Exhaustive exercise increased the magnitude of homeostatic disruption
in a number of blood chemistry parameters (Tables 1 and 2).Whole
blood pH was significantly more depressed in animals subjected to exhaustive
exercisewhen, compared to those that were not (Fig. 3a). This
acidosis was accompanied by significantly elevated levels of carbon
dioxide (Fig. 3b), lactate (Fig. 3c), and significantly depressed levels
of bicarbonate (Fig. 3d) in exercised animals. Exhaustive exercise did
not affect the hyperglycemic response (Fig. 3e), nor did it have any
significant effect on any blood plasma constituents (Fig. 4a–f).