- The shoulders. Circle arms backwards and forwards alternately or together, increasing and decreasing slowly the size of the circles.
- The groin. With your feet astride bend your right knee side ways, keeping your other leg straight and your weight pressing inwards, after 10 seconds change legs, do this stretch for 10 seconds because it is the recommended stretching time and exceeding it could injure our muscles.
- The quadriceps. Place your right hand on a stable stationary object (e.g. a wall), if needed to maintain balance. Take hold of your right ankle with your left hand and pull the ankle towards your gluteus, change hands and legs after 10 seconds and repeat the process. Repeat the whole stretch twice after a short rest.
- The hamstrings. Standing with both feet apart, turn your toes to face left or right. Bend your front knee keeping your back leg straight. Change legs after 10 seconds.
- The gastrocnemius. Put both your hands against a wall with your arms out stretched. Bend one knee and straighten the other leg, this will stretch the gastrocnemius of the straightened leg. Change legs after 10 seconds.
- The triceps. Place the stretching arm behind head, and stretch palms so the little finger and thumb are touching the shoulder blades. Place the other hand on the elbow of the stretching arm and gently push down until it hurts. Repeat the process on the other arm after 10 seconds.
In planning my programme stations I have taken into consideration what muscle groups each station works on, I will not be working the same muscle group in succession. This is because the muscle group will tire and be over worked so will not improve. However if a muscle group is worked on in succession this will be because the two stations will be improving different aspects of the muscle group, for example one station could be improving the muscular strength of the player and the other working on improving cardiorespiratory endurance.
In my weight training programme the stations will be: -
Muscular strength Cardiorespiritory endurance
- Dips press 1. Tread Mill
- Vertical chest press
- Biceps curl
- Leg extension
- Thigh curl
- Leg press
Muscular strength stations
Week 1: 3 x 8 repetitions (3 sets of 8 repetitions)
Week 2: 3 x 8 repetitions
Week 3: 3 x 10 repetitions (3 sets of 10 repetitions)
Week 4: 3 x 10 repetitions
Week 5: 3 x 14 repetitions (3 sets of 14 repetitions)
Cardiorespirtory endurance stations
Tread mill:
Week 1: 4 minutes at 5 miles per hour
Week 2: 4 minutes at 5 miles per hour
Week 3: 4 minutes at 6 miles per hour
Week 4: 4 minutes at 6.5 miles per hour
Week 5: 4 minutes at 7 miles per hour
I am increasing the number of repetitions, the time spent, the speed, and the difficulty of my stations because I am using the overload and progression training principles. I am using these principles of training because they will make the hockey midfielder’s strength and cardiorespirtory endurance improve without injuring him/her but making sure that the put their bodies under as much stress as possible. Progression is where you gradually increase the workload over a period of time. For example in week 1 and 2 I am doing 3 x 8 reps and in week 3 and 4 I will be doing 3 x 10 reps. This is because after two weeks at 10 x 3 reps your body will become used to that amount of work and your strength will have improved to the maximum level it could be at for that amount of reps so will not further improve. So I increase the amount of reps so the strength of the player will improve further.
Overload is where you put your body systems under more stress than they are used to; our body systems gradually adapt to the work and become fitter. When they are used to that work load then you increase the work load, however don’t go form doing 3 x 8 reps to 5 x 10 reps because your body will be put under to much stress and you will injury yourself, you need to increase the load gradually. For example in my programme in weeks 1 and 2 I am doing 3 x 8 reps and in weeks 3 and 4 I am doing 3 x 10 reps, this is a gradual increase and will not injure the player.
Explanation of each muscular strength station and the recommended weights: -
- Dips press. This station works on improving your triceps and biceps by using isokinitic contraction this is when the speed of the movement stays the same throughout the range of movement. Although the muscles will be working at their maximum, the force produced will vary. This will help improve the strength of the player because the force will be different and at some stages will be extreme so the strength will improve. Weeks 1 + 2 10kg, Weeks 3 + 4 15kg, Week 5 20kg. Increasing the weight gradually will not injure the midfielder but it will help increase the strength because they are lifting more.
- Vertical chest press. This machine works on your pectorals, but mainly your Triceps and biceps, these are needed in hockey because you hit the ball using these muscles, so if the force behind the ball from the muscles is greater the power will be greater which will mean the ball has less chance of being intercepted or has a greater chance of going in the goal. Week 1&2 10kg, weeks 3&4 20kg, week 5 30kg.
- Biceps curl. This as the name suggests will improve the strength in your biceps. This is needed in hockey because your triceps work with your biceps, so if on is stronger there will be more force generated form that muscle which means when you strike a hockey ball the power transferred will be greater. Week 1&2 5kg, weeks 3&4 10kg, week 5 15kg.
- Leg extension. When doing this machine make sure that the legs are raised and brought back down at a steady, constant speed, this ensures that no injuries will occur and that it benefits our muscles as much as possible. This machine works on improving the muscular strength in our quadriceps. This is needed for a hockey midfielder because they are running all the time. So if the strength of the muscle that is mainly used for running is increased, the pace at which you run at and how long you can run will be increased.
Week 1&2 20kg, week3&4 30kg, week 5 40kg.
- Thigh curl. This machine will work on your hamstring, and improving the muscular strength in your hamstring. This is needed for a hockey midfielder because they are running all the time. So if the strength of the muscle that is mainly used for running is increased, the pace at which you run at and how long you can run will be increased. With this machine check that your legs are in the right position before starting, this will stop injury form occurring.
- Leg press. This machine works on improving your hamstring and quadriceps muscles. These are antagonistic muscles so work with each other to create a force, as one contacts the other relaxes and vice versa. So if the strength in both of them is improved the overall force generated will be greater, so when running for the ball more pace will be generated because the muscles are stronger and more force is generated by the muscles.
For all 5 weeks repeat this programme making sure your weights are correct and that you do the correct repetitions.
With all the weight machines first check the weight that it is set on is correct and then set it up to your customised settings. If you are not sure on how to work the machine look on the side for instructions or ask a supervisor, they will be fully trained and will give you the correct advice. Always make sure that all loose clothing is tucked in shorts, and that any jewellery is removed because these could catch you when doing the exercises and cause injury. Make sure you are wearing sensible footwear e.g. trainers and that you are sensibly clothed.
When performing the exercise make sure there is no one obstructing you or anyone is within a range that damage could be done to him, her, or yourself.
Explanation of cardiorespirtory endurance station: -
- Tread mill. This machine will help improve your cardiorespirtory endurance because you are always working and pushing your system to the max, your system will adjust to this work increase and will become more efficient. This is good for a hockey midfield player because they are constantly working so there system will have to work hard, if it is more efficient the player will not tire as fast. This means more effort will be able to be put in throughout the match. This also works on improving the aerobic respiration of the player, because if their cardiorespirtory system is more efficient and can work for longer, that means more oxygen will be able to be transported to the working muscles. This means more energy for aerobic respiration because there is more oxygen to burn glucose with. This machine will also increase the muscular endurance of the midfielder because the leg muscles are constantly working, this is good because in hockey they are constantly moving so the longer the muscles can function without tiring the better the player will be. To start the machine, press the start button and the machine will start moving, when this happens increase the speed to the set speed for the week you are on. To stop it press the button which says stop/pause, wait till it comes to a stop and press cancel so it is set for the next person on the machine.
After this has happened I will do a cool down. Cooling down is a major part of the session. Once intensive training has stopped, the body takes some time to respond to this as you can tell by how long it takes your heart rate to return back to resting rate. If anaerobic respiration has been used during the session there will be a build up of lactic acid. This will remain in the muscles because there is not enough oxygen available to neutralise it. The excess lactic acid will cause soreness and pain, it is known as blood pooling and commonly occurs in the legs. Gentle exercise in needed to ensure the body returns to its normal state, which is why we do a cool down. Cool downs should consist of a continuous movement exercise and stretches just like the warm up.
My cool down will be: -
Light jogging (3-4 minutes), this is to get the blood flowing around the body and to get an increased supply of blood to the working muscle groups.
Stretches, I will do these stretches to improve the flexibility of our muscles, since it is an essential part of fitness. I will do the following stretches:
The shoulders. Circle arms backwards and forwards alternately or together, increasing and decreasing slowly the size of the circles.
The groin. With your feet astride bend your right knee side ways, keeping your other leg straight and your weight pressing inwards, after 10 seconds change legs, do this stretch for 10 seconds because it is the recommended stretching time and exceeding it could injure our muscles.
- The quadriceps. Place your right hand on a stable stationary object (e.g. a wall), if needed to maintain balance. Take hold of your right ankle with your left hand, pull the ankle towards your gluteus, change hands and legs after 10 seconds, and repeat the process. Repeat the whole stretch twice after a short rest.
- The hamstrings. Standing with both feet apart, turn your toes to face left or right. Bend your front knee keeping your back leg straight. Change legs after 10 seconds.
- The gastrocnemius. Put both your hands against a wall with your arms out stretched. Bend one knee and straighten the other leg, this will stretch the gastrocnemius of the straightened leg. Change legs after 10 seconds.
- The triceps. Place the stretching arm behind head, and stretch palms so the little finger and thumb are touching the shoulder blades. Place the other hand on the elbow of the stretching arm and gently push down until it hurts. Repeat the process on the other arm after 10 seconds.
