● ​HOW DOES TRAINING AFFECT PERFORMANCE​ ●
ENERGY SYSTEMS
● ATP​ provides the energy in one’s body (produced by all energy systems in different ways)
○ Adenosine ​Tri​ (three—A-P-P-P) ​Phosphate
● Last phosphate atom breaks from really great bond, chemical reaction provides energy to work harder
● Body requires continuous supply of energy to:
○ Meet needs of its systems, organs
⚬ Power muscular contraction for movement
● Chemical Energy​—Food transformed into energy (measured in Kilojoules)
● Mechanical Energy​—Energy systems, how is energy being used
● Carbohydrates supply least amount of energy—body uses it first as it is easier to break down
● Foods with relatively high levels of fat yield large number of kilojoules, subsequently, lot more energy—those
unused get stored (fat in body)
● Eat food—Stomach acids (digestion) break down food into ​sugars​, ​amino acids​, ​fatty acids​—available as
usable form of energy (go into blood), turn into/produce ATP
● ATP enables muscular contraction, essential body contractions (digestion, blood circulation, tissue building)
● Adenosine (large molecule), phosphate (three smaller molecules), held together by high energy bonds
● Break off of (last) phosphate atom that releases energy (from bonds between phosphate)
○ Also releases heat
● Now has two phosphates—​Adenosine diphosphate​ (ADP), powerless to provide energy
○ Second phosphate atom never breaks off, only third one can
● ADP can regenerate very quickly (​resynthesise​)
○ Process of restoring ATP to former self (ADP becomes ATP)
● Needs to be continually rebuilt (ATP), since that is how body gets energy
● Body would struggle to carry all ATP needed to supply energy for a day
● Oxygen breaks down ATP causing reaction to occur
● ATP energy is short burst (lasts two to three seconds)
● Three systems (energy) that make ATP available:
○ Alactacid​ system (commonly called ​ATP/PC​ system), gets energy first
○ Lactic acid​ system (glycolytic system), second
○ Aerobic​ system (oxygen system), third
■ First two provide energy without oxygen (break ATP without it)—Anaerobic systems, do not
require oxygen for resynthesis of ATP
● Called energy pathways as they supply ATP but in different ways
● Energy systems work together, rely on each other
● Predominant system for every sport:
○ ATP/PC—Shot put, 100m sprint, tennis serve, volleyball spike
○ Lactic Acid—200-400m run, 50m swim, netball centre in close game
○ Aerobic—Soccer, triathlon, marathon, water polo game
—ALACTACID SYSTEM (ATP/PC)
● Residual supplies of ATP in body are very limited
● Enough for one explosive muscular contraction, then it is all used
● Explosive movement causes ATP to ‘split’ (third phosphate atom comes off, energy bonds release energy)
● Further muscular work relies on ​creatine phosphate​ (CP), another chemical in body (about 15 seconds worth)
○ Phosphate from CP attaches itself to ADP to form ATP—breaks off again to use energy
● CP is an energy-rich compound, serves as alternative energy source for muscular contraction
● It becomes available to help in the process of resynthesis—reforming ATP which has been partly destroyed
● Bond between creatine and phosphate breaks down, releasing energy
○ Energy released drives free phosphate back to join ATP—split of ATP once again
● Problem is CP supplies are exhausted within 10-12 seconds, take two minutes to be restored
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Source of Fuel​—Have about 90 grams (around weight of large egg) of ATP in the body—sufficient to power
muscles required in one explosive movement (jump, start, throw)
Equates to one to two seconds of hard work
Following that, rely on 120 grams of reserve fuel (CP) stored in cells
○ Creatine phosphate is fuel of ATP/PC system
Efficiency of ATP Production​—Alactacid system functions to make ATP readily available
Occurs whether or not oxygen is available
Rapid supply is enabled primarily by a concentration of CP within muscle cells, approximately five times
greater than ATP
Supply of ATP is very limited if demand is high due to sustained, maximal or near maximal work
○ But the system is able to recover quickly
Importance of this system to short, explosive movements in activities (weight-lifting, discus throwing, starts in
athletics) is paramount
Duration of System​—ATP supplies are exhausted after two seconds of hard work, CP supplies are exhausted
in further 10 to 15 seconds
At rest, CP supplies are almost fully restored within two minutes
Cause of Fatigue​—At maximal/near maximal effort, fatigue is caused by inability of system to continually
resynthesise ADP from CP as CP supplies are quickly exhausted
○ Why one is unable to run at maximal effort for distances longer than 100 metres
Particularly evident in all-out sprint over 150 metres, where winner will not be athlete that accelerates most
to finish, but the one who slows down the least in final metres of race
By-Products of Energy Production​—Where there are no fatiguing by-products of this system, heat is produced
during process of muscular contraction
Rate of Recovery​—ATP/PC systems recovers quickly from exercise
Within two minutes, most of ATP, CP supplies have been fully restored, with 50% of CP replenishment
occuring in first 30 seconds of rest recovery
This is why high jumpers, weight lifters, discus throwers can ‘back up’ almost immediately after their first,
second attempts
—LACTIC ACID SYSTEM
● Following 10-12 seconds of maximal exercise, CP supplies are exhausted
● ATP still needs to be produced to provide energy, assuming activity requires effort for longer than this
● Sufficient oxygen is not available even though breathing rate has increased due to effort
○ Takes some time for blood to move from lungs around body, then to working muscles where oxygen
is in high demand
● Body needs to find different fuel source as CP supplies are at low level—uses immediate sugar supplies
circulating in blood (blood sugar (glucose)), as well as sugar storage supplies in muscle, liver
● Glucose circulates freely in bloodstream, its level constantly regulated by pancreas
● When too much is accumulated, body stores excess in liver and muscle—stored glucose is called ​glycogen
○ Storage form of glucose, used for fuel when blood glucose levels decline
● Process of using glycogen/glucose as fuel is called ​glycolysis
● Glycogen is much more abundant than CP, can be used whether oxygen is available or not
● In lactic acid system, oxygen is still not available as it take a couple of minutes for blood to transport oxygen
from lungs to working muscles
● This system is ​anaerobic​ (reaction occurs without oxygen), as glycogen is the only fuel, degradation process is
called ​anaerobic glycolysis​ (process where glucose is broken down in absence of oxygen to produce energy)
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As sufficient oxygen is not available during intense exercise, lactic acid levels rise, continue to rise as intensity
increases
Lactic acid is produced as insufficient oxygen results in partial breakdown of glucose, providing quick but
limited ATP production, as well as by-product, lactic acid
Sources of Fuels​—Only fuel that can be used by lactic acid system is carbohydrate—exists in two forms:
○ Glucose in blood
⚬ In storage form called glycogen
Glycogen is broken down, producing ATP, energy for muscular contraction
Efficiency of ATP Production​—Provides ATP quickly, requires large quantities of glucose
○ Rapidly available (ATP) but at considerable cost
Duration of System​—Depends on intensity of activity
Near maximal effort—Exhaustion in 30 seconds, effort of 70-80%—not cause exhaustion for three to four
minutes, much longer for moderate intensity activity
Lactic acid system produces energy for high intensity activities lasting from ten seconds to one minute, more
depending on effort involved
Dominant system for all maximal activity performed between 30 seconds and two minutes
Cause of Fatigue​—Occurs when lactic acid levels build up within muscle cells
Not caused directly by lactic acid, rather by rate of removal—varies from one person to another
Lactic acid is produced whenever the body uses carbohydrate as fuel (without oxygen)
○ Speed of production depends on exercise intensity—Faster work, more rapidly it accumulates
Excessively high levels prevent muscle fibres from contracting, result in rapid deterioration in performance
High levels cause fatigue, tolerable levels can enhance performance—lactate is a fuel source
Lactic acid tolerance improves with training, as do removal rates
○ Even though production rates may be high during intense exercise, high removal rates may ensure
performance isn’t affected
Hydrogen ion is acid part of lactic acid, impairs performance
Lactate ion is fast fuel, actually preferred by muscle, even over glucose, because of early removal from blood
Cause of fatigue in this system is predominantly accumulation of lactic acid in quantities faster than it can be
removed
Other factors (demanding nature of muscular effort) also need to be considered
Proper training positively affects rate of removal of lactic acid from body
Ability to use lactate as fuel source varies from one athlete to another because of trained characteristics of
muscle fibres, red muscle fibres (particularly in case of endurance athletes)
Rate of Recovery​—During post-exercise period, lactic acid diffuses from muscle, into blood stream where its
use as by-product is important
In liver, lactic acid reconverts to glycogen, can once again be used as fuel source
○ Process takes about 30 minutes to one hour
Further contributes to body’s efficiency by resynthesising waste for use at later stage
—AEROBIC SYSTEM
● Takes a couple of minutes for extra oxygen to circulate around boof—uses anaerobic systems first
○ Gradually becomes available as oxygen-rich blood fills muscle cells
● Allows third energy pathway (aerobic pathway/oxidative system) to become predominant supplier of ATP
● Aerobic metabolism​—Process of fuel degradation, glucose, fat, sometimes protein, are broken down in
presence of oxygen to produce ATP
● Lactic acid does not accumulate as oxygen is present (in contrast to anaerobic glycolysis)
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Source of Fuel​—Can use glycogen (carbs), fats, proteins (lactic acid system only uses glycogen)
Preferred fuel is glycogen, then fat then protein
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○ Protein breaks down muscles—seen in third world countries (enough energy to live)
During early stages of work, carbohydrate (glycogen) is preferred fuel
If exercise continues beyond hour or so, fat becomes increasingly important as fuel, reigns as dominant
energy source if glycogen supplies become exhausted
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Efficiency of ATP Production​—Extremely efficient in metabolism of fuel, provision of energy
Uses less glycogne than lactic acid system—sustained work for long periods of time
○ Enables production of much more energy from glycogen
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Duration of System​—Total amount of glycogen in body is approximately 350 grams
○ Sufficient for 12 hours at rest, one hour of hard work
Intermediate exercise (football, netball)—Glycogen supplies last approximately four to six hours
Marathon runners—Supplies could be exhausted in about two hours
Glycogen sparing​—In well-trained athletes, body mixes carbohydrate, fat in endurance events
○ Results in some fat fuel being used earlier so glycogen can be available at later stage (sprint finish)
These fuels used jointly, yet sparingly, ensure body can operate using system for long periods of time
Predominant system for use during extended endurance activities (marathons), low demand activities
(walking, sitting, reading)
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Cause of Fatigue​—Sore muscles, mentally fatigued, when body runs of glycogen it gets tired
○ Takes more oxygen, effort to break down fat, protein
Hitting the wall​—Marathon/distance athletes stop using glycogen, start using fat to get ATP
○ Needs more oxygen to break down fat than glycogen
Too high of heart, breathing rate—fatigue
Continually getting body to adapt to using fat, process of hitting the wall—less fatigue when this happens
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By-Products of Energy Production​—Carbon dioxide, water
Water is used by cells, carbohydrate is breathed out
○ Not harmful to performance
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Rate of Recovery​—Depends on how long the system is used
Short time period (hour) system recovers quickly as glycogen stores have not been depleted
For hours (four) glycogen storage areas could be well exhausted—may take days to replenish glycogen
reserves, muscle fibres
○ Eat food to restore this
TYPES OF TRAINING AND TRAINING METHODS
● Type of training, methods used depends on type of movements, skill requirements, specific demands of
activity in question
● Four types—Aerobic, anaerobic interval, flexibility, strength
—AEROBIC (CONTINUOUS, FARTLEK, AEROBIC INTERVAL, CIRCUIT)
● Use aerobic system as main source of energy supply
● Continuous​—Sustained effort, effort without rest intervals
● Needs to persist for not less than 20 minutes
● Heart rate must rise above aerobic threshold, remain within target zone for duration of session
● Jogging, cycling, aerobics, swimming, running
● Without it, can cause fatigue quicker for players (AFL, soccer)
● Two types:
○ Long, slow distance training—
​ Standard for those who need to improve general condition, subjects
work at between 60, 80% of MHR, focus on distance rather than speed
■ Soccer
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High intensity work of moderate duration—
​ Very demanding, athlete works at 80 to 90% of MHR, only
well-conditioned athletes use this, intervals are required, high intensity training requires work
at/near competition pace, essential for developing leg speed
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Fartlek​—Speed play
Vary speed, terrain on which they are working, ultimately engaging aerobic, anaerobic energy systems
Resembles combination of interval, continuous training due to random use of variations in speed, intensity
Using this type of training, amount of effort is not predetermined as percentage of heart rate, rather by ‘feel’
according to how body is responding
Short, sharp surges dictate anaerobic energy supply (ATP/PC), development of this system
Good for most athletes, particularly beneficial for game players frequently asked to sprint, stop, jog, change
direction, accelerate as part of activity
○ Netball, basketball, football, rugby, soccer
Some ways of incorporating speed play into continuous training are:
○ Regular bursts of speed every two/three minutes
⚬ Running up, down sand hills
○ Cross-country running, covering variety of terrain types ⚬ Group running with changing leadership
Beneficial for pre-season training, in preparation for activities where there is frequent changes between
predominant energy systems
Aerobic Interval​—Involves alternating sessions of work, recovery (periods of rest)
Athlete performs given amount of work (400m run), in particular time/specific level of intensity
Followed by recovery period before task is repeated number of times in same manner
○ 100m run, ten second rest (not full recovery, place aerobic system under stress, adaptation, more
efficient), repeat
Rest period is important in differentiating aerobic interval from anaerobic interval training
Rest period is very short (20 seconds) between exercise bouts
○ Does not allow enough time for full recovery, thus maintains stress on aerobic system
Effectively develops aerobic endurance because:
○ Sustained effort of moderate intensity ensures aerobic system is stressed, not completely fatigued
○ Intensity level can be adjusted to achieve desired level of aerobic capacity
Overload principle can be easily applied to interval training by manipulating following four variables:
○ Work intensity (how difficult exercise is to perform)
⚬ Number of repetitions
○ Work time (how long exercise lasts)
⚬ Work-rest ratio
Circuit​一Develops aerobic capacity, improves strength, endurance, flexibility, skill, coordination
Generally preferred in pre-season to develop solid fitness platform
Participants move from one activity to next after completing required repetitions/specified time for that
exercise
Usually aim to complete in shortest period with decreasing times—improves fitness levels
Effectiveness depends on how well overload principle is applied, achieved by:
○ Increasing number of stations
⚬ Increasing time at each station
○ Increasing repetitions at each station ⚬ Decreasing time allowed for circuit
○ Increasing repetitions of circuit
○ Determining repetitions at each station based on individual’s target zone (fitter athletes will do more
repetitions at each station than less fit athletes)
Greater benefits will be achieved when:
○ Overload principle is applied
○ Skills at each station concentrate on attributes needed for particular game/activity
○ All fitness components essential to particular sport/activity are developed
○ Record cards are kept to monitor improvement to keep athletes aware of their progress
—ANAEROBIC (ANAEROBIC INTERVAL)
● Uses high intensity work coupled with limited recovering to develop anaerobic systems
● Lasts less than two minutes
● Activity is brief, effort is maximal
○ Followed by short rest periods that do not allow full recovery of systems that supply energy
● Seeks to enhance systems that supply energy under periods of intense activity while developing greater
tolerance for lactic acid created
● Three types of anaerobic training:
○ Short Anaerobic Training​一Lasts less than 25 seconds, develops ATP/PC systems of energy supply
○ Medium Anaerobic Training​一Lasts from 25 seconds to one minute, develops lactic acid system for
energy supply
○ Long anaerobic Training​一Lasts one to two minutes, develops lactic acid/aerobic systems
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Anaerobic Interval​一Sprint training over short distances using maximal effort
Most training is directed towards speed development
○ Might be required in 100 metre sprinting, short bursts in games (touch football)
To develop speed while focusing on technique, rest period needs to be slightly extended to allow lactate to
disperse
○ Lactate build up inhibits development of quality with sprinting action
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)​一Involves repeated bouts of high intensity exercise followed by varying
periods of complete rest or recovery at lower intensity
○ Sprint, jog back, sprint, jog back
Work periods may be as short as five seconds, performed at 80-95% of MHR—high intensity
Recovery rate is double what exercise rate was—Harder work, longer recovery period
Near maximal intensity is necessity—Push body to its limits during every exercise set
Intensity during recovery period should drop to around 40-50% MHR with sessions lasting anywhere from 20
minutes to an hour
ATP/PC, lactic acid system adaptation, improvement, get ATP to resynthesise quicker, lactic acid out quicker
—FLEXIBILITY (STATIC, BALLISTIC, PNF, DYNAMIC)
● Flexibility​一Range of motion around the joint
● Muscles require not only strength but also length—Extend, lengthen muscle during this type of training
● Benefits include:
○ Prevention of injury
○ Improved coordination between muscle groups—Move those muscles better
○ Muscular relaxation—Can relax better, extend then relax
○ Decreasing soreness, tightness following exercise
○ Increased range of movement around joints, maximising performance potential—Do skill/
performance better
● Sports that cause muscle tightness, shortening include: Football, basketball, netball, hockey
○ Do not undergo full range of movement—Fibres stretching more than normal, may not tear, gets sore
● During warmup and cooldown, promote stretching—Promote flexibility that assists activities
● Affected by number of factors including:
○ Age—Muscles shorten, tighten as one grows older (stretch all the time to maintain flexibility)
○ Sex—Genereally females are more flexible than males
○ Temperature—Increased atmospheric, body temperature improve flexibility
■ Warm up to increase temperature of muscles, increase flexibility, get more blood to muscles
at work because they need more energy
○ Exercise—People frequently involved in exercise tend to be more flexible than more sedentary
people
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Specificity—Flexibility is joint specific, fact that one is flexible in shoulders does not automatically
mean similar flexibility exists in hips
■ Need to work on each joint, muscles attached to those joints
Four common types of stretching methods include:
○ Static
⚬ Ballistic
⚬ PNF (Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation)
⚬ Dynamic
Static Stretching​—Muscle is slowly stretched to position (end point/limit) held for about 30 seconds
Movement is smooth, performed slowly, taking muscle to point where there is stretch without discomfort
○ Don’t want it hurting too much as it is stretching to its limit—don’t want to tear it
Safe, used in rehabilitation of injury, warmup, cooldown
Sitting down with legs extended, gently reaching forward, holding position for 30 seconds
○ Going quickly into a stretch gets those fibres very quickly and they can tear
Ballistic Stretching​—Repeated movements (swinging, bouncing) to gain extra stretch
Only should be done by elite athletes—Would rip muscle otherwise
Even then, should follow thorough warm up, another form of stretching
○ Already very flexible, trying to gain little bit more flexibility
Going beyond the normal way of stretching to gain that extra stretch
If shortened then stretched longer can increase flexibility, lengthen very quickly
Activates mechanism in muscle called ​stretch reflex​, causing muscle to contract
Force, momentum of movement can be potentially harmful as contracted muscle is then stretched well
beyond its preferred length
Movements must be executed rhythmically, to avoid jerky actions, too much momentum at end point of
stretch—touching toes, bouncing
PNF Stretching​—Lengthening muscle against resistance (usually provided by partner)
Incorporates static stretching, strength development using isometric contractions, periods of relaxation in
progressive sequence
Gets strength into fibres
○ Static stretch, then push against resistance (immovable force getting more resistance, strength
development through muscle)
Steps include:
○ Muscle group to be stretched is determined
⚬ Muscle group is stretched using static contraction
○ While in stretched position, person isometrically contracts muscle (pushes against immovable object,
holds position for ten seconds)
○ Participant relaxes in lengthened position for five seconds
○ Further static stretch is applied followed by isometric contraction
Useful in rehabilitation programs—Stretching new tissue, old muscle fibres, putting strength through it by
immovable resistance
Recommended as integral part of warm up, cool down phases
○ Provides added stretch under safe conditions
Dynamic Stretching​—Uses movement speed together with momentum to gradually warm up muscle fibres,
extend them through degree of stretch required in game
○ Getting more blood flow into the area
⚬ Leg swings (soccer), arms circling (bowlers)
Tightness—Fibres aren’t warm and muscle can’t stretch far enough
Popular for warmups, pre-training routines as it attempts to imitate many movements experienced in game
Bouncing movements, common in ballistic training, are avoided
Actions attempt to reduce muscle tightness rather than lengthen muscle fibres
Not as safe as static, PNF stretching—Tension exerted by specific movements on muscles, across joints
Many prefer to use it just prior to game because its movements simulate those required in game
—STRENGTH TRAINING (FREE/FIXED WEIGHTS, ELASTIC, HYDRAULIC)
● Muscular contraction is resisted by calculated loads, thereby building strength of muscle, muscular
contraction against resistance
○ Lengthen muscle fibres, contract muscle fibres against resistance—Puts resistance into muscle fibres,
increasing strength
● Stimulus in form of resistance causes muscular ​hypertrophy​ as more fibres are engaged to aid movement
○ Build up of strength, muscle becomes stronger
● Ways of creating resistance (opposing force, lifting, pushing) include:
○ Free weights—Dumbbells
○ Fixed-weight machines—Pec deck, pulling weights up, down
○ Elastic; hydraulic forces—Bands, different colours mean different resistance; machines where no
matter where one sits during exercise, there is same resistance throughout whole training
● Strength training programs can be used for many purposes including:
○ Building strength
⚬ Developing power—Amount of force one can get
○ Developing muscular endurance—How long muscles can keep working for
○ Injury rehabilitation—Put resistance through new muscle fibres, scar tissue to increase strength
○ Body building
⚬ General health benefits—Heart (muscle)
● Not just good for sports where weight needs to be lifted, also good for sport where one has to resist force
(rugby league, running into players, tackling)—Stronger the better
● Strength programs can be divided into two categories:
○ Isotonic Programs​—Participants raise/lower or pull/push free weights to contract/lengthen muscle
fibres, shortening, lengthening of muscle fibres (bicep curls)
■ Nearly all strength training is isotonic
○ Isometric Programs​—Participants develop strength by applying resistance (pushing against something
not moving), using exercises in which muscle length does not change
■ Good for rehabilitation to strengthen muscle fibres, new tissues, fibres, scar tissue
● Common terms used for strength training:
○ Repetitions​—Number of times exercise is repeated without rest
○ Repetitions Maximum (RM)​—Maximum weight one can lift a number of times
■ 1 RM is maximum weight lifted only once; 8 RM is maximum weight lifted eight times—
actual weight/mass lifted during RM varies between individuals
○ Set​—Number of repetitions done in a succession (one set equals 10 repetitions, three sets is 30 reps)
○ Resistance​—Weight/load
⚬ ​Rest​—Time period between exercises, sets, sessions
● Only muscle where resistance goes through will benefit
● Number of principles one needs to be aware of when considering type of strength, method used in its
development
○ Target specific muscle groups—Only those muscles that encounter resistance will benefit from work
○ Progressive Overload—Load (resistance) needs to progressively increase as adaptations take place
○ Volume—Lifting more by increasing number of days which one trains/amounts per session is of
benefit to a point (how many times one does it)
■ Care needs to be taken to avoid injury, overtraining, tearing
○ Variety—Using different methods (free weights/machine weights), changing muscle groups,
introducing new exercises, utilising circuit format adds interest, enhances motivation
○ Rest—Allow rest between sets, amount varies according to program aims (power, endurance), allow
muscle fibres to recover
○ Repetition Speed—To increase power, perform repetitions quickly, focusing on strength/bulk
necessitates
○ Repetition Numbers—Generally, absolute strength is developed by low repetitions (3-8), anaerobic
strength endurance by medium range repetitions (10-20), aerobic strength endurance by high range
repetitions (20-40/more)
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Recovery—Train every second day to allow muscles to recover, if training each day, target different
muscle groups to those of previous day
PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING ​(P
​ ​lease S​ t​ op R
​ e​ ading V
​ ​ery T​ i​ ny W
​ ​ords)
● Athletes train knowing that repetition of movements required in activities will improve performance
○ Practicing wrong technique—Practice does not make perfect
○ Perfect practice makes perfect
● Train energy systems
● Six principles underpin all of training, have as many of these in training program for someone to improve
whatever they are trying to work on—without this, effort is wasted
● Massive influence on performing particular sport, activity, etc.
● How do principles of training can be applied to both aerobic, resistance training
—PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD
● Overload Principle​—Implies that gains in fitness (adaptations) occur only when the training load is greater
than normal and is progressively increased as improvements in fitness occur
○ Increase the load as one gets better, putting whatever one is working on under stress again to let it
further adapt/improve
● Training produces certain physiological changes that allow the body to work at a higher level of intensity
○ Resting heart rate will lower—Work at higher intensity as one fatigues slower
○ Stroke volume improves—Pump more blood out in one beat, heart takes longer to fatigue as it gets
higher slower
● This higher level is achievable as a result of adaptations that have occured in response to training stress at the
lower level
○ As the body becomes familiar with a particular level of training stress, it adapts to it and further
training at this level fails to sufficiently stress the system
○ Those adaptations will not take place as the load or resistance is either too small or too big
● Larger load—Injury will occur, won’t be able to perform enough for adaptations
● Some examples of application of overload include:
○ Aerobic Training​—Application of the overload principle is reflected in the heart’s ability to pump
more blood to the working muscles and the ability of the working muscles to take up more of the
oxygen as it is delivered to the cells
○ Strength Training​—Application of the overload principle results in an increase in muscle hypertrophy
(usually directly related to an increase in strength) (RM—By ten, training should be difficult with right
technique, then rest)
● Most important principle in aerobic, strength and flexibility training programs—no overload, rate of
improvement decreases, performance plateaus
○ Aerobic—
​ Depends on type of aerobic training, using right technique, reducing risk of injury, increase
resistance by running for longer, quicker, hold weights (ankle) to overload body
○ Strength​—Increase repetitions, loads
○ Flexibility—
​ Stretch a little further each time, stop when feeling a little bit of pain (don’t keep the
same resistance), fastest gains made here
● Not all adaptations take place at the same rate
● Don’t make the load too big when increasing it—Once body has made adaptation, don’t double the load,
make smaller load, body can adapt quicker
○ Psychological—Setting goals
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Work load, progressive overload go up until one adapts, then increase workload again
○ Aerobic—How high one gets heart rate up (MHR)
○ Resistance—RPM (repetition maximum)
Number of session, changing terrain uphill, weights, increasing length of training session
—SPECIFICITY
● Specificity Principle​—Implies that the effects of a training program are specifically related to the manner in
which the program is conducted
○ Training group needs to be specific to what one is training for (no point hockey player training to kick
a football)
● Close relationship between activities selected for training and those used in games/events
● It focuses on what is being performed at training and its similarity to what is done in the game
● Greatest gains are made when activity in the training program resembles the movements in the game/activity
○ Body adapts to stresses in a very specific way (hamstring flexibility—stretch hamstrings, not biceps)
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Important when considering the development of energy systems, muscle groups and components of fitness
Metabolic Specificity​—Identifying the energy system or systems most appropriate to the activity and
developing these systems through related training procedures
Best way to identify predominant energy system—Assess level of intensity of activity, establish time over
which it extends
Short-term, explosive activity requires development of anaerobic systems, continuous, moderate, sustained
activity requires development of aerobic system
When applied to muscle groups, suggests those groups used for activity need to be the same as the groups
used during training—body ‘recruits’ type of muscle fibre best to do the task
○ Required to run 100 metres, white fibres (fast-twitch) required to do most of the work, if work
continues, red fibres (slow-twitch) increasingly take over this role
To ensure most desirable fibres for activity are developed, effort, duration of training activities need to
closely resemble those of game/activity
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Some examples of application of the specificity principle include:
○ Aerobic Training​—Athlete training for marathon must target aerobic system in training, most activity
ensures third energy pathway is used for 95% of the time or more
○ Strength Training​—If increased leg power is required to improve person’s ability to sprint, training
program must correctly address speed, number of repetitions, load, time between sets correctly
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Adaptations are specific to type, method of training
Training should occur to muscles used most in sport
Dictates movements in sport should be replicated in training, so adaptations can be transferred across
○ Includes speed of movement
—REVERSIBILITY
● Effects of training programs are reversible
● Detraining Effect​—Like body responds to training by improving level of fitness, lack of training causes
opposite to occur (lose gains, any benefits of training are lost if training stops)
● Reversibility process applies equally to aerobic, strength, flexibility training programs
● Gains made in aerobic fitness are gradually lost if training ceases
○ Ability of working muscles to use oxygen being delivered in blood is reduced when training stops
● Big gains made during training, greater losses will follow when training stops as there is more to lose
● One must be actively participating in training program to maintain training benefits
● Cardiorespiratory endurance—Can avoid reversing effects of training only by continuing regular training at
70% MHR, on at least three occasions per week (FITT)
○ Runners unable to continue normal training due to injury may substitute activities (swimming,
cycling)
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Training stop, adaptations made are lost
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Generally lost at similar rate at which they are gained
Kind of opposite of overload
Effects can be seen four-six weeks after training stops (aerobic)
Can be avoided by maintaining two sessions of training each week
Can be seen in two weeks (resistance)
—VARIETY
● Using the same drills, routines to develop fitness components in every training session is not productive, as
repetitions without creativity leads to boredom
○ Improve fitness, skills, tactics—Motivated by doing different activities that still provide those
adaptations
● Cardiovascular Endurance—
​ Running (continuous, fartlek), swimming, cycle, anything that gets heart rate up
● Important to continually strive to develop required attributes using different techniques to ensure athletes
are challenged not only by the activity, but also by initiative, implementation
○ Not necessary for footballer too pass, tackle, practice tactics each and every training session—One
day weights, next day running, next day skills (variety but still working at sport, not bored)
● General endurance, strength, power can be developed using a variety of techniques (swimming, plyometrics,
resistance programs) to supplement training experience
● Mental wellbeing is vital to maximise effort in physical training—Loss of motivation, not setting goals, boring
● Aerobic Training​ takes many forms—Can train system using a variety of activities (swimming, running, cycling,
circuit training)
● Strength Training​ uses variety of methods—Isometric, isotonic methods increase strength, do so using
different equipment (free weights, elastic bands, hydraulic devices)
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Multiple training types, methods, exercises beneath these methods
Needed to ensure complete, full development of fitness, not just for boredom
Using variety of fitness sessions to build up total fitness
—TRAINING THRESHOLDS
● Generally refer to specific point that, when passed, take person to a new level
● Point of training where adaptations start occuring—How hard one has to work for adaptations to start
occurring (measured by heart beats), work at certain level to get improvement
● Most are familiar with tax-free threshold—Below this level of income, tax is not payable, above, tax is
progressively increased
● When training, expect an improvement in physical condition—for improvement to occur, no matter how
small, must work at a level intensity that causes bodies to respond in a particular way
○ Adaptations/fitness gains
● Magnitude of improvement is approximately proportional to threshold level at which one works—The more
intensity one has, the greater the gain
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Lowest level​ at which one can work and still make some fitness gains is called the training threshold or
aerobic threshold​—Where it concerns developing aerobic fitness
Thresholds determined by work intensity, can be calculated using heart rate
Person’s MHR estimated at 220 bpm minus age—Aerobic threshold determined by level of fitness, minimum
heart rate of MHR (% of MHR)
○ No exercise, get fitter—Work at 50% of MHR (get heart rate over this, keep it there for 20 mins)
Person working at intensity level above aerobic training threshold, below anaerobic threshold (max of MHR
%), is working in ​aerobic training zone​, where one wants to be training to improve aerobic energy system
(stroke volume, cardiac output, getting rid of carbon dioxide, getting oxygen, efficiency of exchange of gases)
○ Exercise here referred to as steady-state exercise, results in improvements in physical condition
○ Adaptations occur in this zone
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Reaching anaerobic threshold—Need to stop, heart is working at maximum, fatigue quicker
Training Threshold—Need to train between aerobic threshold, anaerobic threshold (anywhere one is making
adaptations and gains)
Max heart rate is an indicator of training threshold
Lactate Inflection Point​—Uppermost level (anaerobic threshold), point at which further effort is characterised
by fatigue
○ Reflects balance between lactate entry, removal from blood
If exercise intensity increases after LIP is reached, blood lactate concentration increases substantially
Sometimes while exercising in aerobic training zone, one wishes to increase intensity
○ Increase pace during final half of 12-minute run—Causes muscles to require more oxygen, supplied
by increase in respiration, heart rates
If pace increases to point where cardiorespiratory system is unable to supply all oxygen required at that point
in time, energy will start to be produced anaerobically
○ Body will metabolise glycogen in absence of sufficient oxygen to fulfil immediate ATP requirements
○ Aerobic system is used first, when heart can't take enough oxygen, it converts to anaerobic system
Once one wants to start doing harder work, one will start using the anaerobic system, heart rate can’t provide
enough energy
Result is that by-product of anaerobic glycolysis, lactic acid, starts to be produced in large quantities,
permeates to muscle cells—This point in training is called anaerobic threshold
Well-trained athletes will work above anaerobic threshold as they are trying to adapt their body to work with
lactic acid in system, training body to get rid of it quicker to work better
Most/biggest gains made closer to anaerobic threshold
Level of intensity needed to stress body enough to cause adaptation
Aerobic training threshold—Minimum threshold, need to get over this to have adaptation occur (70% MHR)
Anaerobic threshold—Improves anaerobic capacity, lot more intense (80% MHR)
Intensities between both thresholds is called aerobic training zone—in this zone, one gets adaptations to
aerobic fitness
Above anaerobic threshold is anaerobic training zone—Where one gets adaptations for anaerobic fitness
Aerobic—MHR
Resistance—RM as training thresholds
Power—One to Six RM, strength—eight to 12, muscular endurance—12
—WARM-UP AND COOL DOWN
● Each training session requires three essential components—Warm-up, training (or conditioning), cool-down
● Sessions that lack one/more of these components may contribute to injuries/fail to achieve desired results
● Purpose of warm-up is to:
○ Reduce risk of injury/soreness by increasing joint mobility, muscle stretch
○ Increase body temperature, enzyme activity to promote faster, more powerful muscle contractions
○ Mentally prepare athlete for training
○ Stimulate cardiorespiratory system
● The warm-up should follow a set procedure involving:
○ General aerobic activity (gross motor) (jogging to raise body temperature)
○ Specific flexibility exercises to increase range of motion of joints, prevent muscle tears
○ Callisthenics (push-ups, star jumps, sit-ups) to increase blood flow to working muscles
○ Skill rehearsal—Performing movements/skills that will be repeated in game (sidesteps, swerves,
dribbling, passing the ball)
● An effective warm-up should be sustained for at least ten minutes
● For elite athletes whose events require explosive movements, the warm-up could last for 30 minutes
● Stretching should be avoided until the body is warm
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‘Never stretch before you sweat’
Rest periods are essential to avoid fatigue, should not be longer than necessary
Cool-down is period that follows training session, reverse of warm-up
Purpose is to minimise muscle stiffness, soreness that could result from strenuous training session
While not as intense/involved as warm-up, it is still an important component, should include:
○ Aerobic work (jogging), which gradually decreases in intensity, allows body temperature to return to
normal
○ Stretching of muscle groups used extensively during training session (leg muscles)
Helps to disperse, metabolise lactic acid concentration, replenish body’s energy stores
Essential component of aerobic, strength, flexibility programs
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Warm up—Goes through range of exercise to get body ready for training session/physical activity
Increase heart rate, cardiac output, causes liver to re
Increase body’s temperature, increases joint mobility
Cool down—Involves movements from medium to low intensities
Movements help speed up recovery, help bring body back down to rest
Applying the principles of training to aerobic and resistance training
Aerobic Training
Principles Of Training
Resistance Training
In aerobic training, the training
principle – progressive overload ​–
can be achieved by changing the
frequency of training (3 times a
week to 4 times a week), the
intensity of training (run incline,
outside, faster speed), or the length
of training (distance or time).
Progressive Overload
This principle involves continually
increasing the demands on the
musculoskeletal system to
continually make gains in muscle
size, strength, and endurance.
Simply put, in order to get bigger
and stronger, you must continually
make your muscles work harder
than they're used to. FOr example,
doing weights.
Specificity means if you participate
in an aerobic sport such as
marathon running, you need to do
aerobic training that involves
running so that your adaptations
improve your performance in that
sport.
Specificity
In strength training, the specificity
principle describes how strength
gains are very often quite specific to
the type of training we perform. In
other words, it says that strength
gains are greatest when tested with
the same characteristics as used in
the training program.
Reversibility
Reversibility means that an athlete
can lose the effects of training when
they stop, and can gain the effects
when they begin to train again.
Detraining occurs within a relatively
short time period after an athlete
ceases to train. Performance
reductions may occur in as little as
two weeks or sooner.
Muscle atrophy
Variety
Different types of resistance training
include:
Reversibility has to do with the fact
that when training stops or is greatly
reduced, the body will start to lose
some of the physiological
adaptations that had occurred
during training, and the athlete's
performance will decrease.
Higher resting heart rate
There are many types of aerobic
exercise to choose from, including
walking, jogging, biking, swimming,
aerobics, dancing, skipping, and
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free weights – classic
more. For the best results, include a
variety of aerobic exercises in your
routine, and change it up from time
to time.
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strength training tools such
as dumbbells, barbells and
kettlebells.
medicine balls or sand bags
– weighted balls or bags.
weight machines – devices
that have adjustable seats
with handles attached
either to weights or
hydraulics.
The aerobic training threshold is
normally between 65% and 70%
MHR. The anaerobic threshold is the
intensity needed in order to
produce an adaptation that will
improve someone's anaerobic
capacity, normally increasing the
speed of lactate removal. The
anaerobic training threshold is
normally between 80% and 85%
MHR.
Training Thresholds
Training thresholds refer to the level
of intensity needed in order to
stress the body enough to cause an
adaptation or improvement in
performance. Training thresholds
are measured by intensity and can
be either a % MHR or % VO​2max​.
%MHR is used most frequently so
will be the focus here
The warm-up should follow a set
procedure involving:
General aerobic activity (gross
motor) (jogging to raise body
temperature)
Specific flexibility exercises to
increase range of motion of joints,
prevent muscle tears
Callisthenics (push-ups, star jumps,
sit-ups) to increase blood flow to
working muscles
Skill rehearsal—Performing
movements/skills that will be
repeated in game (sidesteps,
swerves, dribbling, passing the ball)
Warm-up/Cool-down
A warm-up gradually revs up your
cardiovascular system by raising
your body temperature and
increasing blood flow to your
muscles. Warming up may also help
reduce muscle soreness and lessen
your risk of injury. Cooling down
after your workout allows for a
gradual recovery of pre-exercise
heart rate and blood pressure.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS IN RESPONSE TO TRAINING
● Changes to the body when/after exercise (heart, muscles, lungs, etc.)
● Can be cardiovascular or muscular
● When athlete applies principles of training to training routine, performance enhances
● Physiological adaptation take place—Allow for improved performance, which include:
○ Heart rate (resting)
⚬ Stroke volume, cardiac output
○ Haemoglobin level
⚬ Fast, slow twitch fibres
○ Oxygen uptake
⚬ Lung capacity
○ Muscle hypertrophy
—RESTING HEART RATE
● Human heart beats to circulate blood around body (cardiovascular)
● Blood carries oxygen which allows body to produce energy (aerobically)
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When training increases and principles of training are applied, resting heart rate is generally lower than what
it is with someone who’s not training
Heart Rate​—Number of times heart beats per minute (bpm)
At rest it decreases, during training it lowers at all intensities, due to:
○ Increased stroke volume
⚬ Improved efficiency of cardiovascular system
During exercise—Increases compared to when at rest
○ Trained vs untrained athlete—Generally lower across all intensities
—STROKE VOLUME AND CARDIAC OUTPUT
● Amount of blood ejected by the left ventricle during a contraction, measured in mL/beat (cardiovascular)
● As athlete increases training, SV will increase at rest, during exercise—Heart is getting stronger
○ Training heart (muscle)—Can pump more blood, much more force as it is a stronger muscle
○ Increased stroke volume allows for increase in haemoglobin levels in blood
● Haemoglobin​—Protein molecule in blood which carries oxygen from lungs to body’s tissues
○ Also returns carbon dioxide from tissues back to lungs
● Important in production of energy, as it carries oxygen, oxygen is needed to create energy for aerobic energy
system
● At rest it increases, during training it increases, due to:
○ Strength of contraction of left ventricle increasing
⚬ Left ventricle increasing in size
○ Left ventricle fills more completely during diastole phase
⚬ More blood is in circulation
■ Strength of the heart, strength of the diastole and systole phase
● Substantial increase in SV is a long term effect of endurance training
● Is notably higher at maximal exercise following an endurance training program
● Occurs because training causes left ventricle to fill more completely during diastole (relaxation phase of
cardiac contraction, where heart fills with blood) than in untrained heart
○ Systole Phase​—Heart contracts to ‘send’ blood to body
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Aerobic training will cause increase in SV—left ventricle increase in size, fills more efficiently, stronger
contractions
Result is more blood pumped around body per contraction
Cardiac output—Amount of blood pumping out of heart in one minute from left ventricle (SV x HR)
Aerobic training will cause increase in cardiac output—Stroke volume increases, so more blood will pump per
minute from heart
Results in fewer heart beats in training as it does not need to beat as fast, resting heart rate becomes lower
due to adaptations
○ Training, (particularly aerobic) causes body to produce more haemoglobin (more oxygen in blood),
therefore needs to pump out less as there is more oxygen in what it is pumping already
Oxygen uptake, lung capacity—Able to transport, absorb oxygen easier to working muscle
OU increases in response
LC, little/no change between trained, untrained athlete (lungs don’t get bigger)
SLow twitch—Maintain higher aerobic intensities for longer, delay fatigue, recover energy systems faster,
exercise for longer (hit the wall later), improve focus
Anaerobic adaptations: Muscle hypertrophy—Increase in size of muscle,
Greater MH occurs from resistance than aerobic training
Results in increase in muscle fibres, athlete becomes stronger, more powerful, faster
Fast twitch—Anaerobic enzymes, creatine, maintain higher anaerobic intensities for longer, recover
anaerobic energy systems faster, lactate removal, increase in strength, power, speed
Cardiac Output​—Amount of blood heart can pump per minute
Remains steady with increase of training, however heart becomes more efficient as it pumps more blood in
less beats
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Multiplication of heart rate by stroke volume, expressed in litres per minute
○ CO = HR × SV
At rest it remains relatively unchanged, due to:
○ Increase stroke volume
⚬ HR decreasing accordingly
During training it is slightly lower than those untrained, increases when intensity is at max/increased demand,
due to:
○ Increased stroke volume
○ During exercise cardiac output can be high due to HR and SV—Usually at max effort
■ Increased HR, SV required as body requires more blood for it to function
—OXYGEN UPTAKE AND LUNG CAPACITY
● Refers to amount of oxygen individual is able to consume per kilo of body weight (cardiovascular)
● Expressed as VO2, most consistent way to measure cardiorespiratory system
○ VO2 max test (beep test), maximum amount of oxygen athlete can uptake while exercising
● Increases in response to training, allows for faster, more efficient transportation of oxygen to muscles
○ More increase of demand for oxygen—More oxygen will be needed
● At rest, during training it increases, due to:
○ Increased number of oxidative enzymes—More enzymes in body carrying oxygen
○ Increased blood volume
■ Demand for oxygen is higher when training as opposed to not training
○ Increased myoglobin, haemoglobin
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Lung Capacity​—Refers to total amount of air that can be inhaled/exhaled during a breath
Works with oxygen uptake to export oxygen to working muscles
Has little/no response to training
○ Can’t increase lung size, lung expansion
○ Can increase amount of oxygen body uptakes due to lung efficiency
At rest there’s little change, due to:
○ Increased blood volume
○ More red blood cells
During training there’s little change, may increase at max efforts, due to:
○ Increased blood volume
○ More red blood cells
○ May increase at max effort due to increased oxygen demand
■ Running, fatigued, trying to take in bigger breaths to really increase lung capacity—Only time
lung capacity will make some sort of changes
—HAEMOGLOBIN LEVEL
● Protein molecule in red blood cells that binds with oxygen from lungs to body’s tissues (cardiovascular)
● Transported in red blood cells, responsible for red colour of cells
● With training, levels increase to increase blood's capacity to carry oxygen
● Important for body to have increased levels—One can increase oxygen to body
○ Oxygen provides energy, especially when training at anaerobic threshold/in aerobic training zone
● At rest, during training it increases, due to:
○ Increased number of oxidative enzymes
○ Increased blood volume—Increased stroke volume, increase in blood pumping around body
○ Increased myoglobin, haemoglobin—Haemoglobin carries blood from lungs down into around body,
myoglobin transfers oxygen from cells into muscles, tissues
■ Result of increased oxidative enzymes, blood volume
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Importance—Aerobic-nature sports, athletes need oxygen for energy, to survive, those
training at anaerobic threshold/aerobic training zone going to need higher haemoglobin
levels to increase amount of oxygen available for them
Can affect recovery strategies—Oxygen helps remove lactic acid from body, transfers it into
energy also
Important role especially for endurance athletes
—MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY
● Physiological adaptation to training: Growth and/or increase in size of muscular tissue (muscular)
● As training increases, muscular hypertrophy increases
● Occurs most when participating in resistance (strength/weight) training
● Actual growth of muscles occurs at rest as body is repairing muscles
● For muscles to experience hypertrophy, they must be engaged in some form of resistance training
● At rest it increases, due to:
○ Damaged muscles replaced through cellular process of fusing muscles fibers together to form new
muscle protein strands
○ Growth in size, function of muscle
○ Increased capacity to contract strongly and/or for longer periods of time
● During exercise it remains unchanged, due to:
○ Growth in size of fast/slow twitch fibres
○ Enhanced function occurs during rest, recovery phase after exercise
—EFFECT ON FAST/SLOW TWITCH MUSCLE FIBRES
● Two types of skeletal muscle fibres in body (muscular)
● Skeletal Muscle Fibres​—Muscles which are involved in function, support of skeletal system (bones)
● Slow Twitch​—More suited to endurance activities
● Fast Twitch​—More explosive, anaerobic events, as they fatigue faster
● These types of muscle fibres cannot be changed, however one can increase muscular hypertrophy through
resistance (weights) training to focus on development of fast, slow twitch muscle fibres in body
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Fast twitch​—At rest it increases in size, function, due to:
○ Growth, repair of fibres following anaerobic resistance training
○ Increased anaerobic enzymes for glycolysis
○ Increased PC stores
During training it increases strength, repetition of contraction, due to:
○ Increased muscular hypertrophy
○ Increased anaerobic function
○ Increased removal of lactate, which helps reduce acidic levels in muscle
Slow twitch​—At rest it increased in size and function, due to:
○ Growth, repair of fibres following resistance training (high rep, low load)
○ Increased glycogen stores
During training it increases endurance, repetition of contraction, due to:
○ Increased muscular hypertrophy
○ Increased mitochondria (organelles in body which break down nutrients to supply body with energy,
essential in production of ATP), capillary density
○ Increase in aerobic function
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Analyse each energy system by exploring:
○ Source of fuel
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ Creatine phosphate
Lactic Acid-​ Glycogen
Aerobic system-​ Glycogen, fats, broken down by oxygen
○ Efficiency of ATP production
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ Very fast
Lactic Acid- Lactic Acid-​ Fast medium
Aerobic system-​ Very efficient
○ Duration that the system can operate
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ Limited 8-12 seconds
Lactic Acid-​ Last 30 seconds to three minutes
Aerobic system-​ Produces a lot of energy for a long duration
○ Cause of fatigue
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ ATP/PC creatine phosphate depletion
Lactic Acid-​ Hydrogen ion buildup (lactic acid)
Aerobic system-​ Shifts from using glycogen to fat (hitting the wall)
○ By-products of energy production
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ Heat
Lactic Acid-​ Lactic acid (hydrogen ion)
Aerobic system-​ Carbon dioxide, water
○ Process and rate of recovery
Alactacid System (ATP/PC)-​ Needs to be restored, which takes 30 seconds-2minutes
Lactic Acid-​ Removal of lactic acid takes 30 to 60 minutes before its recovered
Aerobic system-​ Restore fuel, remove waste, 24 to 48 hours
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Assess the relevance of the types of training and training methods for a variety of sports by asking
questions such as:
○ Which types of training are best suited to different types of sports?
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Which training method(s) would be most appropriate? Why?
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How would this training affect performance?
● Analyse how the principles of training can be applied to both aerobic and resistance training
Aerobic
Progressive Overload​—How high one gets heart rate up (MHR)
Reversibility​—Effects can be seen four-six weeks after training stops
Training Thresholds​—Aerobic training zone, MHR
Resistance
Progressive Overload​—RPM (repetition maximum)
Reversibility​—Can be seen in two weeks
Training Thresholds​—Anaerobic training zone, RM as training thresholds, power—1 to 6 RM, strength—8 to 12,
muscular endurance—12
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Examine the relationship between the principles of training, physiological adaptations and improved
performance
How do principles of training affect physiological changes that happen to body
Physiological adaptations are result of training, are responsible for improved performance of trained athletes
● Lower resting heart rate improves performance as one doesn’t fatigue as quick
● ​HOW CAN PSYCHOLOGY AFFECT PERFORMANCE​ ●
MOTIVATION
● Most would agree it is an internal state that activates, directs, sustains behaviour towards achieving
particular ​goal​ (difficult to define as it is inherently abstract)
● Increasing level of motivation in players may be as simple as:
○ Recognising individual effort
⚬ Supporting belief in one’s activity
○ Instilling good work ethic
⚬ Providing positive reinforcement, encouragement
—POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
● Positive​—Occurs when individual’s performance is driven by previous reinforcing behaviours
● Occurs when athlete performs because they have received rewards for similar actions in past, realise that
continuing to perform as required results in additional rewards
○ To certain extent, athlete is ‘conditioned’ to perform in expectation of reward
● Relies on continual self-reinforcement and/or reinforcement by others (coach, family, friends, spectators,
media)
● If coaching situation changes, favourable reinforcement is diminished/not forthcoming, athlete’s effort will be
affected accordingly
● To maintain high levels of positive motivation, coaches must continually strive to find unique ways of
reinforcing desired behaviour in athlete
○ May require techniques (providing incentives, developing personal progress charts, looking to others
for reinforcement)
● Can be further enhanced by recognising achievement, handling mistakes constructively, developing respect
for athletes, taking time to listen when they speak
● More effective than negative motivation
● Simplest way to develop it is to establish gradual sequence of challenges for athlete
● Challenges are positive, motivating, threats are negative, destructive in long term
○ Threats distract athlete from task, as athlete is confronted with consequences of failing, ultimately
fear of being punished
● Positive motivation is more sustainable
● Some athletes may be responsive to negative motivation on particular occasions, positive is better on
ongoing basis
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Negative​—Athletes may be inspired to perform more from fear of consequences of not performing than as
result of motivated behaviour
○ Not all motivation is driven by previous gains from performance
Characterised by improvement in performance out of fear of consequences of not performing to expectations
Inspiring athlete to perform well because they expect to be punished if they fail may work on occasions, but
has serious shortfalls
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Indecision, lack of creativity, fear of risk taking, susceptibility to ‘choking’ are some performance inhibiting
behaviours that might surface in high pressure situations as result of fear of failure
May cause player to always opt for safe play in game situations, not take risks where reward could be victory,
but unfortunately is outweighed by consequence of failure
While some players may respond to negative motivation on irregular basis, general long-term effect can be
destruction of confidence, initiative, belief in oneself—reverse of what motivation is supposed to be
—INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC
● Intrinsic​—Motivation that comes from within individual
● Self-propelling force that encourages athletes to achieve as they have interest in task/activity, they enjoy
learning, performing movements
● Stems from doing things that are their own reward
● Originates with inner feelings, may serve to drive need to succeed, accomplish, perform at best level
● Self-sustaining, self-reinforcing because effort, personal accomplishment becomes its own reward
● Preferred type of motivation as personal reward, self-satisfaction are much stronger driving forces than
anything bestowed/imposed from outside
● Generally has knowledge, achievement, experience foundation
● Individuals driven predominantly by this form of motivation display high levels of mastery/task orientation
○ Some might be motivated to perform just to know more/experience something different, others
might be motivated by need to become competent at task—be able to hit ball further by increasing
technical proficiency
● For these athletes, establishing competence is sufficiently challenging, rewarding in itself
○ Often choose activities that involve contest, finding enjoyment in rising to inherent demands of
competition
● Central to intrinsic motivation is ​flow experience​—Represents highest level of internal motivation
● Characterised by very high level of concentration, to extent that individual is completely absorbed in task
● When in this zone, performance is maintained without conscious effort
● Total attentiveness to what is being done ensures mind remains free of interference from other distracting
thoughts
● Studies reveal most children, adolescents participate further, are rewarded more fully as result of internal
motivation than other factors
● Sport/activity provides continuing source of enjoyment, sufficiently motivating individual to sustain effort,
interest
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Extrinsic​—Motivation that comes from sources outside person (parents, coaches) (external)
Tends to have outcome/ego orientation
While intrinsic has focus on process (development of competence), extrinsic focuses on product/what can be
gained
Seen in many forms (praise, material rewards, financial remuneration)
Effort, desire for achievement are related to expectation of outside reward/fear of punishment from outside
source
While rewards/fears may change how hard one works, they do not alter attitudes that underlie one’s
behaviours
In children certainly, quality execution of movement skills as well as enjoyment, satisfaction need to be focus
in training, performances
Attachment to these values ensures children continue to enjoy physical activity as they grow older
○ Focus on external rewards/fear of retribution if one’s performance is not up to standard can turn
purpose of activity into end rather than means
In case of athletes whose driving force is to achieve good performance from intrinsic sources, use of extrinsic
rewards may only serve to decrease intrinsic motivation
External can be manipulated by those responsible for its making
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○ Use of bribes, coercion to succeed may work temporarily, has little chance of being sustained
Even less chance of being successful if it challenges values of individual, if opinion of reward is such that it is
not seen to be something useful/fulfilling
While responsibility for motivation needs to be shared between athlete, their coaches/parents/peers,
sustained motivation relies much more on internal factors than external
Athletes who derive motivation from satisfaction with quality performances likely to stay motivated for
longer than those who compete to gain rewards from external forces
Noticeable characteristic of high achievers is they seek to match physical, technical skill against others of
similar ability—lower achievers often select competitions in which they know they will be successful
ANXIETY AND AROUSAL
● Anxiety​—Predominantly psychological process characterised by fear/apprehension in anticipation of
confronting situation perceived to be potentially threatening
● When one experiences situations where they are at risk, uncertain, threatened, attacked, they become
anxious, take steps to address concern
○ From here, natural instincts take over, forcing one to confront it (fight)/escape (flight)
—TRAIT AND STATE ANXIETY
● Trait Anxiety​—Refers to general level of stress that is characteristic of each individual
● Evident in how one responds to daily situations, of which many are new, cause concern
● Varies according to how individuals have conditioned themselves to respond to, manage stress
● Increased levels can be controlled in most cases by use of relaxation techniques (progressive muscular
relaxation)
● Researchers have established that coaches, others in whom athlete has firm belief can significantly influence
trait anxiety
○ Support, positive comments, encouragement positively affect player’s levels more than any other
influence
● How anxious one is as a person
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State Anxiety​—Characterised by state of heightened emotions that develop in response to fear/danger
○ More specific
This arousal may be visible physiologically, exhibited in certain conditions, behaviours (nervousness, even
shaking)
Certain level might be considered beneficial in sports where aggression can become natural outlet (rugby)
In sports where success often depends on controlled muscular responses (archery, pistol shooting),
unrestrained anxiety can hinder performance
At extreme, can contribute to degree of physical, mental paralysis, preventing performance of task that may
otherwise be routine, has been repeated many times in practice situations
Examples of presence include missing relatively easy shots in basketball, failed goal attempts in soccer,
‘breaking’ at start of important swimming, track races
Measures suggested by coaches to address it include:
○ Having athlete understand nature of anxiety
⚬ Confronting its causes
○ Refusing to submit to controlling fears that may arise because of it
Relaxation, slow breathing, changing pattern of thinking, engaging in thought distraction are commonly used
techniques suggested by coaches
—SOURCES OF STRESS
● Non-specific response of body to demand placed on it
● Normal part of everyday life—very relevant to sport performance situations
● Can be felt by participants in all sports, but particularly individual sports where there may be feeling of
isolation, exposure (tennis, diving)
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Causes unique body reaction—feel stress building within, produced by ​adrenaline​ (stimulant hormone),
which readies body for action
○ This is why it is good to have some stress (it gets the athlete prepared)
Characterised by:
○ Increased blood supply to skeletal muscles
⚬ Increased sweat production to cool body
○ Tightened muscle to prepare body for action
⚬ More oxygen to lungs
○ Increased glucose production to provide extra fuel
Can be real/imagined—Body will react to perceived situation as if it is real as mind, in responding
neurologically to situations, does not differentiate between real, imagined experience
Just thinking about something that may make one uncomfortable (missing match-winning goal in grand final)
can bring about symptoms (increased heart rate, sweating)
Stress is personal attribute—depends on predisposition (how each person perceives stressors due to genetic
makeup, learned coping mechanisms), reflects:
○ Past experience
⚬ Routines
⚬ Expectations
○ Amount of support
⚬ Frequency of similar occurrences
Factors that produce stress are called ​stressors
In practice, competitive sporting environments, can develop from:
○ Personal Pressure​—Individual pressure imposed by desire to win, achieve, fulfil goals
○ Competition Pressure​—Pressure from coaches, parents, peers, others held in high esteem by athlete
○ Physical Pressure​—Pressure of having to perform learned skills under demands of competition
It is felt by researchers that coping effectively with stress has much to do with individual’s perception
Particular traits (positive expectations, confidence) important in containing anxiety that might otherwise
develop due to situation
○ Qualities (self-assurance, self-belief) help athletes interpret feelings of anxiousness as facilitative,
thereby assisting rather than hindering performance
Athletes, indeed anyone, can further learn to cope with stress by using strategies such as:
○ Practicing relaxation techniques
⚬ Developing confidence
○ Planning strategies to cope with situation
○ Developing concentration skills that require focusing on immediate task rather than on perceived
reaction to it
—OPTIMUM AROUSAL
● Arousal​—Specific level of anxiety, can be experienced prior to, during performance
● Anxiety is predominantly psychological state, arousal is essentially physiological process
● Necessary ingredient in sports performance, although its level can either facilitate/hinder execution of
specific skills/task components
● Individual performs skill most successfully when level of arousal is optimal for particular task and individual
● Runner in 100 metre sprint may complete time far worse than expected
○ Could be partly attributed to low level of arousal, perhaps resulting from distraction, distintrest,
depressed level of motivation
● Other extreme is state of over-arousal—athlete is unable to perform required movements with precision as
he/she is excessively tense, unable to concentrate
● Generally, athletes with high disposition towards anxiety require less arousal than those with low disposition
● Both over, under-arousal contribute to adverse performance
● Role of coach, athlete is to ensure level of arousal is optimal for each performance
● Some athletes can achieve optimal arousal by thinking about what they need to do in game/activity
○ Others may require input from coach, parent, peers
● Suggests arousal has drive properties—manipulation of factors that affect anxiety (motivation) can increase/
decrease arousal
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Inverted U Hypothesis​—Illustrates connection/relationship between arousal, performance
Suggests there is optimal level of arousal for any performance
If individual’s level of arousal is at A on curve, they would be considered to be under-aroused for that activity
Performance may suffer from such factors (lack of motivation, disinterest, poor concentration, inability to
cope with distractions)
As athlete’s interest heightens, they move into arousal zone, attain optimal level of arousal at peak of curve
(B)
○ Shown by balance between level of motivation, ability to control muscular tension, which could be
increasing as result of desire to perform well
Levels of arousal in C area of curve are excessive—if individual’s level of arousal is in this area, their feelings
would be characterised by anxiousness, apprehension, reflecting excessive concern about performance
Leads to increased muscular tension, possible mental confusion as individual tries to process messages during
skill execution, resulting in poorer performance
Optimal level of arousal varies from one skill to next
Generally, when difficult tasks involving few muscle groups are involved (archery, putting in golf), levels of
arousal need not be high to be optimal
Many other activities that may be easier to execute/involve large body movements (running, weight-lifting),
require increase in level of arousal for performance to be optimal
Optimal arousal levels for given task vary between athletes, largely depend on individual’s personality, factors
that include:
○ Self-Expectation​—How individual expects to perform
○ Expectation By Others​—How person perceives others (coach/parents) expect them to perform
○ Experience​—Determines how individual handles increased pressure at higher levels of competition
○ Financial Pressures​—Whether individual’s livelihood depends on performance
○ Level Of Competition​—Whether individual is playing round/final
○ Degree Of Difficulty​—Higher levels of arousal generally associated with more difficult tasks
○ Skills Finesse​—Fine motor skills (shooting, balancing) generating higher levels of arousal than
produced by gross motor skills (running)
Arousal affects performance when it becomes focus
When individual shifts focus from thinking about feelings to concentrating on task, anxiety is revealed for
what it is—heightened state that can be controlled, that can actually assist performance
PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE MOTIVATION AND MANAGE ANXIETY
● Uncontrolled anxiety can potentially have negative impact on performance, but complete lack of anxiety can
undermine effort, achievement
● Accomplished athletes able to draw on strategies (focusing skills, mental rehearsal, visualisation, relaxation,
goal setting) to ensure their mental, physical energy is channelled in right direction to lead to desired result
—CONCENTRATION/ATTENTION SKILLS
● Sports psychologists agree key to success among elite sportspeople is ​concentration​—ability to focus on task
at hand
● When individual thinks about doing, they often separate task from themselves as performer
○ In this situation, feelings, sensations, personal reactions often become focus—total focus can
contribute to over-arousal
● When individual focuses on task/activity, their thoughts relate more to execution
● Effective concentration involves not focusing on one or other, but maintaining uninterrupted connection
between the two
● Psychologists sometimes illustrate concept by relating to Self One, Self Two—internal voices, emotions that
provide direction for behaviour
● Self One tends to focus on instruction, listens to directions, asks questions, is aware of criticism
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Self Two focuses more on action, execution, task completion
Improved concentration is marked by less interference from Self One, more reliance on Self Two
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Concentration can be improved through training that emphasises process rather than outcome
When individual focuses on process, they give attention to technique, try to understand why, for example,
shot missed target
Focusing on outcome places importance on result—success/otherwise of shot
Athletes need to know what to focus on at particular time, be able to adapt to changing situations
○ During one stage of basketball game, player may need to focus on shot, exclude all other distractions;
however, at other times, they may need to be aware of their own defensive position, that of
team-mates
Ability to widen, narrow attention skills can be developed through own training
Some coaches require athletes to develop lists that embrace their thoughts at particular stages of game/
performance
Type of concentration required varies from one sport to another
○ Intense concentration is required in activities (gymnastics, diving, batting in cricket)
○ Intervals of high concentration interspersed with periods of less intense concentration predominate
in most team games (touch football, netball, softball)
○ At extreme is sustained concentration as might be required in triathlons, marathon running, high
level tennis matches
Athletes need to recognise type of concentration required for their particular sport/activity, develop skills
that block out distractions, help maintain focus
Using well-established routines, avoiding negative thoughts, utilising self-talk to enclose one’s thoughts, focus
points are techniques commonly used to boost concentration
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—MENTAL REHEARSAL/VISUALISATION/IMAGERY
● Mental Rehearsal​—Technique of picturing performance/skill before executing it
● Has been shown to enhance competition performance, acquisition, building of motor skills
● Mental rehearsal is commonly used technique in many forms of physical activity
○ Weight-lifting, gymnastics, high jump, golf, diving
● Involves mental repetition of movement/sequence to increase mind’s familiarity with desired motion
● Relies on power of imagery—seeing clearly in mind what is required of body in movement
● Involves recalling, then reliving execution of skill/performance
● Number of advantages, most important of which is to improve concentration
● If done properly, also provides athlete with additional practice, may remove need for total reliance on
physical training
● Commonly used by athletes when unable to train through inclement weather, illness, injury
● Does have apparent flaw—difficult for coach to control thoughts of his/her athletes
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Some players tend to daydream, embrace their performance images in unproductive manner, while others
lack drive to back up mental rehearsal with devoted physical practice
○ Nevertheless, mental rehearsal is chance for ‘perfect practice’, although extent to which ‘perfect
practice makes perfect’ is debatable
Importance of it to improving performance is that it:
○ Elevates body to desired level of arousal
⚬ Narrows thought to task
○ Provides clear idea of what has to be done
⚬ Heightens concentration
To be totally effective, it requires:
○ Vivid, realistic pictures at performance speed in mind
○ At least one, possibly more rehearsals
○ Practice, so process can be ‘turned on’ when required
○ Narrowing of thoughts to exclude distractions
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Sense of ‘experiencing’—seeing colours, hearing sounds, feeling movement, noticing crowd
Seeing successful performance—to visualise failure is to experience failure
—RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
● While optimal arousal is desirable for good performance, over-arousal will tarnish even the best efforts
● Relaxation techniques may assist athlete in control of arousal
● Without use of it when necessary, athlete may be unable to reproduce in competition what has been learned
in training because other factors interfere with their concentration
● Techniques commonly used by athletes include:
○ Progressive Muscular Relaxation​—Involves relaxing muscle groups using special exercises (good
technique if arousal is excessive)
■ Stretching, massage to relax, activate (warmth) muscles
○ Mental Relaxation​—Involves relaxing body through controlled breathing, relaxing mind, gaining
‘floating’ feeling
○ Self-Hypnosis​—Involves using power of suggestion to have mind accept particular level of anxiety in
specific situation
■ Try and block everything else out, try to bring anxiety down
○ Mental Rehearsal​—Involves concentrating on rehearsing performance of task rather than how one
feels about it
■ Picture the action
○ Mediation​—Involves narrowing one’s thoughts using simple repetitive images, sounds
○ Centred Breathing​—Involves controlling breathing to release tension before performance
● Important that each athlete finds relaxation technique that suits them personally
● Some may respond best to physical techniques (progressive muscular relaxation), while others will benefit
from technique with central focus (yoga)
—GOAL-SETTING
● Targets that one directs their efforts towards
● Can relate to either performance/behaviour
● Establishment of goals is important to improve both individual, team preparation
● By empowering athletes with responsibility to set their own goals, they are more likely to seriously attempt to
fulfil them
● Provide athletes with reason to persevere with training over extended periods
● Provide focus, give direction, help people realise aspirations
● Can redirect athlete who is unable to see end result of training, provide essential formula for success
● Providing a goal-training relationship exists (intensity, aims of training relate to specific performance
aspirations), then today’s goals will become tomorrow’s realities
● May be short/long term, behaviour/performance oriented
● Short-term are most important—serve as checkmarks by which other goals can be measured
● Approach to achieving short-term goals should not be inflexible, shouldn’t be of concern if one/number of
goals are not achieved
● Situations arising from personal circumstances, possibly injury may interfere with timeframe over which
achievement of goal/s is sought
○ In this case, discussion, renegotiation is preferable solution rather than reinforcing feelings of failure,
disappointment
● Types of goal that are important to athletes are:
○ Short-Term​—Can be achieved in limited period of time, stepping stones to achieving long-term goals
○ Long-Term​—Can be achieved only over long period of time
○ Behavioural​—Arrived at by players, relate to improved behavioural expectations in training,
competition, both, are observable, measurable behaviours rather than aspirations
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Some coaches use these goal agreements to monitor desired improvements in player
behaviour, to highlight importance of developing workable relationship in this area
○ Performance​—Relate to athlete’s desired level of success, ideally, athlete should write down these
goals, put them on notice board so they remain focus
Behavioural/performance goals can be long term
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Evaluate performance scenarios to determine the appropriate forms of motivation, eg. golf versus boxing
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Explain the difference between anxiety and arousal in terms of effects on performance
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Research case studies of athletes from different sports and ascertain the nature of their motivation and the
psychological strategies they employ
● ​HOW CAN NUTRITION AND RECOVERY STRATEGIES AFFECT PERFORMANCE​ ●
NUTRITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
—PRE-PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING CARBOHYDRATE LOADING
● Food consumed prior to activity is useful only if ingested, energy and nutrients are made available to the
body
● Fluid levels rarely keep pace with the body’s requirements, need to be repeatedly placed
○ Some sports have designated drink breaks (cricket) to replace fluid they are losing
● Number of important considerations for athletes to be aware of as part of pre-performance nutritional
strategies:
○ What type of food to eat, in what amount
○ When to eat, drink
○ How to carbohydrate load if required
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Types of food​—Foods high in fat, protein, fibre (meats) require longer periods to digest than most other
foods
If solid food is difficult to digest, ‘liquid meals’ (drinks with high carbohydrate content) are recommended
(smoothies)—correctly prepared, they can be adequate source of nutrition, energy, significantly contribute to
hydration
Athletes are advised to eat mostly complex carbohydrates (pasta, cereal, bread, fruits), as these provide slow
energy release—make glycogen slowly so that it is always there to be broken down
○ Opposite is simple carbs (chocolate, cakes, sugary fatty foods)—give quick burst of energy which
depletes quickly
Recommended that athletes don’t eat/experiment with unfamiliar food on the day of the competition
Amount of food​—Food ingested before a performance has potential to cause discomfort
May be increased by existing/developing level of anxiety
Generally, appropriate quantity of food relates to type of competition
○ Sustained, endurance type (triathlons) require more kilojoules to fuel metabolism
○ Less demanding events (darts) require less kilojoules
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Large amounts of food are prone to causing more discomfort in high intensity/sustained events (running) as
opposed to events like cycling, where athletes have the benefit of support in one form or another
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When to eat​—Most athletes feel comfortable having a normal meal three to four hours before competition
As time period to competition becomes shorter, food intake should be in form of snacks, liquid preparations
Limited solids can still be consumed up to two hours prior to competition, while carbohydrate solution drinks
are preferred in 30 minutes prior to event
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Hydration​—People competing in competition/events should drink adequate fluid in preceding days,
particularly for endurance events (marathon, triathlon)
Increases body’s weight, particularly if glycogen has been increased in diet (glycogen also stores some water)
Many coaches now monitor weight levels of athletes before endurance events to ensure adequate pre-event
hydration suited to individual athlete
General rule—500 to 600 mL of fluid should be consumed in two to three hour period prior to endurance
performance, 250 to 300 mL in last quarter hour (15 minutes)
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Carbohydrate Loading​—Technique used to maximise body’s storage of glycogen in preparation for
high-intensity endurance activity of more than 90 minutes (pre performance)
Glycogen levels can increase by a third in response
○ Significant considering glycogen is the most important fuel for endurance events
Technique originally required depletion stage followed by loading phase to ensure glycogen saturation
Depletion achieved through hard training, diet modifications that restricted consumption of carbohydrate
rich foods
Loading phase followed that involved reverse—rest, very high-carbohydrate loaded diet
While being nutritionally sound, this method created problems for many athletes—energy levels were
markedly reduced following depletion stage, leading to lethargy, irritability, poor concentration, possible lack
of motivation
○ Some cases, glycogen stores were so low, athlete was unable to recover full supplies before event
Now believed athletes involved in short-term low-intensity activities do not need to ‘glycogen load’
○ Normal balanced diet supplies sufficient amounts
In case of endurance athletes, muscle saturation of glycogen is best achieved through:
○ Balanced diet high in carbohydrate, providing about 7-12 g/kg of body mass (weight)—complex carbs
(breads, rice, grains, pastas) are ideal, may need to be ingested with simple carbohydrates (soft drink,
honey, jams) to ensure carbohydrate intake is maximised
○ Tapering​ (period immediately before competition when volume, intensity of training is reduced) of
training for two to four days before competition, enabling glycogen supplies to maximise—people
who need to carb load will already be involved in training schedules that regularly utilise stored
glycogen, so body’s ability to store fuel will be greater than that of non-athletes
Increased muscle, liver glycogen accumulate as result of proper carb loading program has positive effect on
endurance, improving performance in order of about 2-3%
Makes practice significant pre-competition strategy for activities such as triathlons, marathons, cycling,
endurance swimming
Important that procedures are fully understood, implemented effectively for full benefits to be realised
○ Athletes who fail to taper, consume too much fibre/insufficient carbohydrate (preferring other
nutrients instead) will fail to have glycogen reserves maximised during loading process
Carbohydrate loading for endurance events has benefit of delaying point at which muscles being repeatedly
used run out of fuel
○ Delaying fatigue
—DURING PERFORMANCE
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Endurance events, particularly in hot, possibly humid conditions, can have significant impact on body’s fuel,
fluid supplies
In these events, need for carb, electrolyte replacement depends on number of factors including:
○ Intensity, duration, humidity, clothing type, individual sweat rates—cause sweat, lose lots of fluid
Electrolytes are salts, minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium), important for many body functions
(chemical breakdown, nerve conduction)
Electrolytes can be lost through perspiration during exercise
Nutritional considerations for performances need to address the following:
○ Aim is to conserve muscle glycogen, maintain blood glucose levels
○ Carb supplementation is needed to avoid glycogen depletion—at exercise intensities above 75% of
aerobic capacity, liquid carb feeding (sports drinks) can delay glycogen depletion by up to 30 minutes
○ Glycogen supplementation not needed for low-intensity, short duration exercise—right amount of
energy, eat balanced diet
○ Adequate hydration by regular fluid intake must be maintained—athletes should have fluid
replacement plan that matches body’s requirements, exercise duration, intensity
■ Suggested 200-300 mL of fluid, preferably in form of sports drink, be taken in every 10-15
minutes during exercise—sports drinks contain liquid carb, serve to hydrate, energise
○ Athlete should not wait until thirst develops before replenishing lost fluid (first sign of dehydration)
Hydration involves not only supply of sufficient fluid, but also development of mechanisms to keep fluid loss
during exercise to minimum
To ensure adequate hydration, athletes (anyone exercising in heat for long periods) need to develop fluid
intake, retention strategies that will prevent dehydration (excessive loss of water)
Hydrate before, during, after physical activity—Thirst is not good indicator of body’s need for fluid, by that
time, dehydration has already started to take effect
Drink every 15 to 20 minutes while running—Important never to miss opportunity to ‘top up’
Ensure one has trained properly, acclimatised to race conditions—Trained, acclimatised athletes able to
control body temperature more effectively than those untrained, failed to acclimatise
Wear clothing that ‘breathes’—Light ‘airy’ clothing promotes heat loss through convection, evaporation
Avoid activity in times of high temperature, high humidity—Exercise is considered safe when temperature is
below 30°C, relative humidity is below 90%
Avoid excess fat, any salt, alcohol (acts as diuretics)
Do not run if suffering from fever—Core body temperature already elevated during fever, physical activity
increases body temperature, endangers athlete’s life
Learn to recognise symptoms of heat stress—Symptoms are chilling, unsteadiness, dry skin, loss of focus,
profuse sweating
—POST-PERFORMANCE
● This nutritional program aims to return body to pre-event state as quickly as possible, enabling full training to
resume in preparation for next phase of competition
● Best achieved through ​proactive recovery​—emphasises immediate refuelling, rehydration which continues
until pre-event state is obtained
○ Refuelling, rehydration begin immediately, continue for 8-12 hours following performance
● Enables optimisation of body repair, regeneration processes
● Protein is necessary—Helps regenerate muscles
● Best way to recover is to act quickly, eat food with high carbohydrate content, best achieved by:
○ Immediately replacing depleted muscle, liver glycogen stores—intake high in carbohydrate, inclusive
of foods, drinks with ​high glycemic index​ (GI) is most beneficial (give glucose in blood, high blood
sugar level, quick burst of energy)
○ Rehydrating to replace fluid, electrolytes lost during event—program for rehydration requires special
fluid intake in quantities larger than normal
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Active rest that enhances manufacture of red blood cells (carried extra oxygen to perform the
activity), new proteins, specific cellular components damaged by stress-related movements
SUPPLEMENTATION
● Not needed if there is a balanced diet—Provided within the food
—VITAMINS
● Organic compounds essential to maintaining bodily functions
● Required only in very small quantities in the body
● Do not contain energy, but function as catalysts that help body use energy nutrients
○ Assist in such functions as energy release, metabolic regulation, tissue building
● Body is unable to manufacture vitamins, so diet must supply them
○ Balanced diet is important because food is main source of vitamins
● Intake of excessive quantities is unnecessary, potentially dangerous
● Body can store vitamins A, D, excess amounts of which may contribute to muscle, joint pain, headaches
● Overdoses of vitamin A can cause nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, skin dryness
● Known that super-supplementation does not improve performance
● Fruits, vegetables strongly recommended as ideal sources of antioxidants
● Value of balanced diet is that intake of vitamins is cheap, plentiful, regulated
● Any need for supplementation is really a need to develop positive nutritional habits
● Should not be response to desire for improved performance, but rather arise out of special needs
○ Ill health, unavailability of normal diet while travelling
● Psychological benefit—Think it is doing something, may help improve performance
—MINERALS
● Inorganic substances found in body that are necessary for it to function adequately
● Do not provide energy
● Iron, calcium are the two minerals most commonly deficient in athletes, inadequate supplies will affect
performance, contribute to health problems
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Iron found in haemoglobin, which comprises most of red blood cells in body
○ Collect, transport oxygen, delivering it to where it is needed
Diminished haemoglobin levels affect performance because muscle cells are deprived of oxygen, which is
needed to break down nutrients, produce energy
Sports Anemia​—Most frequently experienced in early stages of heavy training programs, characterised by
lack of energy, general fatigue
Condition tends to subside if training is gradual, progressive, supported by balanced diet
○ Thought to be attributed to either lower iron intake relative to boost in exercise, body’s use of
protein for functions other than red blood cell production
Balanced diet is excellent source of iron—high amounts found in lean meat, grain products, dark, leafy green
vegetables (spinach, lettuce) are other valuable sources
People at risk—endurance athletes (sweat loss), females (menstrual blood loss), vegetarians (lack of red meat
in diet), adolescent males (growth spurt)
Calcium deficiency more specific to health
Vital for bone structure, making bones strong, healthy
Quality of bone tissue deteriorates gradually from age of about mid-twenties, contributes to osteoporosis
(brittle bones), which can be experienced (particularly by women) later in life
Important sources are dairy products, leafy green vegetables, fish (salmon, sardines)
Athletes should look to dietary sources rather than supplementation to gain adequate calcium
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People most at risk—females (insufficient intake of dairy products), females whose menstrual cycles have
ceased, leading to loss of calcium from bone tissue
—PROTEIN
● Have had strong favour with weight-lifters, body builders, strength athletes for long time
● May be natural/synthetic, available in powder, fluid, solid formulations
● Many athletes believe they are important because of their muscle building qualities, with higher intake
positively affecting muscle size
○ Belief stems from accepted role of protein in body
● Primary importance to body is structural role in holding cells together, in growth, repair, maintenance of body
tissue
● Functional role in hormone production, nervous system transmissions
● Composed of various types of amino acids
● Can be source of energy under extreme conditions, when carbohydrate, fat supplies are in very short supply/
exhausted
● Well-balanced diet containing fish, chicken, red meat, cheese, breads, cereals, some types of bean contain
ample protein
● Well established that general population consumes it in proportions higher than required for general health
maintenance
○ Athletes, because of high energy usage, may consume amounts in excess of this
● On whole, research supports idea that most athletes do not need/benefit from protein supplementation
● While there may be case to support some supplementation in specific cases (strength athletes, endurance
athletes in heavy training, possibly adolescents undergoing growth spurt), majority of athletes, including
athletes, are well served by balanced diet
● Many protein supplements contain additives that have no health benefit, may increase risk of certain cancers
● Most agree that in case that more protein is required, changes in dietary balance is preferred method of
supplementation
● Excess protein can negatively affect health—high amounts can increase amount of calcium excreted in urine,
possibly contribute to osteoporosis
● Unlike carbs that can be stored in body, excess protein must be eliminated
● Processing, filtration of additional urea can interfere with kidney function
● Diets high in protein (those containing large amounts of meat, dairy foods) can contribute to obesity as result
of high fat content
● Of concern also is fact that they may replace important foods (fruits, vegetables), which provide both energy,
most of the essential nutrients
—CAFFEINE
● Evidence relating to caffeine, performance is still inconclusive—general agreement on areas relating to
cognitive function, anaerobic performance, aerobic performance
● Does appear to improve cognitive processes, such as alertness (awareness)
○ Improved concentration, ‘clear headedness’, improved memory, reasoning following consumption of
mild amounts of caffeine
● Similarly, studies agree caffeine does not appear to enhance performance in short-term high intensity
activities (sprinting)
● Diuretic​—Drug that helps get rid of fluid, through urine by going to toilet more
● Some studies report that caffeine is diuretic, suggest it should be avoided as it may contribute to dehydration
○ Might be case for athletes working in hot, humid environments, but in general, for athletes
accustomed to its use, link with dehydration is not well supported
● Has ​ergogenic aid​ properties—(may) improve performance by assisting specific metabolic processes
○ Most favourable evidence supporting this properties relates to endurance sports (marathon running)
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In case of endurance performance, ability of caffeine to mobilise fat stores in body, convert then into free
fatty acids that is important
○ May help body get rid of fat, start using it as energy source—may promote glycogen sparing
Working muscles oxidise free fatty acids, making them usable source of energy
—CREATINE PRODUCTS
● Body has two sources—production by body cells, food intake (particularly meat)
● Food intake in normal diet accounts for about one gram of creatine per day
● In muscle creatine is converted to creatine phosphate, thereafter assists in resynthesis of ATP
○ Important in making energy available to sustain short duration explosive activity (weight-lifting,
sprinting)
● Because it cannot be stored in body, idea of supplementation is supported by many athletes, particularly
those involved in predominantly anaerobic programs
● While manufacturers continue to market performance enhancing properties (increased strength, delaying
fatigue, burning fat), many researchers have found little, if any benefit
○ No evidence to support claim that fat metabolism is improved
● Body is unable to store excess amounts so supplementation has little effect on athletes who already consume
high amounts of protein
○ Only (may be) beneficial for people whose supplementation is low/limited (vegetarians/vegans,
women)
● Use of creatine products can raise creatinine levels in muscle by 20-30%, this happens only if there is
considerable gap between existing level, point of saturation
● Benefits, while only marginal, will be with those in explosive type activities rather than those in endurance
type events
● Also causes increases in weight, reason why some athletes avoid product
● Positively, research has established muscle hypertrophy is more easily achieved when training is assisted by
creatine supplementation, hence its popularity with strength trainers
● Much is still inconclusive in regard to creatine supplementation
● While there may be some benefits in assisting some anaerobic based activities, little else may be gained from
consumption
● While there is probably no harm in small doses for exercising athletes, larger doses of creatine may have
health risks including possibility of developing renal disease
RECOVERY STRATEGIES
● Aim to ensure athlete is able to resume normal training, competition within time span of training program
● Prevent injury
● Workouts, performances can weaken athletes, even those who are hardened, well conditioned, well
prepared
● Active rest still regarded as most beneficial form of recovery—allows both physiological, psychological
revitalisation to take its course
● During rest, muscles repair, rebuild while energy, fluid levels are restored to pre-event levels
● Recovery is important to avoid symptoms of overtraining that may be evident in feelings of staleness, lack of
interest, inability to put in effort despite wanting to do so
● Recovery can be short/long term, depending on type of event/activity
● Short-term​—Period immediately following training, game, performance
○ Requires activities (cool-down following training) together with low intensity exercise to promote soft
tissue repair, disperse lactic acid
○ Nutritional component of this period of recovery characterised by replacement of fluid, energy
supplies as quickly as possible
● Long-term—
​ Recovery between competitions/following periods of peaking where body needs to be rested
from demands of regular training
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Part of annual plan in advanced training programs
○ Rugby league footballers having extended break from training in period following grand final
Nutritional goals relate to continuation of healthy eating practices, avoidance of weight gain despite lower
activity levels
○ When they get back, there can be more focus on skills, techniques
○ Can have reversibility effects—try to slow down by engaging in little exercise
Recovery strategies can be categorised as physiological (physical), neural, tissue damage, psychological (mind)
Elite athletes use range of strategies designed to enable them to resume full training in shortest possible time
—PHYSIOLOGICAL STRATEGIES (COOL DOWN, HYDRATION)
● Needs to focus on two elements—removal of metabolic by-products, nutritional plan to replace lost fluids,
energy-rich nutrients
● Effective ​cool-down​ is recommended manner for removal of metabolic by-products
● Cool-down​—Purpose is to gradually reduce heart rate, metabolism to pre-exercise state
○ Number of other elevated body functions (ventilation rate, blood distribution, adrenaline levels),
gradually return to normal
● Vigorous/sustained exercise that is not concluded with cool-down may result in blood pooling, causing
dizziness
● Proper cool-down also assists in removal of waste products (lactic acid), which contributes to muscle
stiffness, soreness
● May also assist in preventing muscle spasms, cramps, possibly assist in delayed onset of muscle soreness
(DOMS)
● Cool-down needs to be active, gradual—slowly bring intensity down
● Effective one should consist of five to ten minutes of walking/jogging/slow swimming, with aim of slowly
returning body to pre-exercise temperature
● Also important is static stretching—muscle fibres involved in exercise tend to shorten, may lose alignment as
result of aggressive movements
○ Assists in lengthening, relaxing, realigning muscle fibres, making normal range of movement easier to
accomplish
● Some athletes now use compression garments as part of cool-down procedure to assist dispersion, removal
of metabolic waste—research suggests wearing this during recovery period may have considerable
physiological benefits, including:
○ Improved muscle lactate removal
⚬ Reduced muscle fatigue
○ Reduced symptoms associated with delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS)
○ Less swelling in muscles, joints
⚬ Reduced sensations of post-exercise soreness
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Nutritional Plan​—Sound plan addresses both fluid, solid intakes, with some products having advantage of
catering for both areas
Fluid Recovery—
​ Effective measures to address dehydration need to be taken as part of pre-event, during
event management plans
Body still loses considerable fluid in endurance events posing threat of dehydration, characterised by:
○ Increase in pulse rate
⚬ Increase in core body temperature
○ Gradual decline in circulatory function—Blood being circulated around body is not as efficient, no
oxygen, removal of carbon dioxide
⚬ Decrease in water in cells
○ Decrease in blood pressure—Water goes to blood, without it it is thicker, will not flow as easily
(against arterial walls)
Amount of fluid loss varies from one individual to another, influenced by altitude, temperature, exercise
intensity, exercise duration, sweating
Thirst is not good indicator of dehydration as fluid losses can advance more rapidly that thirst mechanism can
adjust
Urine dark in colour is good indicator of dehydration
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○ If occurs, fluid needs to be consumed until urine colour turns pale/slightly yellow
Elite athletes weigh themselves before, after exercise, weight difference representing fluid loss
General rule, drinking with intermittent sipping over extended period gradually replaces lost fluid
Severe dehydration may require 24-48 hours to enable fluids to be totally replaced
Real fruit juices, milk drinks are encouraged along with drinks (Gatorade) because of potential to replace full
range of nutrients including carbohydrates, vitamins, potassium
Fuel Recovery—
​ Need to replenish depleted glycogen, blood sugar in first 30 minutes to two hours following
exercise is of paramount importance to fuel recovery
During this period, muscles are most receptive to glycogen enrichment
If fuel recovery is postponed for more than two hours up to 50% less glycogen is absorbed by fatigued
muscles
Research suggests consumption of at least 50-100g of carbohydrate within two hours of intense exercise is
necessary to initiate fuel replenishment
Some protein is important because amino acids repair damaged tissue
○ Enhances insulin supply, which increases ability of muscles, liver to store glycogen
○ Excessive intake at expense of carbohydrate is not recommended because of inability to replenish
glycogen
High carbohydrate diet that is balanced in terms of macronutrient energy supply (carbohydrates, protein, fat)
is recommended during exercise recovery
Focus on carbohydrate-rich food should continue for days if endurance exercise (cycling, long distance
running) contributed to field losses
Carbohydrate rich food, drinks—fruit juices (orange juice), rice, paste, bread, milk, yoghurt, fruit (fresh, dried)
—NEURAL STRATEGIES (HYDROTHERAPY, MASSAGE)
● Aim to relax muscles that have been fatigued/damages as result of high intensity
● Strenuous exercise affects central nervous system, may contribute to fatigue
● Neural—Nervous systems, muscles receive messages from neurally
● Hydrotherapy​—Involves use of water to relax, soothe pain, assist metabolic recovery
● Water provides support for movements, eliminates jarring, straining movements associated with land drills,
field exercises—takes strain off muscles
● Typical methods involve use of steam rooms, spas, underwater massage (spa with jets), heated swimming
pools
● With it, active exercise can be incorporated through use of gravity assisted movements (jumping)
● Swimming, assisted floatation exercises, movements (sprinting, jogging, combat exercise) can be performed
in gravity assisted environment, lessening risk of injury
○ Getting blood pumped through muscles without jarring
● Sports centres with heated swimming pools are ideal for hydrotherapy sessions
● Some cases, hydrotherapy can be used in conjunction with cryotherapy (use of cold) techniques to help
accelerate blood flow
● Three popular techniques used with elite athletes are:
○ Hot water immersion (HWI)—In hot water, hot pool/spa/sauna
○ Cold water immersion (CWI)
○ Contrast water therapy (CWT)—Alternation between water temperatures
● Hot water immersion causes dilation (widening) of blood vessels in body’s extremities—increase blood flow
● As temperature of body’s surface area increases, blood flows more freely to limbs, lowering blood pressure,
enhancing removal of waste
● Immersion in cold water (usually 10-15°C) causes blood flow to extremities to be reduced (dilation)
○ Occurs due to decreased heart rate, constriction of blood vessels in response to sudden temperature
drop—stop blood pooling (so it doesn’t swell)
● In CWT, athlete moves between pools/showers that are either hot/cold
● Enhances cycle of blood vessel dilation/constriction thereby increasing blood mobility through tissues
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Causes more rapid dispersal of waste, reduces muscle soreness, promotes faster recovery
Massage​—Can be performed prior to/following event
Specialised form of massage because, used as recovery strategy, serves number of purposes
Used post-event, it extends from cool-down focusing on body, mental relaxation
Important as exercise induced tension can cause stress on joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles
By providing this level of support, most important contribution of massage could well be in form of injury
prevention
Post-event massage claims to help relieve swelling, reduce muscle tension, assist in eliminating toxic
by-products, promote flexibility, generally compare athlete for next training session/performance
Recovery strategies may necessitate additional form of massage called rehabilitation massage where focus is
on injury treatment, specifically cramps, muscle damage, ligament repair, bruises, aches, general discomfort,
soreness
Properly used, shortens recovery time between training workouts, events
Massage needs to directly address needs of athlete arising from demands of sport
○ Netball centre court player who spends considerable time leaping, passing, sprinting, changing
direction has different massage demands to cyclist
Massage therapists have range of techniques they can utilise, some of the more popular methods being
compression massage, cross-fibre massage, Swedish massage, tender point massage
—TISSUE DAMAGE STRATEGIES (CRYOTHERAPY)
● Tissue damage may be minor, as in case of soreness, or more long term as might be case with
bruising/muscle tears
● Various forms of ​cryotherapy​, which involves use of cooling to treat injuries/quicken recovery, have become
popular in this recovery strategy
● Ice is most used form because of ability to slow down tissue inflammatory process, preventing build-up of
waste
○ If not removed quickly, contributes to muscle soreness, stiffness, reduces flexibility
● Ice used for too long can cause other injuries (burns)
● ICER principle, used in rehabilitation of soft tissue injury without initial Rest is frequently used, even if tissue
damage has not occurred
● Using damp cloth to avoid direct contact, apply ice on, off for ten minute intervals, for up to forty minutes
○ Process can be repeated periodically for day/two, particularly if injury to area is evident
● Compression, elevation, rest also used to enhance recuperation
● Ice baths have become popular in sports (touch football, rugby, soccer, endurance racing)
● Technique calls for immersion of affected body parts (often most of body) in bath of ice water for short time
period
● Work on principle that decreased temperature contracts blood vessels, decreasing their diameter
● On emerging from bath, body warms, blood vessels enlarge
○ This allows fresh, oxygen-rich blood to flow into muscles, stimulating recovery
● As plunge into ice bath presents quite shock to body, short periods of one minute are recommended initially,
building to longer periods as body gradually adapts
—PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGIES (RELAXATION)
● Relaxation​ techniques target both body, mind
● Following hard training, demanding performances, athletes may experience symptoms of low concentration,
lack of motivation, increased levels of anxiety
● Use of psychological strategies represents important phase in emotional, possibly spiritual recovery
● Choice of method(s) is quite individual, involves experimentation to establish which technique works best
○ Best psychological way to recover is sleep/rest—Mind has had eight hours of doing nothing, process
of body slows down
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Mind relaxing activities (reading, listening to music, watching movies/television) are helpful, used by most
athletes
Benefits of more specialised psychological techniques (progressive muscular relaxation, floatation,
meditation, visualisation, centred breathing, positive self-talk) are realised if practiced frequently
Some physical/social activities (cross-training and/or golf) are preferred by others
○ They are relaxing, not a sport that is their job, not intense/competitive
Body that harbours mental/physical tension is not able to sleep, experience full recovery
○ Night games, thinking about the game, post-game events
Adequate sleep is still regarded most important recovery strategy, although too much sleep can be
detrimental, contributing to feelings of sluggishness, lethargy
Relaxation techniques can reduce tension, thereby facilitating both physical, psychological recovery
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Compare the dietary requirements of athletes in different sports considering pre-, during and postperformance needs
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Critically analyse the evidence for and against supplementation for improved performance
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Research recovery strategies to discern their main features and proposed benefits to performance
● ​HOW DOES THE ACQUISITION OF SKILL AFFECT PERFORMANCE​ ●
STAGES OF SKILL ACQUISITION
● Skill is ability to consistently perform movements with control, precision
● Acquisition​ (gaining possession) of skill is gradual developmental process that requires cognitive (thinking)
process work with physical abilities to learn how to perform movements that previously were unfamiliar
● Categorised into three-stage process
—COGNITIVE
● Refers to mental processing of information, thinking, understanding
● Fundamental requirement here is athlete gains understanding of task required
● Necessitates knowing what to do, insight about how to do it
● Conceptualisation—generation of clear mental pictures of task—is essential for good movement
reproduction
● Demonstrations, videos, information highlighting important points can help guide learner through skill
○ Coaches must be careful to avoid ‘information overload’, which would confuse learner
● Expected that learner will encounter problems, number, magnitude of which will depend on difficulty of skill
● Learner may experience error, awkwardness, some disorientation
○ Learners must receive continuous feedback/information on their progress
● If they experience much difficulty, skill could possibly be broken into smaller movements for practice
● During this stage, learner should experience some success
● All positive learning should be reinforced, encouraged
● Many coaches give drills at this point to improve learner’s coordination, feel for desired movement
● Rates of progress from this stage vary from one individual to another
● Much depends on how sequences of skill building are organised, both physically, in mind of learner
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Depending on skill difficulty (complexity of task), could be learned in anything from few minutes to much
longer period
Some difficult skills (handstands, somersaults) may never be mastered by some people
Need lots of feedback, encouragement
—ASSOCIATIVE
● Double ss means second stage
● Identified by emphasis on practice
● Associative means connecting/linking ideas
● Learner, having acquired idea of what skill is, needs to repeat movement to enhance synchronisation of their
mind, muscles
● Errors still occur, but are smaller, less frequent than in cognitive stage
● Feedback is essential to improve skill, which learner repeats frequently in practice
● Sense of fluency/smoothness develops as learner’s kinaesthetics (sense of movement) improves
● Practice improves way skill is performed
● Learner eventually experiences some success
○ Basketball gains assurance as he/she develops ability to dribble with left, right hands
● These successes are felt more frequently with additional practice, feedback
● Gradually, learner feels more at ease as confidence increases
● Learners can remain at this stage for long period, even years
○ Some may never progress to next stage
● Given sufficient practice, most reach level at which skill execution is reasonably automatic
○ Does not imply perfection, because performances at autonomous level vary in quality
● Starting to slowly put skill together, involves lots of practice
—AUTONOMOUS
● Characterised by ability to automatically execute skill
● Execution of movement is now properly sequenced, performed instinctively
● Performer has consolidated many discrete skills (commonly called subroutines) that comprise action
● Movement has characteristic fluency as subroutines sequence, blend in aesthetically pleasing motions
○ Referred to as ​temporal patterning
● Movement looks good because it is efficient, with muscle groups working in order, producing only necessary
movements at required time
● Most important feature of performers in this stage is they are able to attend to other cues while giving little
thought on how to perform skill
○ In netball game, problem is not how to make pass, but who to pass to, what type of pass to make,
considering position of defence
● Practice is still important during this stage, but mostly involves simulating competition situation
● Unless specifically practices to improve technique, training sessions for athlete at this stage should
incorporate pressure drills
○ Helps athlete adapt skills to real performance
● More concerned about what other things affect skill (wind, crowd)—kinaesthetic awareness
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEARNER (PERSONALITY, HEREDITARY, CONFIDENCE, PRIOR EXPERIENCE, ABILITY)
● Speed with which learners are able to acquire certain motor skills depends on number of factors, of which are
most inherent features—alter considerably from one person to another
○ Ability to learn skills
● Variations in age, height, muscle fibre composition, sex, weight, mean any two people will not aquire similar
skills at same pace
○ Fast-twitch fibres make people run faster
● Differences make people unique, must take them into account when learning motor skills
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Personality​—Individual’s characteristic way of behaving, develops as result of individual’s infinite social
interactions, learning experiences throughout life
Coaches describe athletes in terms of observable traits (consistency, reliability, level of motivation, ability to
express feelings)
From motor learning point of view, certain aspects of personality tend to be more favourable with certain
learning environments
Elite coaches tend to recruit, develop not only those with physical talent, but also those who possess positive
learning attributes (helps them become better at sport)
○ Personal characteristics—cooperativeness, willingness to listen, determination, enthusiasm,
dedication, level of motivation, aggressiveness, willingness to take risks, to learn
Learners whose personality reflects positive ways of behaving are more receptive to instruction, advice, more
cooperative in performing set tasks, more helpful in creating productive learning environment
Hereditary​—Individuals endowed with certain characteristics inherited from parents
Unchangeable, limit dimensions of potential
Determine the ‘ceiling’ for performance (genetic characteristics)
○ How high/fast/well one can go
Limit how fast one can run, how high one can jump, possible ideal position in sports team (based on build,
speed)
Environment determines if one can reach limits (ceiling) set by hereditary
Hereditary characteristics influence success/otherwise in specific athletic events
Relative percentage of fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibres—Athletes with higher percentage of fast-twitch are
naturally more suited to sprint, explosive events, those endowed with slow-twitch tend to be more successful
at endurance events (marathons)
Somatotype​—(Body shape) Tendency towards ectomorph (linearity), mesomorphy (muscularity),
endomorphy (roundness, does not necessarily mean fat) determines individual’s suitability for many activities
○ Ectomorph favoured for high jumpers, mesomorphy more favoured for netball centres, lightweight
boxers
○ Body shape/type determines skills one can learn, where one can go with those skills, determines
what ceiling becomes
○ To be sumo wrestler, need to be endomorph instead of ectomorph
Gender—Higher levels of hormone testosterone in males give potential to make greater increases in strength,
power than females
○ For this reason, most sports have separate competitions for each gender
○ Differences in body shape due to puberty
Height—Differences in this (weight) provide considerable physical, biomechanical advantages to some
players, make learning, execution of required skills less difficult process
Conceptual ability—Ability to visualise movement, make it materialise is significant factor, particularly in first
stages of learning
Important to remember that ability to learn skill may/moy not be related to success in competition
○ Small, stocky person may readily learn to high jump using correct technique, but may be unsuccessful
in competition as other competitors are taller, leaner, better suited to jumping
Skill learning, execution may be successful, rewarding, but may not lead to competitive success
Confidence​—Firm belief, is critical not only to improve in skill acquisition, but also to performance of many
tasks faced in everyday living
Develops from experiencing success in learning situations
Incidents that result in successive failures may destroy confidence
○ Unless presented as positive learning opportunities
Confidence unlocks energy, creativity, releases power of belief—notion that something worthwhile can be
achieved through perseverance, effort
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Confidence underpins collaboration process with coaches, other learners
Confident people able to help others as well as themselves
Confident learners approach skill learning situations with feelings of being able to rise to challenge, outcome
will be favourable regardless of difficulty
Self-image is big part of confidence, powerful in governing behaviour
Coaches who use skills practices/drills that make it difficult for learner to achieve can contribute to learner’s
development of negative feelings, doubt in their own ability
Coaches need to develop drills, strategies that are sequential, make achievement progressive, gradual, within
one’s ability level
Positive achievement enhances confidence, nurtures self-image, provides foundation for future skill building
Prior Experience​—Often easier to learn new skill if similar movements have already been successfully
acquired
This prior experience (experience linked to influence of already learned task on one to be acquired) has
potential to accelerate learning process
Some suggest ​transfer of learning​ is important reality in acquisition of new skills
○ Others suggest amount of transfer depends on learning situation, many other variables (learner’s
perception/ability to make connections between the two)
In group situation, learners will be quite diverse in terms of background experience
Some may find ​lateral transfer​ (transfer from one task to another similar task) relatively easy
○ From backhand in squash to backhand in tennis
More difficult may be ​vertical transfer​, which is mastering lower order task as prerequisite for something
much more difficult within same activity
○ How important is having learned dolphin kick using kickboard to learning butterfly swimming?
Degree to which prior experience influences skill acquisition, ultimately performance, variable among leaders
Not measurable, but prior experience is seen in good basketballer quickly adapting to netball, batsman in
cricket to golf, gymnast to diving
Evident that basic motor skills (coordination, balance, agility, speed) are systematically developed generally
through game based activity, club sports, school physical education programs
These influences contribute significantly to learner’s general development, represent platform for building
further improvement
Ability​—Seen in way individual is able to learn, process, implement new skills
Incorporates range of factors (sense acuity/sharpness, perception, reaction time, intelligence—how quickly
something is learnt) which combine to allow individual to do readily what is intended
Good sense acuity enables individual to gather cues from instructional situations quickly
Learners with good sense acuity ‘grasp’ key concepts, ideas, movements easily, move through early stages of
learning promptly
Some learners possess ability to react quickly to specific stimuli—considerable advantage in contests (track
events) in which response time to gun sound can mean difference between winning, losing
Others possess ability to easily comprehend practical skills, solve problems, generate solutions, make rational
decisions in task application
○ Such talents may be useful in captaincy roles, other organisational positions
THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
● How does the nature of the skill affect performance of it
● Learning environment—Based on variables of skill acquisition (level/nature) of skill, not physical environment
● Important for coaches to adapt learning environment based on skills acquisition of learner
—NATURE OF THE SKILL (OPEN, CLOSED, GROSS, FINE, DISCRETE, SERIAL, CONTINUOUS, SELF-PACES, EXTERNALLY
PACED)
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Type of skill being executed—characteristics of it
Some skills may change depending on environment they are played in
Open​—Can change every time it is done
Environment is unpredictable, everchanging, open to anything happening to it
○ Not sure what skill they are going to have to execute
Usually externally-paced (responding to stimulus that makes one do that skill), controlled by something
outside learner/athlete’s environment
Lots of things can impact the skill
Soccer goal—Different variables can affect skill of saving goal
○ Opponent, own team can affect ability to execute skill of saving ball
Tackle in rugby—Not sure what the opponent is going to do
○ Change direction, stay upright, bend over, do not know what the opponent is going do
Not something that is singular, constant
Changing opponents, situations, circumstances
Closed​—Stays the same every time it’s performed
When circumstances are predictable, constant, know something has to be achieved, know how to achieve it
Self-paced, under direct control of athlete
Putting for golf—predictable, might be wind, wet grass, but no opponent interfering, environment of green is
consistent
Basketball on free-throw line—No one defends player during time, same distance from the line, self-paced
(under control of athlete)
Know how to execute skill, know what is going to happen, same most of the time (surface, situation)
Self-Paced​—Performed in time frame which suits athlete
Golf—Individual sport, allowed to hit ball whenever they want to
○ Not as result of opponent coming up to them, environment coming up to them
Cricket—Bowler can choose when they are ready to bowl, get to decide when to run up for ball
○ Similar to ten-pin bowling
Athlete has control over when they are going to execute that skill, no other factors influencing it
Externally-Paced​—Performed with influence from external force (team member, opposition, environmental
condition)
Impacts when skill is performed
Tennis—If someone hits ball across net, do not have any decision as to when to hit ball
○ Where ball is placed, what type of shot is played is determined by how ball has been hit
Soccer—Skill of stopping goal is externally placed, determined by opposing team kicking ball
Cricket—Batter has to react to bowler
Linked to open skills
Discrete​—Distinct clear beginning, end to skill
Short duration, see where it starts, finishes
Golf—Drive, can see from moment when they set up to when they follow through
Can actually see start of skill
Serial​—Little skills that join together into making one whole skill
○ Serial on television has little multiple episodes that makes up whole series
Rugby tackle—Skill of running at player, wrapping arms around, holding to ground
○ Require lots of different body parts
Continuous​—No clear beginning/end, have ongoing nature
No clear start/end to it
Swimmer—Arms go over top, keeps going until race is over
Runner—Concept of putting foot forward, moving arms are repeated over again until event is finished
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Skill is repeated over and over
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Gross Motor​—Involve large muscle groups
Running, swimming—Movements of legs, arms
Fine Motor​—Execution involves smaller muscle groups
Archery—Execution dependant on how well hands, fingers can be moved to ensure arrow moves to right spot
○ Internally paced, archer chooses when they execute the skill
○ Closed—No other influences
—THE PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS (DECISION-MAKING, STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL DEVELOPMENT)
● Often overshadowed by focus on teaching, developing skill fundamentals
● Sometimes see players demonstrate proficiency in practice sessions, but are unable to respond successfully
to opponents in games because they lack knowledge, confidence, decision making skills necessary to take
advantage of situation
● While some players appear superior in certain performance elements (ability to ‘read’ game), others need to
develop this capability through practice
● Teaching, coaching strategies that emphasise ​game-centred approach​ provide opportunity to develop
performance elements because tactics, moves, game plans can be analysed following planned stoppages in
play
● Using this approach, players see relevance of skill/move because poor execution, usual cause of stoppage,
has drawn attention to it
● Analysis is immediate, feedback instant, with relevance established to that part of the game
● Development of performance elements can be enhanced by use of technical equipment (coaching boards),
practical application by way of play drills, small games, match practice to provide experience
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Decision Making​—Best improved by having to make decisions in performance-like situations
Needs to be appreciated within framework of rules, playing conditions, agreed team strategies, opposition
tactics
Productive decision making is best achieved through following:
Observation:​ Many coaches use coaching boards, demonstrations to reveal inner workings of planned
strategies to assist learners
○ Also recommend observation of other players, their movements on field of play, particularly skills
performers
​Questioning:​ Decision making is improved by highlighting options, having players work through game-like
scenarios
○ When moving objects representing players around on coaching board, players need to be asked
questions like ‘what would you do if this opponent moved here?’, ‘how do we create gap between
these two players?’
Whole, part, whole approach:​ Game strategy needs to be taught as whole so players can see overall plan—
following that, individuals need to learn their specific roles
○ Learner players should walk through moves initially to acquire feel of where to be, what to do, when
to do it
○ Build-up to game execution speed needs to be gradual, with emphasis on good technique, correct
execution
Variation:​ During training, important to explore variations when rehearsing strategies
○ By changing defensive alignment, players are encouraged to explore more innovative imaginative
options
Creativity:​ Democratic approach to strategic development encourages all players to identify with each
problematic situation, solve it as group—preferable to following strict, coach-imposed directions all the time
because players like to feel they can make worthwhile contribution
○ Creativity as opposed to ‘paralysis by analysis’ is more productive in developing decision making skills
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Strategic And Tactical Development​—All game players aim to develop proficiency in development of technical
skills (ways of moving body to perform physical task)
Pass in game, lay-up in basketball, dribble in hockey all examples of technical skills used in different games
For years, coaches using traditional approach taught skills in specific practice situations, hoped players could
transfer learning to game situations
○ Factors (opposition pressure, player movement, lack of similarity between practice, game situation
(closed to open environment)) meant duplication of learned skill was often unsuccessful
Games-centred approach is now much more popular as it focuses on development of tactical skills within
open environment
Here, emphasis is on decisions, actions of players within game with intention of gaining
advantage/superiority
While more difficult to structure, teach effectively, tactical skill learning leads to better game performance
First step in tactical skill learning is ​understanding—
​ while important to learn correct technique, equally
important to know which skill to use, where it fits into game
○ Requires body of knowledge, self-confidence, some familiarity with consequences of error
Second step is to enhance ​decision making ability—
​ Players learn to identify cues, variations within game-like
situations, apply tactical options as necessary
Tactical skills can be taught in many situations—small grids, limited player games, confined space games, two
on three situations, so forth
By manipulating rules, space, time, equipment, numbers, offensive/defensive structures, desired learning
experience can be replicated
Up to coaches to design situations that mimic desired aspects of game, set up drills where players can
develop suitable game-related movements
If players never practice in game-like setting, they will never feel confidence in game itself
○ Sequence of same mistakes in game could destabilise confidence
During these small games, important for players to ask questions, have input, even suggest solutions
○ Encourages players to develop sense of responsibility for their actions
Tactical development built on problem solving—about decisions, actions on pathway to gaining advantage,
about error, learning from it, developing creative solutions while in experimental situations
Observation of others, video analysis, talking to experienced players is important in understanding why
particular action is appropriate, how to respond to situations, how to implement suitable responses
As tactical skills become functional, ​strategic development​ can be enhanced
Good strategies have inbuilt options so if plan is derailed, there is always alternative
Strategies involve planning, practice, might need to change according to opposition
Strategies become complex as more programmed movements are built in, put to test
○ Players who have developed technical, tactical skills will have solid platform on which they can
respond to constantly varying game environment, confidently adapt to changing situations
—PRACTICE METHOD (MASSED, DISTRIBUTED, WHOLE, PART)
● Training systems, routines designed to teach particular skills
● Massed, distributed practice methods are approaches that coaches commonly use to teach skills more
effectively in available time
● Choice of routine depends on amount of time required to teach particular skill
● Massed Practice​—Involves continuous practice session, with rest intervals being shorter than practice
intervals
● Requires performers take infrequent breaks between long periods of instruction, skill development routines
○ Gymnast learning handstand, where drilling continues until fatigue/other factors make further
practice of limited benefit
● Works best when performers are:
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○ Highly motivated
⚬ Fresh
⚬ Unable to attend number of sessions
Distributed Practice​—Involves broken practice session, with intervals of rest/alternative activities being
longer than practice intervals (spaced practice)
Often preferable to spread periods of intensive work more liberally
In this situation, gymnast would practice handstand over number of sessions/perhaps on different occasions
during one session—relief could be gained by using frequent breaks/alternating between activities
Works best when:
○ Performer lacks interest
⚬ Task is difficult
⚬ Motivation is low
○ Task causes fatigue
⚬ Excessive work causes discomfort (heading soccer ball)
Kids session—short attention span
Difficult task, motivation is low
While some skills are relatively easy to learn, others (somersaults, handstands) require considerable practice
Often difficult for learners to conceptualise, integrate smaller parts that need to be assembled to form
complex skill
○ For this reason, coaches may decide to use whole, part practice/mixture of both to assist performer’s
learning process
Whole Practice​—Method applied when skill is practiced in its entirety
Layup in basketball, coach would demonstrate, teach skill as complete unit
Part Practice​—Method applied when skill is broken into smaller components, each discrete subskill
(subroutine) is practiced separately
Layup in basketball, coach would break layup into series of discrete skills:
○ Dribbling to basket
⚬ Catching ball, landing on correct foot
○ Stepping on opposite foot, driving up to basket
⚬ Shooting, landing
Learner would practice each movement, assemble them at end
Commonly used for teaching both new, complex skills
Many coaches use combination of methods—whole-part-whole:
○ Total skill is demonstrated, practiced
○ As difficulties arise, discrete segments are extracted from total movement, analysed separately
○ As segments are mastered, skill is reassembled, practiced, again rehearsed as unit
—FEEDBACK (INTERNAL, EXTERNAL, CONCURRENT, DELAYED, KNOWLEDGE OF RESULTS, KNOWLEDGE OF
PERFORMANCE)
● Information provided to learner about nature/result of their performance
● Constitutes as important role in learning process because it provides guidance, helps performer eradicate
movement error
● Relationship between feedback, performance is important:
○ Highly unsuccessful action—feedback should suggest learner substitute/replace action
○ Unsuccessful action—feedback should suggest learner modify action
○ Successful action—feedback should suggest learner repeat action
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Internal (Intrinsic) Feedback​—Some feedback is experienced during skill execution
Information is received through body’s proprioceptive mechanisms (senses)—how the skill felt
Ability to stop half way if skill does not feel right to re-execute skill
Occurs as normal consequence of performing skill
Embodies feelings, together with sensory information (seeing ball, hearing sound of ball hitting bat)
Proprioception is made possible by neuromuscular system sending messages to brain about how movement
is being performed
Helps develop kinaesthetic sense/’feel’ for movement, eventually to differentiate between skilful application,
error
External (Extrinsic) Feedback​—Some feedback derived from outside sources during performance of skill
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Information may take form of comment from coach, applause from crowd, result of game
It is all feedback other than that which occurs as normal consequence of performing skill
Includes various forms of external information—suggestions from coach, video replays, judges’ scores, race
results
While it may vary in nature, its origin/source is outside body
One form is ​augmented feedback​—Supplementary/additional information not given immediately skill is
performed, but later used to illustrate point
○ Additional feedback given later on (hours/days)—recording, video of skill execution to watch later so
coach can give feedback
Visual aids (video replays of performances) examples of external augmented feedback
Timing of feedback is important in learning skill
Certain amount is concurrent, yet much feedback may be delayed/withheld until more appropriate moment
Concurrent (Continuous) Feedback​—Received during performance of skill
Occurs simultaneously with skill execution, is relayed through body by proprioceptive mechanism
Balancing in headstand—Information from brain enables them to maintain pose
○ Such skill requires constant readjustment to centre of gravity to maintain equilibrium, success relies
on feedback being continuously supplied to body
Often there is period of time between skill execution, feedback
Delayed Feedback​—Received at later stage
Waiting for result of basketball throw—feedback (successful/unsuccessful throw) is not received until ball
either enters/misses basket
Knowledge Of Results​—Information about outcome of movement
Suggests how successfully skill was performed—how many goals were scored from number of attempts, what
distance was covered in long jump
Always external, may come from sources (coach, other performer)
Generated in response to performance, this is important as it provides information about skill execution
To obtain different result, performer may need to execute skill differently, or perhaps not at all, in specific
situation
Knowledge Of Performance​—Information about pattern of movement during execution, how well skill was
executed
More specific to way in which skill is performed
Comment from coach about height of ball toss during tennis serve, angle of elbow during pull phase of
butterfly swimming
Gives feedback on quality of execution of skill, may generate from either internal/external sources
Feedback is essential if performance is to be improved—works best if it is immediate, positive, if it reinforces
correct skill execution
Sometimes coaches are confronted with players who successfully execute skill even though technique is
incorrect, undesirable in eyes of coach
○ Can lead to frustration when performer is receiving positive feedback (success), also negative
feedback (coach’s comment on poor skill execution)
Athlete must realise development of correct technique is essential for long-term success
ASSESSMENT OF SKILL AND PERFORMANCE
—CHARACTERISTICS OF SKILLED PERFORMERS (KINAESTHETIC SENSE, ANTICIPATION, CONSISTENCY, TECHNIQUE)
● Kinaesthetic Sense​—Refers to system of sensitivity in muscles, allows them to ‘feel’ movement as they
perform it
● Inexperienced performers make mistakes because ‘muscle memory’ is not fully developed, but highly skilled
players are especially alert to movement error, are even able to make corrections, modifications while
executing movement—have not done it enough to know how it should be done perfectly
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Improved kinaesthesis is direct result of practice
As kinaesthetic sense improves, so does awareness of position of joints, movement of body parts relative to
each other
Become acutely aware of arms, limbs, precisely where they should be in performing particular movements
Ability to brush teeth without watching, balancing on bicycle while riding, maneuvering through markers in
agility run
Brain injury can destroy kinaesthetic function, making precise movements either difficult/impossible
Well-developed kinaesthetic sense is trademark of all elite sportsmen
Particularly evident in tennis, where players need to return serves in which ball speed regularly reach 200kph,
higher
○ To enable successful return of service, limbs need to respond reflexively, with control, muscular,
neurological systems syncing to enable racquet to meet ball in centre of strings while also adjusting
to either topspin/backspin
This ability is result of years of repetitive practice where tiny adjustments are made each time serve is
returned until body know exactly what action to make, how much force to apply
○ Autonomic response—feel, touch sensation conditioned by endless practice by giving appearance of
effortless control
Anticipation​—Ability to predict what may happen in specific situations (skilled performers better able to)
Can quickly, easily predict possible flight path, speed of ball, direction of pass/which opponent may move/
pass—skill allows them added time in which to respond
Particularly important in externally paced activities/where fast movement, decision making are necessary
(cricket, basketball, tennis, squash)
○ Leads to better timing of responses
Skilful performer can vary pace of movement to confuse opponent, prevent them from anticipating action
Ability to predict actions can also provide more opportunity to ensure movement is performed smoothly,
with coordination
Consistency​—Able to perform desired movements repeatedly (skilled performers show more of this)
Easy to observe in tennis, where skilled performer is more consistent in rallies, managing to clear net, keep
ball in court more regularly
Needs to be developed—Involves physical skill improvement, preparation, planning, commitment to routines
Sense of trust in one’s emotional control, general ability to execute action/plan is paramount
Psychological skills including imagery, concentration, confidence, self-talk, arousal control are important
underlying factors in gaining greater consistency in performance
Further improved by exposure to situations where it is needed
Often see good athletes whose performances are beleaguered by inconsistency—greater exposure to
pressure situations can improve this
Elite athletes commonly use strategies that work with imagery to stimulate pressure situations, build in
desired responses
Exposure to tournament pressure, knowledge of what to do, trust in one’s ability, control of situational
anxiety are key measures in improving consistency, found in skilled performers
Technique​—Procedure/practical method applied to particular task
○ If task is to serve tennis ball, good techniques have been established whereby players can learn to
carry out procedure in most effective manner
Development of this/desired form of skill execution has number of advantages:
○ Movement is economical, will not use more energy than required
○ Movement is skilful, using only essential muscles
○ Movement is aesthetically pleasing
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Action has better chance of being successful because good technique has sound biomechanical
platform
○ Action has better chance of holding up under pressure
○ Performer has less chance of sustaining injury during execution of movement
○ Good technique is fundamental to achieving at higher level
Good technique is observable characteristic of skilled performers—enables elite tennis players to serve at
high speeds, apply bounce, topspin, participate in rallies for extended periods of time
Good technique is fundamental to golfers, enabling them to drive big distances, basketballers to shoot
successfully, cricketers to achieve many runs
Good technique is ‘best practice’, requiring development through drills, game-related activities
Better technique allows for muscle memory to do execute the skill/performance better
—OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
● Measurement is process of using numeric information to assess particular physical ability
● Information may be presented in form of times, distances, guidelines
● Speed measurements using stopwatches/electronic timing, distance measurements using tape measures,
provide reliable information on which to assess performance because devices are accurate
● Greater accuracy of measurements, more reliable data will be
● Subjective​—Gathering information, no measurement
● Refers to judgement of performance quality based on feelings, impressions, opinions rather than
measurement system
○ Gymnastics (judges look at technique in regards to their view of it, there is no measurement)
○ Boxing (scores of judges are different, not based on criteria)
○ Diving (scores of judges show what they think happened, technique execution), made fairer by having
more than two judges, highest mark, lowest mark are taken away, average other three marks
● Where measurement is not part of process of gathering information, assessment of performance tends to be
subjective, subsequently less accurate
● Still have some criteria, checklist they have to make judgement on
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Objective​—Judges/testers apply same criteria to measure performance, do not need to interpret information
(completely objective)
Scores should thus be consistent
○ Hundred metre sprint (fastest runner wins), football games (whoever scores most tries wins)
○ Long jump, shot put, javelin, highjump, swimming (win because one jumped further/higher, not due
to technique, uniform)
Measured by time, criteria, can have number of criteria
Use of instruments (measuring tapes, stop watches) makes data more credible by eliminating guesswork
○ Other words, increases degree of objectivity, that is, extent to which measure/test is independent of
observer
Runs on continuum from highly objective to slightly objective
Some performances (sprint, high jump, javelin throw) are easily measured because uniform scale of
measurement (stopwatch, tape measure) is used
Appraisal here is highly objective
Team games need to be appraised by competent officials familiar with proper adjudication procedures
Appraisal of these types of activity is still objective, but not to same extent
Two judges rating diving performance may disagree considerably because there are variables (degree of
diving difficulty)—thus, there is more room for subjectivity to affect assessment
Observations can be made more objective by using:
○ Checklists​—Lists that include elements (style, technical correctness, sequencing, execution of
required skill)
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Measurement systems—
​ Instruments that accurately discriminate one set of data from another
(measuring tapes)
Established criteria—
​ Set of procedures, rules, guidelines that indicate how activity is to be assessed
Rating scales—
​ Degree-of-difficulty sheet that awards more marks for movements difficult to perform
—VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF TESTS
● Tests refer to skills, fitness
● For test to be considered credible, needs to meet certain criteria
● Validity​—Honesty of test, degree to which it measures what it is supposed to measure, first essential
characteristic
● More to do with accuracy
● Is 12-minute run measure of cardiorespiratory endurance (how well does body provide oxygen to working
muscles, rid carbon dioxide)/something else
○ Accept it measures fitness because major part of test involves running, which is known to develop
heart, lung capacity—tells relationship between test, performance component has been tested many
times
● What about cycle ergometry as test for ability to swim fifty metres
○ Does not relate to swimming, both are different in way they are performed, energy systems they use,
muscle groups involved
● Establishing validity is about determining strength of relationship between performance component, test
designed to assess component
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Reliability​—Degree of consistency of test, ability of test, tester to produce same results on successive
occasions
More to do with precision, consistency
50 metre test is reliable of speed of same tester repeats same test on same subject under same conditions,
consistently finds very similar results
○ 100 metres—not too reliable as technique becomes involved
Reliability in testing can be improved by use of similar procedures, conditions (wind), equipment as originally
prescribed
If speed test of athlete is conducted on successive weeks, conditions vary considerably, degree of reliability
decreases considerable
○ No wind on first week, strong headwind on second
—PERSONAL VERSUS PRESCRIBED JUDGING CRITERIA
● Criteria​—Standards/qualities used for judging value of performance
● Personal Criteria​—Preconceived ideas/expectations that individual brings to judge performance
● Frequently used by coaches when they select team for following week based on this week’s performance
○ May feel some team members played well, deserve to hold their positions for next game
● Spectators use personal criteria when evaluating dance performances, movies, test matches because their
assessments are based on feelings, impressions rather than assigned criteria
● Judgements rely on feelings, emotions are measurement tool
● Judge’s preconceived attitudes, expectations, opinions, possible bias may contribute to judgments that
others may be to be incorrect/unjustified
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Prescribed Criteria​—Established by sports organisation/body, form basis of assessment for competitions in
that sport/activity
In top level competition in sports (gymnastics, dance, diving), appraisal is initially quite subjective
○ Other words, judges watch skill (dive, form of impression) based on appreciation of movement
Then apply prescribed criteria to standardise interpretations as much as possible
This adjusts subjectivity along continuum to area where it is seen to be more objective
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More rigorous criteria, more competent judges in applying criteria, more objective is appraisal
Use of prescribed criteria seeks to absorb elements of subjectivity into more objective framework
Judge’s use of this criteria (checklists, rating scales, degree of difficulty charts) helps to more accurately
convert appraisal into meaningful measurements, such as a score and something to which audience,
spectators and fellow judge can relate
For organised competitions, judges are usually supplied with prescribed criteria well before event
During competition, judge matches performance to criteria to rate standard of performance
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Examine the stages of skill acquisition by participating in the learning of a new skill, eg. juggling, throwing
with the non-dominant arm
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Describe how the characteristics of the learner can influence skill acquisition and the performance of skills
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Design a suitable plan for teaching beginners to acquire a skill through to mastery. The plan should reflect:
○ Appropriate practice methods for the learners
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The integration of relevant performance elements
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An awareness of how instruction may vary according to characteristics of the learner
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How feedback will be used as learners progress through the stages of skill acquisition
Develop and evaluate objective and subjective measures to appraise performance