St Mary’s Physical Education
Department
GCSE PE
YEAR 11
Training Methods
Circuit training
Continuous training
Fartlek training
Interval training
Weight training
Flexibility training
Circuit Training
Is based upon the completion of a series (or circuit) of
exercises
Circuit Training
Can be used to develop any components of fitness
What are the components of fitness?
Endurance, Speed, Strength and Flexibility
A circuit programme usually contains 6-10
stations/exercises
Circuits can be designed to train both aerobic and
anaerobic fitness or specifically exercise muscle groups or
components of fitness
Good circuits will have activities that are relevant to the
needs of the performer.
Exercises for Circuit Training
Press ups
Squat thrusts
Sprints
Burpees
Dips
Sit ups
Star Jumps
Squats
Lunges
Shuttle runs
Pull ups
Step ups
Running on spot
Skipping
Circuit Training
(1) Type of activity
(2) Time spent at each station
Determines what
type of fitness is
trained
(3) Number of circuits done
Q. If the circuit programme contained (1) stations that
were explosive (burpees, press ups) (2) with a small
duration on each exercise (3) and with a high number
of circuits completed- What type of fitness is being
trained?
ANAEROBIC FITNESS
Skill Circuits
• Circuits can include activities which will develop the
fitness and skills needed for specific games.
• Circuits do not have to be exercise based- skill
circuits are designed to work on a particular aspect
of skill
TASK
What stations would you add to a
circuit programme to help improve
the skills of (1) a Football player or
(2) a Netball player? Please list 6-10
stations for each player
Implementing training principles
The circuits stations are designed to specifically exercise a
particular group of muscles or component of fitness
SPECIFICITY
Intensity of each exercise increases, more repetitions at
each station, completing the circuit more quickly and
resting less between stations
OVERLOAD
A person increases the intensity and frequency of the
exercise after each consecutive station
PROGRESSION
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
• It is less boring due to all of the exercises being different
• It is easily adaptable and can be set up in both indoors and
outdoors
• It is physically beneficial because you are improving your
anaerobic and aerobic fitness
Disadvantages:
• It can be very time consuming to set up and organize
• People can get in each others way if the circuit is busy and
performed in a small area
Things to consider when designing
your Circuit programme
Identify whether you want the circuit to be general
(i.e.aerobic and anaerobic) or specific (a muscle
group or component of fitness)
Plan circuits carefully- be careful not to place
stations that are predominantly aerobic after one
another as this will overwork certain parts of the
body and increase the likelihood of fatigue setting
in too soon
Continuous Training
Is training without stopping for a rest.
The performer maintains the same speed and
intensity throughout
It should last at least 20 mins
What energy system will this develop?
AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEM
Common examples of
Continuous training
Getting that balance right!
It is important that there is a balance between the need
for oxygen and actual oxygen intake.
The need for O2
O2 intake
WHY?
If a performer trains too high over a period of time, the
body will eventually run out of oxygen.
If the activity is too low then the performer is not
benefiting from the training- A WASTE OF TIME!!
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
- Keeps you fit and healthy
- Good method to improve aerobic and all-round
fitness
Disadvantages:
- If the activity is not high enough to raise the heart
rate of the performer then the method is ineffective
- If the activity is too hard too soon then the performer
will most likely exhaust themselves due to the large
demand for oxygen
Fartlek Training
Fartlek is a Swedish word that means ‘speed play’
It involves continuous training designed to exercise
and stress the aerobic energy system
Fartlek Training
Involves training using a variety of activities,
such as running, walking, sprinting or cycling
over varying distances, terrain and speeds
without stopping
The order in which we place the activities
together will produce either an aerobic or
anaerobic training effect
Q. Who would benefit from this type of training?
Sport performers who need to change pace during play and
need to employ both aerobic and anaerobic systems
Homework
1. Choose a sporting performer and design a circuit
programme for them which focuses on developing
their fitness in that specific sport. Include 6 –10
work stations, the duration of exercise on each
station and the amount of repetitions
2. Explain why a weight lifter would not choose a
continuous training method
3. Why would Fartlek training benefit i) a Cyclist ii) a
Long-distance runner and iii) a Footballer?
Interval Training
Alternating between hard exercise and rest
The rest period gives us time to recover
Uses fixed patterns of fast and slow
exercise.
Longer periods of work and more
repetitions develop ENDURANCE
Shorter periods develop SPEED
Interval Training
Allows us to train for longer periods of time and can
be used to develop both anaerobic and aerobic
fitness depending on how we organize our training
sessions
The following can be varied :
Time or distance
Amount of effort exerted
Rest time
Activity during rest
No. of exercise and rest periods in a session
Interval Training
This training method is popular with performers
who have to cover specific distances e.g. cyclists,
rowers, swimmers- it allows them to work under
or over their distances to set personal targets in
terms of time
An Interval Programme
400m runner
Personal best = 1 min
Target time = 50 sec
Schedule: 6 x 100m: 3 min rest
6 x 100m: 2 min rest
6 x 100m: 1 min rest
3 x 200m: 3 min rest
3 x 200m: 2 min rest
3 x 200m: 1 min rest
N.B. This routine may take many weeks
to complete and show any signs of
progress
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
• It is physically beneficial because you are mixing both aerobic
and anaerobic exercise together
• Good method to set personal targets and goals to enhance
fitness, performance and motivation
Disadvantages:
• It can be repetitive and dull if new targets are not set
• It can be disheartening if the performer cannot reach the
required goal. Must ensure that the targets set are achievable to
the individual
Weight Training
Improves Muscle Strength and Tone and can also
be used to improve certain aspects of fitness
We use either free weights or machine weights to
develop muscles and we should always be
supervised when using them
Muscular strength
When using weights to
develop muscular strength
the performer must work at,
or near to their maximum
capacity
The number of repetitions
performed in each set
should be low
(approximately 6 reps or
less)
Muscular Endurance
To develop muscular endurance
the number of repetitions needs
to be higher then when
exercising to improve muscular
strength
This will require between 20-30
repetitions of each exercise
The performer will train at
around 50-60% of their
maximum capacity
Implementing Training
Principles
Our individual weight training programme can be
designed to develop a particular muscle group
SPECIFICITY
Gradually increasing the amount of weight after each
exercise
PROGRESSION
How could we stop the effects of reversibility?
KEEP TRAINING
Weight Training
There are 3 different kinds of weight
training:
1. Isometric training
2. Isotonic training
3. Isokinetic training
1. Isometric training
• Happens when the muscle tenses but doesn’t lengthen
or contract
• The body remains still- NO MOVEMENT
2. Isotonic training
Muscles contract and lengthen producing movement
e.g. pull-ups
3. Isokinetic Training
Muscles contract and shorten at a constant
speed.
The speed of the movement stays the same
throughout
The muscles will work at their maximum but
the force they produce will vary
This is done using special machines and
equipment
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
• Strengthens the muscle throughout the range of movement
• Easily adaptable to suit most sports
• Muscles gain strength evenly throughout the range of movement
• Fastest way to increase muscle strength
• Cheap, quick and easy to do anywhere
Disadvantages:
Equipment is very expensive and can be difficult to use if accessibility
is low
Muscles can become sore because of the stress they’re under when
lengthening and there isn’t a sufficient cool down period
It is not a good method of training if you have heart problems. Blood
flow to the muscle is reduced during exercise, so the blood pressure
rises, putting more strain on the heart for little improvement in fitness
Flexibility Training
This type of training relates to all sports
It involves moving or stretching the tendons
surrounding a joint beyond their limits
This can be accomplished by the performer
themselves (ACTIVE stretching) or with
assistance from a partner or teacher (PASSIVE
stretching)
Active Stretching
Stretching joints easily without any assistance
Passive Stretching
Stretching joints which can only be achieved
with assistance from another e.g. partner,
teacher or coach
The performer is passive allowing the assistant
to stretch the allocated joint
The assistant must remember not to stretch the
joint too far/ beyond a safe point
Points to consider when
stretching joints
Joints should be stretched just beyond their limit and the
position should be held for approximately 10 seconds
DO NOT perform these movements violently and extend
joints beyond the point of minor discomfort!!
Stretching and Flexibility
Exercises
Form part of:
The Training Programme
and
The Warm Up Phase
The Training Programme
As part of any training, stretching and
flexibility exercises should cover all major
joints of the body.
This should be carried out 3 times a week in
order to maintain optimum flexibility
The Warm Up
Flexibility should be used
during warm up sessions
and before any strenuous
exercise i.e. PE lessons and
competitions
The warm up should address
two aspects:
WHOLE BODY FLEXIBILITY
&
FLEXIBILITY OF EVENT-SPECIFIC
JOINTS
Event-Specific Joints
During some sporting activities, certain joints come
under considerable stress- therefore free movement at
that joint must be maximised before any training
session or competition
Q. Can you name any sports where specific joints come
under severe stress?
Homework
1. Why is interval training the best training method
for middle distance runners and swimmers?
2. Explain the difference between isotonic and
isometric training. Give examples to illustrate your
answer
3. Explain how a teacher could use flexibility during a
weight training session?
4. What joints would need to be warmed up for a (1)
Tennis player (2) Hurdler and (3) Bowler in cricket
prior to performing