Short-term effects: immediate and reversible
Short-term effects are the body's immediate responses to one bout of exercise and reverse quickly on recovery. Heart rate and breathing rate rise, delivering more oxygen to the muscles. For heat control, skin vessels vasodilate so the skin reddens and heat radiates away, and sweat evaporates to cool the body. Fatigue sets in as energy stores deplete, and intense exercise can cause nausea or light-headedness.
Long-term effects: training adaptations
Long-term effects are adaptations built up over weeks or months of repeated training, and they persist at complete rest. Cardiac hypertrophy is the increase in heart size, especially the wall thickness. Bradycardia is a resting heart rate lower than normal (often below 60 bpm). Stroke volume increases, so more blood is pumped per beat. Finally, the ability to tolerate lactic acid improves, so high-intensity effort lasts longer.
How the heart adaptations link together
These three heart effects form a chain -- explain the LINK, not just the terms. Cardiac hypertrophy lets the heart pump more blood per beat: a larger stroke volume. As cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate, a larger stroke volume needs fewer beats for the same resting output, so resting heart rate falls (bradycardia). In exercise it pumps a far larger stroke volume, so maximum cardiac output is much higher.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Short-term vs long-term effects confused
The topic's main trap. Short-term effects happen during or just after one session and reverse quickly (heart and breathing rate return to rest in minutes). Long-term effects are adaptations appearing only after repeated training over weeks/months, still present at rest. Test each point: one session then gone, or still there at rest?
Digest (### 1.12): short-term and long-term effects of exercise are frequently confused with each other (s22 P11 Q14c; w23 P12 Q6b).
Physiological asked, psychological given
If a question specifies physiological effects -- the body's physical systems (heart rate, breathing, temperature control, long-term heart adaptations) -- some candidates give psychological effects instead: reduced stress, better mood, confidence. These score nothing here. Read the qualifier: "physiological" means every point is a body system, not a mental one.
Digest (### 1.12): physiological effects are sometimes answered with psychological effects instead when the question specifies physiological (s22 P11 Q14c; w23 P12 Q6b).
Naming an adaptation but not describing it
Asked to describe a long-term effect, candidates often only name it -- "bradycardia", "cardiac hypertrophy" -- scoring partial credit only. Each needs its detail: hypertrophy = heart increases in size, wall thickens; bradycardia = resting heart rate falls below normal; stroke volume = more blood pumped per beat, at rest too. Name AND describe.
Trained resting cardiac output is not higher
Students expect a trained performer's resting cardiac output to be much higher than an untrained person's. At rest it is roughly the same (about 5 L/min); what changes is HOW -- hypertrophy raises stroke volume while bradycardia lowers heart rate, so the same output comes from fewer, stronger beats. The big rise is in MAXIMUM output during exercise, not at rest.
Vague answers on skin reddening and sweating
"The performer gets hot and sweats" is too vague for the mechanism marks. Reddening: skin blood vessels widen (vasodilate), bringing warm blood near the surface so heat radiates away. Sweating: sweat evaporates, using body heat to cool the performer. State the vasodilation and the evaporation, not just that the player is hot.
Tolerating lactic acid means making less
A specific, testable wrong belief: because a trained performer "handles" lactic acid better, their muscles must make less. The syllabus point is tolerance, not production -- training lets the body cope with (buffer) a higher level before performance is affected, so they work hard for longer. The tolerance threshold rises; production does not fall.
Check the physiological qualifier
If the question says "physiological effects", every point must be a body system -- heart, lungs, muscles, skin -- not mood, stress or confidence. Read the qualifier before planning: a well-written psychological point scores nothing on a physiological question.
Sort each point: short-term or long-term
Before writing, sort each point: does it happen in one session and reverse (short-term), or appear only after months of training and stay true at rest (long-term)? A short-term point in a long-term answer, or the reverse, loses the mark even when the fact is correct.
Apply the effect to a named activity
Failing to apply an answer to a named activity is the single most repeated Paper 1 criticism. Link the effect to a real performer -- how a lower resting heart rate helps a distance runner, or better lactic acid tolerance helps a rugby player late on -- not a generic answer.
Short-term effects happen during and just after a single bout of exercise and reverse quickly once the performer stops and recovers.
| Effect | What happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heart rate | increases | delivers more oxygenated blood to the working muscles |
| Breathing rate | increases | takes in more oxygen, removes more carbon dioxide |
| Skin reddens | blood vessels near the skin widen (vasodilate) | more warm blood near the surface so heat can radiate away |
Full notes, flashcards, Q&A and the topic quiz for every premium subject.
Premium plans are US$8.99/month or US$49.99/year — first month free.
Studying with a parent's blessing? Show them this.
