If I stick to the above safety precautions then the risk of injury to me or to other people will be greatly reduced.
Benefits Of A Warm Up
And A Cool Down
Warming up before activity and cooling down after activity have many benefits to the body. This is why I will warm up at the start of my sessions and cool down at the end.
Performance may be improved as an appropriate warm up will result in an:
- Increased speed of contraction and relaxation of warmed muscles
- Dynamic exercises reduce muscle stiffness
- Greater economy of movement because of lowered resistance within warmed muscles
- Increased oxygen usage by warmed muscles because haemoglobin releases oxygen more readily at higher muscle temperatures
- Increased nerve transmission and muscle metabolism at higher temperatures
- Increased blood flow through active tissues, increasing metabolism and muscle temperatures
An appropriate cool down will:
-
Aid in the removal of waste products - including
- Reduce the potential for delayed muscle soreness
- Reduce the chances of dizziness or fainting caused by the pooling of venous blood at the extremities
- Reduce the level of adrenaline in the blood
Why Children Should Not Be
Treated As Mini-adults
Children should not be treated as mini-adults for many different reasons, both physical and psychological.
Physical Effects
Intensive training related to competitive sports can bring about a variety of physiological problems in children. Intense training at a young age can place enormous strain on the body, particularly the heart, joints and the spine. These effects may not be revealed until years later when the child has become an adult. These are the main physical effects on children:
- Resistance training builds the heart to such a degree that lesions can develop and lead to arrhythmia problems.
- Repetitive movements erode the cartilage, which in turn leads to the joints wearing down. Intense training in a specific sport puts excess stress on specific joints and this is when problems can occur.
- Bones in growing children don’t develop at the same speed as the muscles. Therefore intense training can cause fractures where the muscle tendons attach to the bone.
- The effect of prolonged and exaggerated efforts may surpass the functional capacity of a child’s spine and cause it to develop irregular curvatures and lead to the degeneration of disks. These spinal problems occur because it hasn’t fully developed and so it isn’t fully stable.
Psychological Effects
As well as physical effects on children there are also psychological effects, which can be just as bad. These are the main psychological effects on children from early competition and intense training:
- Children may feel guilty if they don’t win because our culture places value only on those who win. This can lead to children not wanting to participate in sport.
- Children develop a “win at all costs” attitude, which doesn’t lead to the development of fair play and sportsmanship values. This increases the pressure and takes away the enjoyment from sport.
- A child in a competitive environment sees their personal value in terms of their sporting talents. The children that are judged not to be very good feel worthless and left out, this can lead to a blow to the child’s self-esteem.
For children, the basic goal of participation in sport should be for fun and enjoyment in a safe environment. Children are not mini-adults and so they don’t react the same to competition as an adult. Physically and psychologically children are undeveloped and very different from adults and so should be treated very differently.
Methods Of Training
Continuous Training
This is when an athlete exercises in a steady aerobic way. It is the most appropriate method of training to improve cardiovascular endurance for someone who has not trained for some time and is quite unfit. The training may take various forms from brisk walking to jogging. It could be over a distance or a set time.
Interval Training
This is a suitable type of training for team game players, as it fits the style of many games. It includes short bursts of anaerobic work followed by slow walking or jogging, which is aerobic work. When the athlete is running hard, lactic acid is produced and during the interval (recovery) the heart and lungs carry on working to repay the oxygen debt. Over time this causes capillarisation, strengthening of the heart muscles and improved oxygen uptake. All this leads to improved performance, especially within the cardiovascular system.
Fartlek Training
Fartlek means “speedplay” in Swedish and it combines continuous and interval training. Fartlek training allows the athlete to run whatever distance and speed they wish, varying the intensity, and occasionally running at high intensity levels. This type of training works both the aerobic and anaerobic energy pathways.
Circuit Training
Circuit Training is an excellent way to simultaneously improve mobility, strength and stamina. Circuits usually consist of six to ten exercises that are completed one after another. Each exercise is performed for a specific number of repetitions or for a set time. The exercises are separated by timed rest intervals and each circuit is separated by a slightly longer rest period. The number of circuits may vary from two to six depending on the athlete’s training level.
Weight Training
Weight training is a form of training that uses progressive resistance, either in the form of the actual weight lifted or in terms of the number of repetitions. Weight training is used to increase muscular strength, increase muscular endurance and to develop muscle bulk or size.
For my personal exercise plan I have decided to use weight training. Although football has many different requirements, health and skill related, I would like to primarily increase my strength and muscular endurance.
Principles Of Training
Specificity
This means choosing the right training for your sport of training needs. Any training undertaken should be relevant and appropriate to the sport or activity that the individual is training for. For example, it wouldn’t be appropriate for a swimmer to do their training on the land. Although there would be benefits from some land based training, most of the training should be carried out in the water. The specificity rule does not govern just the muscles, fibre type and actions used but also the energy systems which are mainly used. The energy system used in training should replicate that used in the event.
Progressive Overload
This means gradually increasing the workload in training so the athlete can improve. This rule considers the intensity of the training session. For improvement to happen, the training should be at an intensity where the athlete feels some kind of stress and discomfort, this signifies overload. If exercise takes place on a regular basis the body’s systems will adapt and start to cope with these stresses. For further improvement to occur, the intensity of the training will need to be gradually increased. This is progression and can be done by running faster or training longer etc.
Reversibility
This means understanding that fitness can’t be stored for future use and will disappear if training is stopped. This is the rule that performance deteriorates when the training stops or the intensity of the training is decreased for an extended period of time. If you train for three weeks and then don’t train for one week then you will be at the same level of fitness/strength as before the three weeks of training.
Start Weights For
Training Sessions
To work out what weights I should start on in my training session I have worked out 60% of my one repetition maximum and then chosen the closest weight to the 60% on the weight machine.
Session 1
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 30Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 45 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 10km/h – gear 8
Leg press – 80Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 60Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 5 – 500m
Leg curl – 40Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 25Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I was generally very pleased with this first session. I found that it was a good length and it made me work hard, this shows that I have included overload in my training. The weights, number of repetitions and the recovery time between the sets were all fine except for the leg press, which I will have to make alterations for in my next session. Overall I found the session was really good, the workload was just right.
Considerations For Next Session
There are a number of changes that I will have to make for my next training session, these are:
- Leg press – I found 80Kg much to easy, so for the next session I will put the weight up to 100Kg.
- Cycling – Gear 8 was slightly too easy so I will try gear 10 in my next session.
- Rowing machine – I found that level 5 was much too easy so I will row on level 10 next time. I will still row the same distance though.
Session 2
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 30Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 45 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 10km/h – gear 10
Leg press – 100Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 60Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 500m
Leg curl – 40Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 25Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 45 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
This session was better than session1 because the weights and difficulty of everything was just right. On the leg press 100Kg is much better than 80Kg, I had to try much harder. The day after the first session my muscles were sore, especially in my legs. To combat this problem I will spend more time on stretching in the cool down. This should help the DOMS.
Considerations For Next Session
The intensity of the workload should stay the same, as I am still having to work fairly hard on the weights. As I coped well with the recovery period I will reduce the recovery time between each set from 45 seconds to 40 seconds as I feel this will put more stress on my cardiovascular system.
Session 3
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 30Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 40 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 52.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 10km/h – gear 10
Leg press – 100Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 60Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 500m
Leg curl – 40Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 25Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 40 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I found this training session the easiest so far. I coped with the reduction in recovery time between sets fairly well, although it did make it harder for my muscles. I didn’t have sore muscles after the session, this will be down to the fact that I spent the extra time stretching in my cool down.
Considerations For Next Session
As this was the easiest session yet I will be making a number of changes for the next session, these are:
- I will increase the weight on all of the machines by one weight (2.5Kg, 5Kg, 7.5Kg or 10Kg depending on the machine).
- I will increase the distance I row by 250m, so now instead of rowing 500m I will row 750m.
- On the cycling machine I will now cycle at 11km/h instead of 10km/h but I will still row in gear 10.
- I will reduce the recovery time between the sets from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
Session 4
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 35Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 35 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 10
Leg press – 110Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 65Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 750m
Leg curl – 45Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 30Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
Unfortunately I missed this session due to illness so session 5 will be as I planned session 4.
Session 5
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 35Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 35 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 10
Leg press – 110Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 65Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 750m
Leg curl – 45Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 30Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I found this session a bit harder than the others, but I expected this because I have increased the intensity of the session as well as missing session 4. It was still a good session though as I managed to complete every exercise.
Considerations For Next Session
As I found this session fairly hard I will not need to make any changes for the next training session.
Session 6
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 35Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 35 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 60Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 10
Leg press – 110Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 65Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 750m
Leg curl – 45Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 30Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 35 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I felt that this week’s session was much easier than last weeks. For this reason I will make some changes for the next training session because I feel that to progress I will have to increase the intensity. The session didn’t take as long as normal, I was much quicker doing my reps on the weight machines. I think this was because I was just simply more motivated than usual.
Considerations For Next Session
These are the changes that I will make for my next training session:
- I will increase the weights on all of the machines up by one weight.
- I will reduce the recovery time between each set from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
- On the cycling machine I will cycle in gear 12 instead of gear10, but I will still cycle at 11km/h.
- On the rowing machine I will now row 1000m instead of 750m.
Session 7
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 40Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 30 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 12
Leg press – 120Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 70Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 1000m
Leg curl – 50Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 35Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I found most of the weights fairly difficult, especially the upper body ones although I still managed to complete them all. This is partly down to the fact that I put the weights up for this session but I was also fairly tired before the session. I found that the changes I made for the rowing machine and the cycling machine were fine. Also the reduction in recovery time was all right. All of the changes I introduced made me work harder which was good.
Considerations For Next Session
I wont be changing anything for the next session because I don’t feel ready to yet.
Session 8
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 40Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 30 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 12
Leg press – 120Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 70Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 1000m
Leg curl – 50Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 35Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
This session was easier than last week’s session. Although it was easier it still made me work to a high level. I found it quite hard to motivate myself for this session so it did seem harder and longer than normal. I found that my techniques on some of the lifts were not to a very high standard so I will try harder next week.
Considerations For Next Session
Again I am not going to change anything for next week’s session as I feel I would not be able to cope with the raised intensity level.
Session 9
Training Programme
Running (treadmill) – 3 minutes – 8mph Warm
Stretch and mobility up
Butterfly – 40Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps – 30 seconds recovery between sets
Leg extension – 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Chest press 67.5Kg – 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Cycling – 10 minutes – 11km/h – gear 12
Leg press – 120Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Seated lever row – 70Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Rowing – level 10 – 1000m
Leg curl – 50Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Shoulder press – 35Kg - 3 sets of 10 reps - 30 seconds recovery between sets
Running (treadmill) – 1.5 minutes – 8mph, 45 seconds – 7mph, 45 seconds – 6mph
Stretch and mobility
Evaluation Of Session
I found this session relatively easy, much easier than last week’s session. This is probably because I was really motivated because it was the last session and also because my body has adapted to the intensity level. My techniques on the weight machines were much better this week as I really concentrated and tried to get it right.
Considerations For Next Session
Now that I have actually trained properly and followed a structured training programme I think I will continue to do so. I have seen a difference in my fitness levels and think that this will show when I do the retests. When I carry out another session I will make the following changes to my programme:
- I will increase the weights on each weight machine.
- Row 1250m instead of 1000m.
- Cycle in gear 13 at 12km/h instead of gear 12 at 11km/h.
These changes will increase the intensity of the session and allow me to progress further.
Evaluation Of PEP
Fitness Retests (December 2002)
Overall I enjoyed completing the training sessions and I am very pleased with the way that my fitness has improved during the course of the PEP. I feel that the weight training has increased my muscular strength and my overall cardiovascular fitness has also improved.
I feel that weight training was the right method of training to do, as it was appropriate to my goals and fitness requirements. The intensity levels of my training programme was just right as the sessions made me work hard but I could still do them. This shows that I managed to incorporate overload and progression in to my training programme. I now understand how to implement gradual changes to the intensity without risking injury or fatigue. I also have a better understanding for the need to include a good warm up and cool down before and after training. If I were to do another PEP I would probably use weight training again because this was the most relevant method of training to me. I feel that other methods of training would still help my fitness levels but would not be as beneficial to me as weight training.
The retest results show that I have improved in nearly all of the tests that I retested. None of the retest results were worse than my original results, this shows that my overall muscular strength has improved but I was also really motivated for the retests as I wanted to get really good results. The 1 rep max tests show that my upper body strength really improved quite considerably. The only test that was the same was the leg extension. The other lower body results also show that my lower body strength hasn’t improved as much as my upper body strength. This is my only disappointment from my training programme. Both of the jumps and the medicine ball throw results all improved slightly, these tests don’t show the improvement in my muscular strength as much as the 1 rep max tests do.
I found the entire programme very enjoyable. I think that it really helped my motivation levels, as I wanted to constantly strive for improvement. Also my levels of concentration have improved because I was getting tired so I had to really focus on the lifting techniques.
I made sure the whole training programme was carried out safely. I always made sure that I used the correct techniques on the weight machines. I also made sure I never became dehydrated by always having a bottle of water near me.
I feel that I performed well during the sessions and that I always incorporated the principles of training in to my training sessions. The training was specific to my requirements and this shows in my retests and in my general fitness levels. I made sure that I include overload so the training was hard enough for progression to happen. I also trained regularly so that reversibility would not happen. To ensure this still doesn’t happen I will carry on doing training sessions using my training programme.
I found the evaluation of each individual session really useful as it allowed me to consider problems and plan changes for my next session. As I continue to do this training session I will also carry on evaluating my sessions in the same way so that I can keep progressing. I have also started to evaluate my performances in football matches that I play in a similar way and this will hopefully help my future performances.
To improve my training programme I could my motivation levels, this would really help my performances and this would help speed up my progression. I could also add in some more cardiovascular work, I could do some more running instead of just running in my warm up and cool down. As well as running I could do more cycling and/or rowing. These activities would help raise the fitness levels of my cardiovascular system, which in turn could help my weight training due to increased oxygen intake and supply to my muscles.
When I do some more training sessions in the future I will incorporate these changes, using more cardiovascular training. Instead of using the treadmill just for the warm up and cool down I will do 10 minutes at a higher speed. I will also have two periods on the rowing machine and two periods on the cycling machine. These will be separated by the weights.
Bibliography
Books
Sport And P.E.: A Complete Guide To A level Study
By Hodder And Stoughton
Published 2000
Fitness And Health
By Brian J.Sharkey
Published 1990
Fit For Sport
By Dr Kathy Fulcher and Pat Fox
Published 1998
Sports Training Principles
By Frank W.Dick
Published 2002
Websites
www.brianmac.demon.co.uk
www.topendsports.com
