Cellular Breathing Cardio Health

Breathing, usually one thinks of the lungs, inhaling through the nose, and exhaling through the mouth. How often do you think of cellular breathing?

It is an interesting thing to think about, like any other organism the cells in your body need nourishment. They take in oxygen and glucose, convert them to carbon dioxide and water, and then send them to the lungs and the kidneys where the remnants are properly disposed of.

When the oxygen and the glucose has been converted and passed on there is a remaining substance called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). You may remember from 7th biology that ATP feeds the mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell), which then produces fuel for the rest of your body.

Adenosine triphosphate is going to be energy for every muscle and every organ in your body. Many people will simplify this by saying calories create energy in muscles, which is not exactly the case.

A Calorie is actually a unit of measurement, equal to 4.18 joules, meaning it is hardly anything at all. So when you are burning calories you are also using a lot of ATP, which isn't really anything because throughout the day you are constantly creating ATP.

Calories are predominately used in the creation of ATP, but when you ingest fewer calories than the amount necessary to feed the adenosine triphosphate your body starts using fat stores and protein from existing muscles for the same process. Of course your body takes the fat before it starts taking the muscles.

That is how you lose weight at a cellular level, so if you are feeling fatigued or tired by the end of the day then you are probably not promoting enough ATP in the cells. Of course all this can be simplified into the very simple "in vs. out" equation, but it is always good to understand how things happen in your body.

Muscles engaged in activity will start sucking in oxygen, which will cause your heart rate to speed up, and then demand your lungs to work harder. This is why your body starts fighting for breath when you go on your morning run, because it is trying to feed the muscles in order to create ATP.

Without oxygen your muscles would freeze up and work like jelly. That is why physicians and triathlon trainers alike will tell you cardio exercise is the best for health, because oxygen distribution is the most important aspect of physical activity.

Exercises like swimming, biking, and jogging are going to create more cellular breathing -and caloric burn- than any other routine. You can also do cardio routines by using circuits if you are working with weights.