When you train your body to increase “endurance”, either muscular or cardiovascular, what is actually happening in your body? Are your muscles “learning” to use less oxygen? Are your lungs “learning” to pull more oxygen from the air? Are you developing different muscle fibers?
In: Biology
It’s not super-simple – your muscles are building up the ability to store more gycogen (the in-muscle energy store), and to tolerate more lactic acid (the thing you get when you exercise so hard that your oxygen delivery can’t keep up and you go anaerobic). That builds your anaerobic endurance. At the same time, your muscles, including your heart, are building fiber but more importantly, are adding capillaries to bring oxygen through your blood. That’s also happening in your lungs, so you can send more oxygen. Now your muscle can exercise harder and longer anaerobically, AND can remove the products of anaerobic exercise while supporting a higher rate of aerobic energy production.
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