Course Catalogue

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This course will allow students to develop and gain a deep and critical understanding of advanced exercise physiology, with an emphasis on examination of how exercise and exercise training affects the physiological and biological processes in cells, tissues and organ systems and how this leads to the integrated adaptation and athletic phenotype observed after exercise training. 

This option is assigned to block S2-C. Normally a 1-hour introductory session, a 1-hour break, then a 2-hour follow-up discussion/tutorial, on Thursdays.

Normally, only available to final-year students in a School of Life Sciences programme. Visiting students may be allowed to enrol, at the discretion of the School of Life Sciences Chief Adviser and the Course Coordinator.

None.

The course will be assessed by a 2-hour examination (70%) and in-course assessment consisting of a critical review essay (30%). 

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The aims of this course are to: 

Examine the function and integrated relationship between cells, tissues, organs and the whole organism; 

Examine how exercise stress affects the function of, and the relationship between, cells, tissues, organs and the whole organism; 

Examine how specific underlying physiological processes and associated adaptations to exercise in cells, tissue and organs translate to improved function of the whole organism following different forms of exercise. 

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

Compare physiological cellular, tissue and organ processes that are activated or inactivated by exercise;  

Appraise experimental methods that are used to assess how exercise affects physiological processes across systems;  

Propose physiological mechanisms for improved oxygen transport during and after exercise;  

Appraise and evaluate the specific adaptive processes that are stimulated by various forms of exercise in order to generate beneficial phenotype effects and how they differ from processes generated by other stress stimuli. 

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.