Comprehensive Objectives for Students in Clinical Exercise Physiology/Exercise Physiology
Comprehensive Objectives for both Clinical Exercise Physiology and Exercise Physiology













The student should demonstrate an understanding of energy transfer and expenditure at
rest and during exercise.
The student should demonstrate an understanding of optimal nutrition for exercise and
weight control.
The student should demonstrate an understanding of endocrine function with exercise
training and how hormones affect fuel utilization and play a role in weight control
The student should demonstrate an understanding of body composition assessment and
principles of weight control
The student should thoroughly understand the anatomy and physiology of the heart,
particularly the electrical conduction system of the heart, circulation pathway, the
coronary circulation, and the constituents/properties of blood.
The student should understand the basic flow volume-pressure relationship as it pertains
to heart function and determination of stoke volume and cardiac output.
The student should understand basic hemodynamic principles including Poiseuille’s Law,
and Law of Laplace.
The student should have an understanding of the neural control mechanisms (afferent and
efferent) that regulate heart rate and its influence on cardiac output at rest and during
exercise.
The student should understand the neural and metabolic control mechanisms that regulate
peripheral blood flow in response to exercise. This should include blood flow regulation
to regions other than active skeletal muscle (e.g. cerebral, skin, coronary circulation).
The student should have a thorough understanding of the structure and function of the
lung, chest well, and respiratory muscles.
The student should understand the mechanics of ventilation, diffusion and perfusion, and
how these factors are regulated during exercise.
The student should know normal values for oxygen and carbon dioxide in blood, and how
these gases are transported in blood.
The student should have a thorough understanding of the neural control of ventilation
(afferent and efferent) at rest and during exercise.
Additional Comprehensive Objectives for Clinical Exercise Physiology only



The student should be familiar with all methods and procedures of diagnostic exercise
testing including, but not limited to, screening evaluation forms, contraindications to
exercise, procedures during exercise testing, indications to stop exercise testing, post-test
procedures and emergency care.
The student should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the effects of prescribed
medications on the exercise response for persons with coronary artery disease risk factors
and for patients with established cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, or orthopedic
disorders.
The student should demonstrate an understanding of exercise training guidelines for
special populations including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, heart transplant,
stroke, peripheral artery disease, pulmonary disorders, and metabolic disorders. The
student should be able to describe EKG changes which are associated with myocardial





ischemia, injury, and infarction and be able to differentiate between Q-wave and nonQwave infarction.
The student should be able to identify EKG changes with correspond to myocardial
ischemia in various regions of the heart (inferior, posterior, anteroseptal, anterior,
anterolateral, lateral).
The student should be able to identify EKG patterns associated with the following
abnormalities:
o Bundle branch blocks
o Atrioventricular blocks
o Sinus bradycardia and tachycardia
o Sinus arrest
o Supraventricular premature depolarizations and tachycardia
o Ventricular premature depolarizations (including frequency, form, couplets,
salvos, tachycardia)
o Atrial fibrillation
o Ventricular fibrillation
The student should be able to identify resting EKG changes associated with diseases
other than coronary artery disease such as hypertensive heart disease, cardiac chamber
enlargement, pericarditis, pulmonary disease, and metabolic disorders.
The student should be able to identify EKG changes which typically occur due to
electrolyte abnormalities (hyper- and hypo-kalemia and -calcemia) and drug therapy
(Digitalis, Quindine).
The student should be able to list emergency drugs that should be available during
exercise testing and how they may affect the EKG, heart rate, or blood pressure at rest or
during exercise (refer to ACLS guidelines). Also, describe appropriate emergency
procedures and required certified or licensed personnel.
Additional Comprehensive Objectives for Exercise Physiology only








The student should understand the neuromuscular control of movement, from motor unit
recruitment and excitation-contraction coupling, to the sliding filament theory and
myosin-actin power stroke cycle.
The student should understand the mechanisms for converting the energy in foodstuffs
(carbohydrate, fat, protein) to ATP in the body through specific metabolic pathways.
The student should also understand the contributions of the various pathways to ATP
production during exercise according to intensity and duration.
The student should understand the neural and skeletal muscle adaptations that lead to
increased strength with resistance training, and the time course for specific adaptations.
The student should be able to describe, in detail, methods used to measure
cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle efficiency during exercise, skeletal muscle activity and
fatigue, pulmonary function, and physical function tests.
The student should be able to design a research protocol using common exercise
physiology techniques.
The student should be able to interpret and apply basic statistics to determine differences
between groups and relationships between variables.
The student should understand principles for designing resistance training programs for
healthy and diseased populations, and understand techniques for emphasizing strength,
hypertrophy, power, and muscular endurance.