Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
BIOL121 Human Biological Science 1 OR BIOL124 Human Body in Health and Disease 1 OR BIOL125 Human Biology 1
Incompatible
EXSC198 Physiological Bases of Exercise
Teaching organisation
150 hours of focused learning.
Unit rationale, description and aim
An understanding of the human body's response to exercise and adaptation to exercise training is required for the application of the science of exercise for health, fitness and sports performance. These knowledge and skills are consistent with the professional standards of several accreditation bodies, including those for Exercise Science. In this unit, human physiology is examined from this exercise science viewpoint, addressing the metabolic foundations of exercise and the regulation and responses of the physiological systems to various exercise stressors. The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the principles of exercise physiology, their integration with other sub–disciplines of exercise science, and the development of skills in conducting exercise tests and interpreting their results.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe and compare the bioenergetics of energy production and utilization | GC1 |
| LO2 | Describe the function, regulation and interaction of physiological systems relating to exercise | GC1 |
| LO3 | Describe the individual and integrated physiological responses and adaptations to acute exercise | GC1, GC7, GC11 |
| LO4 | Operate, calibrate and measure work/power and physiological responses on different ergometers | GC1, GC2, GC8 |
| LO5 | Perform and interpret exercise tests | GC1, GC2, GC7, GC8 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Energy expenditure and oxygen consumption
- Enzymes, bioenergetics and metabolic pathways in muscle physiology
- Respiratory regulation during exercise
- Cardiovascular regulation during exercise
- Physiological (acute) responses to aerobic and anerobic exercise
- Health screening/risk stratification
- Ergometry, calibration, measurement of work and power, and units of measure
- Exercise testing of energy expenditure, oxygen consumption and aerobic power
- Exercise testing of anaerobic power
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The learning and teaching strategies of this unit are designed to allow students to meet the aims, learning outcomes of the unit, graduate attributes of the University and professional accreditation standards. They are intended to reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to engage actively with unit content and learning activities.
This unit uses an experiential, cooperative learning approach to actively engage students in weekly group-based laboratory projects that reinforce theoretical content. Laboratory sessions will be complemented with face to face and web-based learning activities focused on further developing student depth of understanding of the physiological processes related to exercise in healthy, clinical and athletic populations. Weekly laboratories are designed to develop skills required for Exercise Science accreditation and are assessed via a hurdle task.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to best enable students to achieve unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes, standards-based assessment is utilised, consistent with University assessment requirements. A range of assessment strategies are used including: an essay task to assess understanding of unit content and academic writing; an examination to assess student learning of unit content; a laboratory report to assess application of this learning; and a practical skills test to assess competency in skills required for professional practice (hurdle task).
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Essay task Enables students to demonstrate their understanding of unit content, supported by evidence-based sources. | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Laboratory report Enables students to demonstrate their application of knowledge and skills by conducting and interpreting exercise tests and communicating outcomes. | 20% | LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Final examination Enables students to demonstrate their understanding of unit content. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO5 |
Competency practical skills test Enables students to demonstrate competency in skills required for professional practice. | HURDLE | LO4 |
Representative texts and references
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) (2013). Health-Related Physical Fitness Assessment Manual (4th ed.) Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) (2014). Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (9th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams
Australian Institute of Sport, Tanner, R and Gore, C (2013) Physiological tests for elite athletes (2nd ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Coombes and Skinner (2014). ESSA student manual for health, exercise and sport assessment. Mosby and ESSA.
McArdle, W.D., Katch, F.I., & Katch, V.L. (2014). Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance (8th ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott William and Wilkins.
Nieman, D.C. (2007). Exercise Testing and Prescription: A Health Related Approach (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.