Higher PE
Preparation of the Body
Lesson 4: Fitness Requirements
Lesson 4:
Fitness Requirements
Today we will
• Complete group task relating to mental fitness
requirements in football
• Recap fitness requirements for effective performance
• Set homework task for Friday
Mental Fitness Homework Task
Due:Tuesday 26th October
Instructions
H/W.1
H/W.2
1.
2.
3.
Number your group 1-4
4.
On Tuesday 26th October you will be responsible for teaching
your group your topic area
Collect the handout which corresponds to your number
H/W.3
H/W.4
Read and make notes of the information you have been provided
with
Homework task prep
Instructions
1.
Join up with people of the same number to make a new
group
2.
Clarify any concerns you have with you topic area
In 5 minutes you present to your group
Recap fitness requirements for effective performance
• Football is a fast fluctuating game involving bouts of
intense energy sprints interspersed with periods of lower
intensity jogs or even walks to recover.
• The physical fitness demands made on the cardio
respiratory endurance and speed endurance can
significantly impact on how a performer maintains
his/her skill level throughout the 90 minute period.
• Furthermore a deterioration in physical fitness can
impact on skill related and mental fitness
Physical Fitness – Cardio Respiratory Endurance
Cardio-respiratory endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to provide the working
muscles with oxygenated blood for a prolonged period of time.
Poor CRE will result in the player becoming breathless more quickly and unable to keep up
with play or maintain a high skill level. Decision making will also be affected and longer rest
periods will be needed to aid recovery.
Football Example
Cardio respiratory endurance (CRE) is required to last the full 90 minutes of the game.
During the game you will do a lot of work both on and off the ball. You will make repeated
runs to support attacks, get into space to receive the ball, make runs with the ball, chase
back to defend etc.
The energy required to do this is supplied aerobically, which requires your heart, lungs
and blood system to supply oxygen to the working muscles throughout the game. Therefore
a high level of CRE delays the onset of fatigue. This means that your work rate stays
high you can fulfil your role in the team and you will be able to maintain a high skill level (as
fatigue can also affect your control, touch and concentration).
Physical Fitness – Speed Endurance
Speed allows the whole body to move quickly e.g. in sprinting. However SPEED
ENDURANCE is the ability to do this repeatedly over an extended period of time
without a decrease in speed.
Football Example
Speed is required when trying to beat an opponent to a 50/50 ball, to lose defender, to get
in to space, to support an attack, to dribble round an opponent or to chase back and close
down an attack. If you lack speed then you will be unable to maintain possession of the ball,
win it back, or take on your opposite player effectively. This happens continually throughout
the game as you repeatedly sprint over varied distances.
Therefore speed endurance is more important because if it is poor you will be unable to
maintain sprinting or repeatedly sprint throughout the duration of the game.
The energy required to do this is supplied anaerobically as the aerobic system is too slow
to meet the energy demands. These results in lactic acid build up and it is this, which leads
to muscle fatigue. Therefore with improved speed endurance (anaerobic endurance) the
body can delay the production of lactic acid and tolerate higher concentrations of it thus
delaying fatigue.
Skill Related Fitness – Agility
Agility is the ability to change the position of the body quickly, precisely and with control.
This uses a combination of speed and flexibility. This helps team players dodge their
opponents or turn to track back in defence or turn to create space and time to evaluate their
options.
Football Example
Agility is required to enable players to quickly change direction, for example when making
runs into the penalty box, turning to close down an attack, quickly adjusting to closely mark
a player who is trying to lose you or adjusting their upper body to reach a corner kick and
head the ball towards the goal.
Attacking players need to use agility to lose defenders and create space, leading to better
scoring opportunities and more time on the ball to evaluate their options increasing the
chance of them executing skills correctly.
Skill Related Fitness – Balance
Balance is the ability to retain the centre of gravity above the base of support when
stationary (static balance) or moving (dynamic balance). This helps gymnasts maintain their
position and prevents games players from falling over at speed. Muscles work together to
keep the body in a balanced position.
Football Example
In football dynamic balance is very important. Players need this because they are moving
and adjusting body position constantly when looking for scoring opportunities in the penalty
box or trying to mark an opponent closely.
Good balance will help players to keep their shots on target, and to reach and play difficult
volley strikes with accuracy - it will also help to maintain possession when a defender tries
to push you of the ball.
Mental Fitness – Level of Arousal
Level of arousal is the level of excitement, stress, nervousness and aggression as you get
prepared to participate in an activity. Arousal levels can peak too high or dip too low.
Level of arousal can be described as how focussed, alert or laidback /relaxed or stressed a
sports person is when performing.
 If a performer is too laidback or not focussed their lack of arousal and limited
motivation will lead to a poor performance.
 If a performer is over anxious / motivated and tense their stress levels will be too
high and this will also lead to a poor performance.
Level of arousal is like a glass of water. If there is too little water in the glass it
is not full enough to quench your thirst. If there is too much water the glass
will over flow and makes a mess.
Mental Fitness – Level of Arousal
If Level of arousal is to low performance will be poor because you want work to get into
space to receive a pass or wont be motivated to track back and help protect defence. A low
level of motivation will lead to a laid back can’t be bothered attitude.
On the other hand is performer is overly motivated or anxious they will run around
everywhere and be out of position, by trying to do to much your physical fitness will drop.
You are also likely to lunge into challenges giving away free kicks and possibly picking up a
booking.
Mental Fitness – Managing Emotions
Managing your emotions is controlling your feelings in demanding situations. For example,
if you are taking a penalty in football there are considerable pressures on you to score. You
need to focus on what you are going to do, be positive about taking the penalty and not
become easily distracted. Becoming over-anxious about taking the kick can result in a
poorly taken penalty.
Managing emotions is also important when you perform in a team or group. For example, it
is important to keep upir shape as part of a team. You need to listen to others and be ready
as part of a team/group. This requires constant discipline to avoid conflict.
It is important to be aggressive so that you don't back out of tackles, but it is important to
control your emotions. You don't want to get too wound up, put in dangerous tackles,
retaliate too strongly, or argue with the referee's decisions and get booked for dissent. It is
also important to remain positive and not be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake, as
this can get you down and lead to a drop in performance
Homework – Due Friday 29th August
Question: Explain in detail the types of fitness required in football
Introduction
- Description of football and fitness demands (see slide 5 for example)
- Name types of fitness required
Section 1 (Physical Fitness)
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
• Explain (define) what CRE is
• Explain (define) what Speed Endurance is
• Give performance examples to justify why
• Performance examples to justify why needed
needed
Section 2 (Skill Related)
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
• Explain (define) what Agility is
• Explain (define) what dynamic balance is
• Give performance examples to justify why
• Performance examples to justify why needed
needed
Section 3 (Mental Fitness)
Paragraph 5
• Explain (define) what Level of Arousal is
• Give performance examples to justify why
needed
Paragraph 6
• Explain (define) what Managing Emotions is
• Performance examples to justify why needed