Experiment: Exercise Lab

Topic: Exercise Experiment

Date: September 24, 2024

Title: Investigating the short-term effects of exercise on the body

Aim: To investigate the short-term effects of exercise on the body and

compare these effects between males and females

Materials: stopwatch, notepad, pen or pencil

Method:

Each subject sat silently for 5 minutes. The resting pulse was counted for one minute, and the

information was recorded in a table. Subjects did 50 step-ups as a form of exercise. The number

of pulses was counted for one minute immediately after exercise (Time 0). One minute was

waited, and the number of pulses was counted for a minute. Another minute was waited, and the

number of pulses was counted for a minute. This was repeated, waiting and counting until the

heart rate returned to near the resting level at least two times. All the data was tabulated.
Results:

TABLE SHOWING THE CLASS DATA REST, PULSE RATE AFTER EXERCISE, AND

TIME TAKEN TO RECOVER IN ONE-MINUTE INTERVALS.

Male/Female Rest Time (0) 1 2 3 4

F1 91 121 101 91 - -

F2 86 108 96 80 - -

F3 77 96 89 83 - -

F4 74 132 92 88 - -

F5 90 157 112 94 - -

M1 107 126 118 106 - -

F6 81 137 101 71 74 -

F7 86 139 112 95 70 -

F8 75 156 120 99 86 73

F9 68 110 93 63 - -

F10 59 149 95 64 - -

M2 64 113 99 75 57 -
F11 79 97 82 70 62 -

M3 83 136 94 73 - -

M4 81 114 91 81 - -

F12 91 162 133 110 107 104

F13 76 122 108 95 82 -

F14 82 143 128 95 81 -

F15 95 151 144 120 102 98

F16 85 104 94 89 83 -

F17 82 108 106 85 82 -

F18 75 140 110 95 80 75

SMALLER GROUP, INCLUDING THE PULSE EACH

MINUTE AFTER EXERCISE UNTIL RECOVERY

Names Pulse Rates

Rest Time 1 2 3 4

(0)

Jadea 86 139 112 95 70 -

Brianna 75 156 120 99 86 73

Calculations:

●​ Average resting pulse for females

81.94 bpm

●​ Average resting pulse for male

83.75 bpm

●​ Calculate the percentage increase in heart rate for each subject.

Females:

●​ F1: 32.97%

●​ F2: 25.58%

●​ F3: 24.68%

●​ F4: 78.38%
 ●​ F5: 74.44%

●​ F6: 69.14%

●​ F7: 61.63%

●​ F8: 108.00%

●​ F9: 61.76%

●​ F10: 152.54%

●​ F11: 22.78%

●​ F12: 78.02%

●​ F13: 60.53%

●​ F14: 74.39%

●​ F15: 58.95%

●​ F16: 22.35%

●​ F17: 31.71%

●​ F18: 86.67%

Males:

●​ M1: 17.76%

●​ M2: 76.56%

●​ M3: 63.86%

●​ M4: 40.74%

●​ Calculate the average percentage increase in heart rate for

females- 57.17%

males- 49.73%
●​ Recovery time of each individual’s heart rate

F1: 91 at minute 2

F2: 80 at minute 2

F3: 83 at minute 2

F4: 88 at minute 2

F5: 94 at minute 2

F6: 74 at minute 3

F7: 70 at minute 3

F8: 73 at minute 4

F9: 63 at minute 2

F10: 64 at minute 2

M2: 57 at minute 3

F11: 62 at minute 3

M3: 73 at minute 2

M4: 81 at minute 2

F12: 104 at minute 4

F13: 82 at minute 2

F14: 81 at minute 2

F15: 98 at minute 4

F16: 83 at minute 3

F17: 82 at minute 3
 F18: 75 at minute 4

M1: 106 at minute 2

●​ Average recovery time for heart rate

a) females- 2.72 minutes

b) males- 2.25 minutes

Sample calculation for Female

F1 information

Resting pulse: 91 bpm

Pulse immediately after exercise (Time 0): 121 bpm

Pulses during recovery: 101 bpm (1st minute), 91 bpm (2nd minute)

Percentage Increase in Heart Rate :

Percentage increase = (Time 0 - Rest) / Rest x 100

Percentage Increase=(121−91) / 91 ×100=(3091)×100=32.97%

Recovery Time

The recovery time is the number of minutes it takes for the heart rate to return near the resting

level.
 Resting pulse: 91 bpm

1st minute: 101 bpm (still higher than 91)

2nd minute: 91 bpm (returned to resting level)

The recovery time for F1 is 2 minutes.

Sample Calculation for male

Data for M1:

●​ Resting pulse: 107 bpm

●​ Pulse immediately after exercise (Time 0): 126 bpm

●​ Pulses during recovery: 118 bpm (1st minute), 106 bpm (2nd minute)

Percentage Increase in Heart Rate

Percentage Increase=(Time (0)−Rest)/ Rest ×100

Percentage Increase=(126−107) / 107 ×100=(19107)×100= 17.76%

Recovery Time

Resting pulse: 107 bpm

At the 1st minute: 118 bpm (still higher than 107)

At the 2nd minute: 106 bpm (returned near resting level, as it's only 1 bpm lower)
So, the recovery time for M1 is 2 minutes.

Graph

Graph showing an individual’s data of pulse rate after exercise until recovery.

Discussion:

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall

health and wellness. A pulse can be defined as the rhythmic contraction and dilation of the

arteries resulting from the beating of the heart. Short-term effects of exercise occur immediately

as we begin to exercise. Long-term effects are more concerned with adaptive changes over time

with regular exercise.

In the short term, exercise triggers several immediate physiological responses. Heart and

respiratory rates increase to supply muscles with more oxygen and nutrients while aiding in the

removal of carbon dioxide and other metabolic byproducts. Muscle contractions generate heat,

leading to an increase in body temperature and subsequent sweating to cool down. Additionally,

endorphins are released, creating a feeling of euphoria and reducing pain perception. However,

intense exercise can also result in the production of lactate, which may cause muscle fatigue and

soreness.

Long-term exercise leads to many beneficial changes in the inner workings of the body.

A decreased resting heart rate and normalized blood pressure due to cardiovascular efficiency.

Some respiratory adaptations also make possible better lung capacity and gas exchange. Regular

physical activity strengthens muscles and bones, increases endurance, and promotes metabolic

rate and insulin sensitivity. Regular exercise leads to better stress control, decreased anxiety,
improved mood, and improved executive cognitive functioning. Together, these adaptations work

to decrease the risk of chronic diseases and build up the immune system, contributing not only to

long lives but also to a happy life.

Before carrying out any experiment, it was hypothesized about several scenarios in light

of the existing body of research. First, it was expected that there would be a higher resting pulse

rate among females than males. This expectation is derived from the fact that males tend to have

larger hearts. Around puberty, men’s hearts tend to grow about 15% to 30% larger than women’s

hearts. Generally, this increase in heart size matches an increase in body size. Each time your

heart beats, the contractions pump blood throughout your heart and body. Women’s hearts must

beat faster to pump the same amount of blood because their hearts are usually slightly smaller

than men’s. Second, it was predicted that the females were going to show a greater percent

increase in the pulse rate after exercise as compared to the males. This stems from the fact that

women have smaller hearts and therefore need to increase the heart rate to an even greater extent

to push blood forward when active. Thirdly, it was thought that males would show comparatively

shorter recovery times. It is primarily because of the observed cardiovascular efficiency and the

fitness levels in the male athletes, which would make them tend to drop back to a resting pulse

rate sooner than the females. These hypotheses stem from physiological differences between the

genders or sexes and are meant to be proven right or wrong with the data collected by our

experiments.

In the experiment, males have a higher resting pulse rate than females at 83.75 bpm and

81.94 bpm, respectively. This is a contrast to our expectations of females having a higher resting

pulse rate. In terms of the average percentage increase in heart rate, females had the higher

percentage with 57.17%, while the males had 49.73%. The average recovery time for the females
was higher at 2.72 minutes, whereas the males had 2.25 minutes. Thus, excluding the resting

pulse, the initial expectations based on physiological differences are validated by the data

collected in the experiment.

Limitation :

There weren’t enough males to provide adequate data in the comparison of females.

Assumption :

The stopwatch started promptly with each minute.

Conclusion:

The gender with the higher resting pulse rate is males, with 83.75 bpm. Exercise markedly

affected pulse rate for both sexes, but the percentage rise in pulse rate immediately after

completing the exercise was significantly higher among females. The higher percent increase

seen in the pulse rate of females may be because of the smaller size of the heart related to

females, where to pump sufficient blood in physical exertion requires considerable speed-up in

heartbeat.

Overall, males had the better recovery rate.