Why Does Your Pulse Rate Increase When You Exercise?

How about we start by understanding the phenomenon of heart rate and the workings of the cardiac cycle before we dig into the issue of heart rate increase during exercise? Game for some basic cardiovascular lessons before jumping to the titular subject?

Good! To begin with, you are correct in assuming that heart rate or the rate at which the heart beats is noting but the figure we get when we calculate the number of beats or contractions that the heart undergoes in a single minute.

The heart rate is not always constant, and the pace quickens and slows down as and when necessary. For instance, the heart rate is the lowest when we are in deep slumber and is the highest when we exert ourselves physically, or when we are under mental or environmental stress. This happens so that the body gets just the right amount of oxygen as and when it requires.

Didn't get it yet? Well, while sleeping, we need the least amount of oxygen as most of the body's organs, limbs and functions are either in a stationary state or slow down their functions. Breathing and brain activity becomes slower, so does digestion and blood circulation.

On the contrary, when you run, jog or perform cardiovascular and aerobic exercises, your body needs the maximum amount of oxygen to produce the amount of energy necessary for undertaking these high intensity physical activities.

Therefore, the heart and respiratory rate are maximum when you work out, or perform aerobics or cardio routines.

As far as the cardiac cycle is concerned, this phenomenon includes all heart related activities that take place between two cardiac contractions of heart beats such as the flow of blood to and from the heart. So, why does your pulse rate increase when you exercise? The following segment takes you to the answer.

As mentioned above, the heart rate or pulse rate increases and decreases to adjust with the body's requirement of oxygen at different times and while undertaking different activities.

When you are exercising or undertaking a physically strenuous task that requires the involvement of a large number of muscles, which accommodate the pressure of such an activity, your breathing quickens so that you can breathe in more oxygen.

The heart rate also quickens to pump more blood faster so as to allow all this oxygen, carried by the blood, to reach the maximum areas of your body at the fastest possible speed. When under physical strain, muscles need a lot more oxygen that when at rest.

In absence of large quantities of oxygen, the muscles begin to tire up quickly when undertaking rigorous activities such as aerobic and cardiovascular workouts.

Also, since the body uses up energy faster when you exercise, it requires more oxygen. As most of you must be knowing, oxygen is what keeps the metabolic machinery running by turning dietary nutrients and calories into biologically usable energy.

Therefore, to be able to replenish the quickly depleting energy, the heart quickens the rate of its contractions, which causes the breathing to get faster, allowing more oxygen to enter the lungs.

The increased pulse rate indicates that all this oxygen is carried to all the muscles and cells of the body in nearly the same speed rate at which it is getting used up while exercising.

I guess that answers your query in a justifiably lucid and detailed manner. The heart is a pretty smart organ that knows at what time the body would require the maximum amount of oxygen.

Therefore, it adjusts its pace and rate of contractions to accommodate increased intake of oxygen in order to ensure the smooth and regular supply of oxygen to each cell in every muscle fiber, so that the body can continue to exercise without break for an optimal length of time.