PEP-593-002 : Exercise in Extreme Environments

Pre-requisites

Purpose

To provide content on the research-based findings of how certain environmental stresses alter the physiological responses to exercise.  These stresses include hypoxia, heat, cold, microgravity, and positive g-forces.

Rationale

Application of the knowledge base of exercise physiology requires an understanding of how human body functions alter during exposure to "abnormal" environmental conditions.  The best example of this fact is that exercise in and of itself generates a heat stress environment such that 70-75% of the energy expended during exercise is liberated as heat.  This heat stress causes considerable sweating to increase evaporative cooling of the body, which in turn leads to dehydration and specific nutritional needs before, during and after exercise.

Another common environmental stress is exposure to acute hypoxia, as exemplified in recreational pursuits such as the numerous winter alpine sports, mountain climbing and hiking, parachuting, etc.  This topic is especially applicable to the students of Albuquerque, who are residing at moderate altitude (4,500 - 7,500 ft), and have easy access to altitudes above 10,000 ft.

Given the increasing public awareness of NASA's space shuttle program, the unique influences of microgravity on human physiology has both academic and applied interest to further understanding human physiology.  Exercise is a central aspect of human exposure to microgravity, as astronauts who fly in the space shuttle are required to exercise to decrease the detrimental effects of chronic exposure to microgravity (decreased blood volume, increasing loss of bone mineral, dysfunctional neural regulation of the cardiovascular system, etc).

Finally, the presence of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque provides a unique opportunity to investigate the influence of positive g-forces on human physiology.  Attempts will be made to visit Kirtland, discuss positive g-forces with the Air National Guard pilots, and observe the fighter jets and procedures pilots use to minimize the detrimental influence of g-forces on their abilities to pilot the jets successfully.

Objectives

To acquire and/or experience,

Alliance With College Mission and Conceptual Framework

There is an increasing need to justify how academic courses "fit" within the theoretical framework of the college they are located within.  Explanations of the College of Education Mission and Conceptual Framework are found within the College section of the UNM website.

This course provides pertinent knowledge that extends the academic training in exercise physiology of the graduate students of UNM.  While primarily serving the needs of Exercise Science students, other students from teacher-training programs within the College of Education would also find this course interesting with respect to the environmental challenges faced by students from Elementary to High school years.  Students from the School of Medicine, Nursing, and Biology could also justify the inclusion of this course into their program of studies.

Academic Dishonesty

Unfortunately, we the faculty have had to deal with recent episodes of cheating and/or flagrant infringements of class-specific rules that have been clearly explained and that exist to ensure the equitable treatment of all students.  As a result, the following paragraph needs to be read and understood y all students of this class.

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Format

This course is taught by lecture using computerized Powerpoint slide projection, as well as laboratory sessions.  Lecture/slide notes are found linked to this page, organized by the topics listed on the course calendar.  Lectures are each 100 min in duration, structured as two 50 min sessions separated by 10 min of "break time", and finishing with a 20 min question/answer session.

As there is no suitable text, and content is based on classic and recent published research.  Many images concerning background content will be taken from both of my texts in exercise physiology, hence these books are listed as background reading.

Key references, grouped by topic, are found linked to the main page of this class site.

Textbooks and Readings

I have used a text in past offerings of this course.  However, it did not cover microgravity, was limited in coverage on altitude, and was written for the lay person.  Thus, reading from my text books, as well as from the original research listed in pertinent sections of this website will be mandatory if you want to do well in this class.

Previous text

Armstrong L.E. Performing In Extreme Environments. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Illinois, 2000.  ISBN# 0-88011-837-7

My Exercise Physiology Textbooks

Robergs RA and Roberts SO. Exercise Physiology: Exercise, Performance and Clinical Applications. Mosby, St. Louis, 1997  (note, this book is now published by McGraw-Hill, Dubuque, Iowa)

Robergs RA and Roberts SO. Fundamental Principles of Exercise Physiology: For Fitness, Performance and Health. McGraw-Hill, Dubuque, 2000.

Course Requirements

Assessment

Student assessment is based on the scores from,

The point and percentage contribution of each assessment item is summarized in the table below.

The labs are used to reinforce key content, to get you to read additional original research that supports the content of each lab, and provide added experience in scientific writing.

Your final grade will simply be based on your percentage score of the 500 total assessment points.  I do not grade on a curve.  You are responsible for learning the material I cover in class, and this content represents the standards required for becoming competent in knowing and understanding environmental exercise physiology.

The grade letter and points distribution is provided in the table below.

Exams

The format of each exam is a combination of Multiple Choice, True/False, and Short Answer Questions. Some questions will require calculations, as well as interpretations of figures used in class lectures.

Each exam will require half a class session, and consist of approximately 30 multiple choice, 10 True/False and 10 Short Answer questions.