Discuss the physiological determinants of Endurance Performance Essay

Discuss the physiological determinants of Endurance Performance - Essay Example An understanding of these determinants and the manner in which they can be influenced is particularly useful in the field of sports, where better endurance performance is the difference between success and failure in competitive activities that place a demand on the endurance capacity of an individual (Coyle, 1999). According to Bouchard et al, 2000, the ability to cope with the demands made during a performance of endurance activity is influenced by many determinants. These determinants are physique, body composition, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), biochemical factors, nutritional status, thermoregulation, sub-maximal exercise tolerance and efficiency, social factors and psychological traits. Furthermore there is realization that each of these determinants is in reality a host of several factors instead of being a single characteristic (Bouchard et al, 2000). This paper restricts itself to the evaluation of maximal oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, exercise economy and thermoregulation as these factors constitute the physiological determinants of endurance performance. Such a view is supported by Tanaka and Seals, 2008, who give maximal oxygen consumption, lactate threshold and exercise economy as the main physiological determinants of endurance performance and Coyle 1999, who contends that thermoregulation is a physiological determinant of endurance performance, due to the intense and prolonged oxidative metabolism that is characteristic of an endurance performance. For the performance of physical activity the body requires energy. In performance sports the physical activity involves aerobic energy production means, where oxygen is a key component. In other words oxygen is used up during physical activity and for sustained physical activity at high intensity higher levels of oxygen requirement and utilization there is a high demand for oxygen. The greater the levels of oxygen that are taken up the more are the energy that is