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Abstract

In this report a 5 week generic fitness training program is critiqued on its suitability for an athlete training for the track and field event Javelin. After further research into the dynamics of the sport and the fitness program, it was found that the generic program was not suitable for a javelin thrower. After Research, a number of changes have been recommended as to make the generic program more specific to my own personal need and the needs of a Javelin thrower.

Introduction

Javelin is a competitive track and field event which requires time and effort in order to perfect both the foot movements and the throwing of the javelin.  To succeed in this sport a person must acquire a number of fitness components including power for explosive bursts of movement, flexibility for maximum extension of the bodies limbs, and co-ordination as to carry out the required movements smoothly and efficiently.[2][3] To supply the required energy for the explosive bursts of movement done in javelin, the ATP(lasting 1-4 seconds) and ATP-CP(lasting 4-10 seconds) energy systems will be used, assuming it will not take any longer than 10 seconds to complete the throwing of the javelin.[4] To improve performance in this event and allow an athlete to throw the javelin further, the athlete must train to achieve the maximum initial velocity they can physically create.[5] To do so, it is important to have a fitness training program specifically designed to target the muscle groups and fibres commonly used in javelin. These muscle groups include the shoulders, pectorals, triceps, abdominal, and wrist muscles.[2] The athlete then trains to increase their capacity of maximum strength for each of these muscle groups, later training to reach their maximum strength as quickly as possible by developing fast-twitch muscle fibres (Type IIB) which are able to produce the quickest and most powerful bursts of energy compared to slow-twitch muscle fibres and fast-twitch muscle fibres (Type IIA).[7] This Term in Physical Education I chose to do Javelin as my track and field sport, and for my fitness training I followed a generic training program (refer to appendix A) which was non-specific to any muscle groups and, therefore, to any one track and field event. I do not believe that this generic training program was an effective method of training for my event because the 4 weeks in which it was completed allowed for no noticeable affects on our performance, and the majority of exercises were non-specific to the event of javelin. To construct a more effective training program specific to Javelin it is vital that it be specific to muscle groups relevant to Javelin, and focus on developing more powerful muscle contractions, possibly by incorporating a number of Plyometric and resistance calisthenics training exercises that work the muscles required for javelin.

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Generic Fitness Program Analysis

The generic training program was an ineffective training program for the track and field event Javelin. In this generic training program only two of the five exercises were useful in strengthening muscle groups relevant to Javelin. The first relevant exercise was the bench press which is designed to work the pectorals and triceps. Both of these muscle groups are important in the throwing of a Javelin: Pectorals to pull the extended arm through, and triceps to increase velocity by flicking the forearm foreword.[5] As seen in Appendix A in the first gym session, I chose to do ...

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