The Physiology of Aerobic Capacity in Women

This book questions the dominating concept of the limitation of exercise capacity in women by discussing female physiology from the perspective of respiratory, circulatory, skeletal, body composition, and training adaptations perspectives, based on first-hand research experience.

Prof. Montero is jointly appointed by the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, and the School of Public Health at Hong Kong University. Following a PhD project funded by the French Society of Vascular Medicine, he received postdoctoral training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Maastricht (Netherlands), the Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology and the Department of Cardiology of the University Hospital of Zurich (Switzerland). Prof. Montero welcomes challenging questions, specifically those with the potential to arise the necessary intrinsic motivation to be enthusiastically immersed in them. Current research questions converge upon key mechanisms underpinning the cardiovascular capacity to deliver oxygen to the tissues, one of the strongest performance (endurance) and clinical (all-cause mortality) predictors. Embracing integrative approaches, his laboratory focuses on the controlled manipulation and accurate acquisition of the interplay between cardiovascular, hematological, nervous and metabolic systems during physiologically relevant conditions. Exercise is implemented as means to magnify and thereby facilitate the understanding of key intertwined mechanisms of the human body in health and disease.

Preface 1. Respiratory System 2. Circulatory System 3. Blood 4. Skeletal Muscle 5. Fuel Utilization and Body Composition 6. Training Adaptations Epilogue