need to properly plan the intensity of your workouts and give your muscles time to recover after them. It is also important to monitor your diet and get enough oxygen in the body, for example, by ventilating rooms and exercising in the fresh air.

In conclusion, we can say that oxygen debt is a natural process that occurs in the body during intense physical activity. However, if you do not pay enough attention to your training regimen and diet, it can lead to negative health consequences. Therefore, you should take care of your body and plan your physical activity correctly.

Oxygen debt is the most important indicator of how effective an athlete’s muscular work was in an oxygen environment. Due to the high intensity of physical activity, an accumulation of under-oxidized metabolites occurs in the body, the breakdown products of which are necessary for the normal functioning of muscle tissue. Oxygen debt is formed in athletes involved in aerobic sports - sports that require high aerobic capacity of the body for effective energy supply of motor activity throughout the entire distance or tournament. First of all, for sports where hand work is intensively used, that is, swimming, rowing and kayaking, as well as cycling or cyclocross.