In general, yes. A person is usually going to need more oxygen when exercising than when at rest.
Why is that?
Our muscles use oxygen. The way our muscles work, and the way they contract, is by taking oxygen out of the bloodstream. That oxygen gets inside the muscle cells and into tiny structures inside the cells called mitochondria.
You may remember this from middle school or high school science: mitochondria are often called the powerhouses of the cell.
The oxygen gets inside the powerhouse of the cell, and the powerhouse generates fuel. That fuel is called ATP. ATP is like gasoline for the muscle. But in order to make that gasoline, you need oxygen.
So when we are walking, climbing, walking on level ground, walking up an incline, or even walking from one room to another in the house, our muscles are taking oxygen out of the bloodstream. The oxygen helps make ATP, and that allows the muscle to contract and do the work.
The more vigorous the work, the more oxygen those muscles take out of the bloodstream.
And our muscles do not care about our lungs. Our muscles do not care about our hearts. They only know, “I need oxygen, and I am taking it.”
So they will continue taking oxygen out of the bloodstream to do the work you are asking them to do.
Providing supplemental oxygen helps keep that “gasoline” going to the muscles much better than if the oxygen supply is low.
Question: Could you please explain how to increase oxygen while exercising?
What you do is increase the oxygen flow or setting as directed by your healthcare team.
If you are using a portable oxygen concentrator and you are already on a setting of 6, but your oxygen saturation is still 84%, then that portable concentrator is probably not meeting your oxygen needs during exercise.
In that case, you may need continuous-flow oxygen in some form to meet the demands your muscles require during exercise.
To see the full meeting replay, check out our current Meeting Replays here. This meeting short is from the March 2026 meeting “Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Staying Active with PF.”
This video is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor for medical concerns. No personal recording or redistribution without PF Warriors written permission.