SECOND WIND
We are referring to the sense of mastery that occurs
after a period of exertion at a sustainable level following an initial period
of self doubt. The fact that the second
wind is more than a sensation, but is accompanied by biochemical and physiological
markers has been discovered within my lifetime. First, let me remind you that anaerobic exercise, for example an
all out sprint of 400 meters, is not sustainable and results in prompt
exhaustion. A sprint can very nearly be
accomplished while holding one’s breath.
Aerobic exercise is at a sustainable level with the metabolic demands
met by breathing and burning food. The
ability to sprint depends on stored chemical energy (phosphocreatine and
adenosine triphosphate). Recovery after
such a sprint depends on aerobic metabolism restoring the expended chemical
energy and is accompanied by continued increased breathing and burning of food
(mostly muscle glycogen).
A maximum anaerobic effort results in an oxygen debt
of almost 30 Liters - This much extra oxygen is extracted from the air breathed
during recovery. The sensation of
second wind occurs during steady exertion with a constant oxygen debt and a
steady but elevated body temperature.
These are the biochemical and physiological markers of second wind. During such steady exertion, an increase in
the level of exercise results in a new period of discomfort until a new and
higher oxygen debt and body temperature is established provided that the
maximum possible oxygen debt is not exceeded.
At that point, a new sensation of second wind occurs. The highest level of sustainable activity
results in a body temperature of about 104°F. This is a new setting of our bodies’
thermostats and does not always result in a sense of being overheated until the
exertion ceases, resulting in an outpouring of perspiration. To mitigate this, a period of walking before
sitting down is helpful, or alternatively undressing immediately and showering
largely prevents sweating up one’s clothes.
In the first 6 months of 1967, my minimum work-out while training to
climb Mt. McKinley was a two mile run in 12 minutes. I discovered that I could do it in normal clothes without messing
them up by using the above method.
Knowledge of this newly discovered physiology doubtless contributed to
my discovery.
Most of the moment to moment control of breathing
depends on carbon dioxide accumulating in the blood from aerobic
metabolism. Carbon dioxide is an acid
substance and its relative absence renders the blood akaline. But there are some remarkable mechanisms
that anticipate future need to increase respiration. First, anxiety increases breathing, in anticipation of fighting
or fleeing. In the absence of a jungle
with standardized requirements of fighting or running, the over breathing may
produce dizziness and numbness. In the
case of over breathing from blowing up too many balloons, the cause of the
symptoms is obvious. In the case of
anxiety, if there is any sensation about breathing, it is likely to be a sense
of not getting enough air.
Incidentally, in the case of asthma, the sense of anxiety produces
hyperventilation (over breathing) unless the asthma is too severe to permit
over-breathing in spite of maximum effort.
A second anticipation of future breathing requirement
occurs during adjustment to high altitude.
The reduced oxygen content of inspired air tweaks the normal mechanism
slightly and results in a more rapid loss of carbon dioxide, an acid substance
as mentioned before. The kidneys
restore acid base balance in hours or days by excreting alkali, resulting in
more increase in breathing for a given carbon dioxide production. This is why training at altitude detracts
from performance at sea level. A given
exertion requires previously unnecessary increases in breathing with peak
performance blunted by intolerable sense of shortness of breath at a lower
level of exertion. I experienced this
on returning to Monroe the 3rd day after 20,000 feet. I swam a few laps as I had done during
training and was much more short of breath in spite of the greatly improved
general fitness after 3 weeks of near maximum effort. But the changed respiratory sensitivity blunted performance
anyway.
Finally, forceful stretching of major tendons
stimulates increased respiration immediately in anticipation of the metabolic
demands of the muscle producing the tendon stretching. This is also much more obvious at altitude
because of the more sensitized respiratory center in the brain. At altitude, taking a big step up with a
heavy pack required 4 or 5 deep breaths before further exertion was possible.
All of the above illustrates how finely tuned our
bodies are to the requirements of survival under primitive conditions.
John A. Frantz
Chairman, Monroe Board of Health
May21, 2001
A Thought about Super-bowl Sunday
We have instincts that had survival value for our
pre-human ancestors, but now should be blunted or even subverted. A primal instinct that should only be
blunted can lead to AIDS and other diseases.
Bill Clinton fired a Surgeon General
for making a valid “blunting” suggestion too explicit.
The
instinct for territorial warfare has no survival value in our time. Weapons of mass destruction have seen to
that. Team sports sublimate this
instinct. The enthusiasm for team
sports is evolving into the military equivalent for the suggestion that cost
Jocelyn Elders her job.
Please be tolerant of those among us who seem to overemphasize Super-bowl. They are either the wave of the future or emerging among us from the past—maybe they are both.
The
creation and nurture of the MBA (Master of Business Administration)
I am an alumni magazine junkie. I think it is because they deal forthrightly with current issues
without having to worry too much about subscribers canceling. Recently in one of my stable of such
magazines I read about a new dean of
that school’s graduate school of business. I especially liked his emphasizing community responsibility.
Three or four years ago I wrote a health column about mad
cow disease entitled The Biology of Cannibalism. I didn’t include the following irreverent
thought in my column. “No
self-respecting farmer would have thought of making involuntary cannibals out
of his cattle; some British MBA
probably thought it up”.
Was Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at any Speed another
result of business interests interfering with technical decisions? If so, we could have been spared some
current hassles more important than a deficit of constant velocity joints in the
Corvair’s rear suspension. I bet the
MBAs at GM were not steeped in community responsibility. It is encouraging that the trend in industry
is to send some of their technical people for graduate work in business.
If any of my readers think of some further examples of
MBAs run amuck, please tell me about it:
john.frantz@monroeclinic.org July 9, 2004
Addendum, September 26, 2005: Another encouraging trend, On Wisconsin, the
University of Wisconsin alumni journal for Fall 2005, describes a new course in
the School of Business called Social Entrepreneurship. The course is about capitalism creating
social value—money is merely a means to make a difference, wealth may even be
an incidental result. A result of this
course is Green Leaf Market, which
doesn’t buy, sell, or ship farm produce—it merely connects the people who do,
permitting local restaurants, and groceries to provide produce from nearby
farms, previously so difficult that
most such produce was shipped from far away.
The Market makes its money from transaction fees or subscription fees,
compare with E-Bay. Watch for such
produce in Madison grocery stores next summer.
Could we get something similar going in Monroe? I’m sure there would still be a place for
the farmer’s market.
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