Respiratory Anatomy and Physiology

The opening chapters cover muscle glycogen and endurance exercise, the insulin-like effects of muscle contraction, cardiovascular adaptations to endurance exercise, and the relationship between cardiovascular drugs and exercise. These chapters satisfactorily describe the methods involved in quantitating present and past data from animal and human studies. Wisely, the authors' conclusions from animal and select human studies are not extrapolated to larger populations. The chapter on muscle glycogen explains the validity of "carbo-loading" in great detail and states that there have been no new developments since the landmark studies by Hultman published in 1967. Although this chapter is well written, I question its selection for a current review. The cardiovascular chapters are valuable because they outline significant research and thoroughly explain the data within the model of cardiac physiology; a problem with these chapters is their tendency to include too many inessential studies. This propensity detracts from the reader's understanding of the science and suggests that the author is too interested in acknowledging his colleagues. Two well-supported and enjoyable chapters concern the effects of hypoxia and hyperoxia on performance and the integration of proper clothing for exercise. The authors do an excellent job of detailing the basic physiology while integrating the current research in cohesive fashion. These chapters offer clarity of writing and strength of content that is lacking in other chapters. The role of psychology in sports medicine is discussed in a chapter entitled "Intrinsic Motivation in Sport," which presents theories about how athletes train based on their reactions to numerous factors, including coaching techniques, patterns of reinforcement, and competition. It also discusses how these factors may differ between male and female athletes. This book contains two frustrating chapters. The first concerns psychophysiology and includes 30 pages of confusing terminology that had me counting the number of times "psychophysiology" was used in each paragraph. The second chapter, which deals with professional sports and the community, is notable only for its ambiguity and poor sociologic analysis. In summary, this exhaustive review offers a few strong, well-referenced chapters on sports physiology, pharmacology, and behavior for the sports medicine enthusiast. For one seeking a comprehensive understanding of recent sports medicine, however, the book as a whole is/disappointing. After finishing my workout, I certainly didn't feel like Arnold Schwarzenegger.