Exercise at extreme altitudes is not limited by high blood lactate levels or by indications of limitations in cardiac or respiratory function. As discussed, during maximal exercise at increasingly higher altitudes, cardiac output actually decreases. This is strong evidence for protective mechanisms that prevent cardiac, central nervous system, and skeletal muscle damage. From the standpoint of the organism and its physiological control mechanisms, fatigue is preferable to death.
In case you missed the hilarity in that let's review.
Interviewer: Excuse me Mr. Organism, but what is your standpoint in regards to fatigue vs. death?
Organism: Naturally I feel fatigue is preferable to death.
Interviewer: Would you like to expound on that for us? Why exactly would you choose fatigue as opposed to death.
Organism: Well, for starters, if I were dead we wouldn't be having this conversation would we? I mean, you can defiantly recover from a fatiguing bout of exercise but I'm not at all trained in the science of exorcism.
Interviewer: That's a good point. Thank you for your time Mr. Organism.
(Mr. Organism continues to beat. Pumping blood to body tissues with each contraction.)
Interviewer: And there you have it folks, from the mouth of the Organism itself, the organism prefers fatigue to death!
2 comments:
Because of all the medical research I've been doing lately I totally understood your first paragraph and felt so smart! Yet, I truly appreciated the breakdown of Mr. Organism preferring fatigue to death. You should make a comic book:-) It'd be hilarious and educational!
oh Crystelle! I know I have not proven my friendship in commenting on your blog, but I do read it occasionally and it always makes me either a)laugh, or b) wish that I was in a donut race. Anyway, i had a pretty crappy day today but your post made me laugh out loud which was well needed. I just thought you should know that. Miss you!
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