This is a form of training that improves the explosive strength in your legs, which is beneficial for both your sprinting and explosive jumping. The movements have to be carried out quickly. The emphasis needs to be speed, so reaction time and power are the key to reaping maximum benefit. Plyometrics is an advanced form of training so for it to be effective 100% effort needs to be put into all movements. Due to the effort required I will need to give myself adequate rest time between exercises to recover. I will aim for a 1: 5 ratio; during the rest period I will need to keep moving, stretching, skipping, or do either an upper body or abdominal exercise. I must give my legs time to recover however or the gains will be minimal. The plyometrics exercises I will use in my circuit are:
Double touch jumps: Standing upright, jump up as high as you can, bending the knees to get the initial power for the jump. While in the air straighten your body with your arms by your sides. As you land, jump up again immediately, bending the knees as little as possible. The transition from landing the first jump to taking the second should be as short as possible.
Skipping: Aim to spend as much time in the air as possible, using your arms to gain extra height. Alternate your leg upon landing, thrusting the leading leg upwards towards the chest and slightly forward.
Running bounds: Run slowly using a long, loping stride. With each stride try to get as high in the air as possible while still moving forwards.
The warm up is very important as the exercises I will be doing are very demanding. The warm up will increase the blood flow and heart rate, warm up the muscles and warm and loosen joints. This will reduce the risk of any injuries to the muscles or joints. First I will perform gradual pulse raising activity such as a light jog or cycle lasting three to four minutes. This will be followed by mobility work, which will help to increase blood flow to the working muscles. I will make huge circles with my arms while I am jogging to get blood flowing into the muscles in my upper body as well. Increased blood flow to the muscles will literally warm them up, making the fibres slightly more elastic. You get a better stretch from a warm muscle and reduce the risk of injury. Stretching allows joints to move through a greater range of motion, making you a more efficient player. Stretching benefits running, tackling, and every movement you make in a game.
After a gradual warm up I will spend time stretching. I will only use dynamic stretching in the warm up but will use static stretching in the cool down whilst the muscles are still warm so I will get a better stretch and reduce the risk of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. (DOMS)
Dynamic stretching involves slow controlled rhythmic movements progressively through the range of movements associated with football. The synovial fluid in the ankle and knee joints lubricates the joints and prevents friction between bones and cartilage. Before exercise it is thick and gooey in consistency whilst during exercise, because of the heat generated in the joints, it thins and becomes less viscous making it more effective. This is the state you have to get it in before you start playing or running fast.
A cool down is also very important. Cooling down has been proved to help reduce the effects of matches or high-intensity training. Lactic acid, a by product from exercise accumulates in the muscles and undertaking light jogging for example will help to remove this quicker. It also reduces the risk of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Doms is often the result of eccentric work and may occur because of structural damage within the muscle membranes. Muscle soreness can be minimised by building up training intensity gradually. Players who have cooled down after a game have been shown to have lower levels of fatigue the following day (Mafe, 1998). After exercise I will slowly bring my heart rate down before beginning to stretch in order to avoid blood pooling within my muscles which can lead to cramp and dizzy spells. After a game or training session the muscles are warm and provide a good opportunity to stretch. Muscles can be considerably shortened after exercise and can take up to two days to return to their normal length. Without regular stretching (before and after exercise) muscles can be permanently shortened.
I will make sure that I:
Stretch slowly and gently
Take the stretch to the point where I feel a mild tension in the muscles or muscle group being stretched
Hold each stretch for six to ten seconds
Stretch each muscle/muscle group twice. There will be a slight loosening and I will get a better stretch the second time.
The stretches that I will use during my cool down are:
The ‘Glutes stretch.
Sit up with your leg out straight, and your right leg crossed over at about the knee joint, placing the floor. Using your right arm, pull the bent left leg slowly across, until you feel the stretch in the right buttock region. Simply reverse both leg and arm to do the other side.
The ‘Hamstring stretch’.
Lie on your back, bending one leg keeping that foot on the floor, to prevent you lifting your buttocks during the stretch. Raise your other leg, holding it either side of your knee joint, to gradually pull the leg towards you. You should feel the hamstring muscle stretching at the back of this leg. Concentrate on keeping your buttocks on the floor, and keeping the stretched leg as straight as possible.
The ‘Adductor stretch’.
Sitting on the floor with the soles of the feet together, place your hands either around your ankles or lower legs. Keeping your back straight gently open out the knees towards the floor, applying a steady stretch onto your adductor/inner thigh muscles. The elbows can be pressed against the inner knee to increase the stretch. Avoid pulling up on your feet during the stretch.
The ‘Calf stretch’.
Standing one foot in front of the other, feet comfortably apart, both feet facing forward, front leg bent (knee over ankle joint), back leg straight, back straight. Press the heel of the back leg into the floor until a stretch is felt in the calf muscle in the back of the lower leg. If no stretch is felt, slide the heel slowly backwards, keeping the foot on the floor. For improved stability and a greater stretch, push against a wall.
Side-lying quadriceps stretch.
Lie down on your side, taking all the weight off the muscles, and pull back the top leg to your backside, using your free arm for balance. Change legs and repeat.
A major part of my exercise programme will be my recovery time. It is vital that my energy levels are high at the beginning of a match. Over training in the preceding days will cause fatigue on match days. I will make sure that I have at least one day off and two training sessions out of the week will be running exercises. As Jeremy Boone says “First and foremost players and coaches need to realise that performance and training is only as good as a players body ability to recover.”
I have chosen circuit training to improve aspects of my fitness because it is easily accessible, I do not need to travel to a gym. It means I can take part in my circuit at school in our sports, or at home.
I am going to design a circuit to contain the following stations,
Press-ups: I am using press-ups in my circuit to develop muscular endurance in my arms and pectorals. This will improve my performance because I will be stronger and more likely to hold up the ball and tackle people.
Headers on the spot: I am including this station because heading is a major part of football especially for defenders so by working my leg and neck muscles I will improve my ability to head the ball with power and be able to reach higher balls therefore beating my opponents.
Abdominals: Normal sit up,
Crunch sit up,
Reverse curls.
I am including this station to improve the muscular endurance of my abdominals. By doing sit ups of various types this will enable my trunk to become stronger and therefore won’t become fatigued towards the end of the match.
Burpees: I am including this station because this exercise will work both my upper and lower body helping to me to achieve all round body fitness. This is important because it will help prevent injuries due to the fact that both the agonist and antagonistic muscles are being developed. It is also a cardio-vascular exercise therefore will work my heart and lungs as well.
Triceps dips: I am including this station because this exercise will help develop my muscular endurance in my arms. As in the earlier exercise where I worked on my biceps, by now improving the strength in my triceps I will achieve a balance of muscular development in both the muscles.
Back exercises: I am including this station because it is important to strengthen my back because it is needed to bring stability to my trunk.
Squats: I am including this station because it again is working my leg muscles. It is important for me to have a high level of muscular endurance because the leg muscles are used in every part of my game.
Abdominals: Thigh slide,
Heel touch,
Lower abdominals,
Obliques.
I am including this station for the same reason as before. I have placed it further along in the circuit so I don’t overload my abdominals. I have given them enough time to remove the lactic acid produced therefore increasing the amount of time I can work on them. They are also designed to work different areas of the abdominal muscle group.
‘V’ sit ups: I am including this station because it enhances the muscular endurance in my legs alongside with strengthening my abdominals and lower back.
The exercises above will feature in both my circuits, but circuit 2 will contain large amounts of running, sprinting and plyometrics to work on my cardio-vascular endurance as well, because circuit 1 mainly only concentrates on muscular endurance. I have taken great care in the positioning of my stations because I do not want to overload a body part and reduce the quality of the exercises I subsequently do.
I have decided to concentrate on the FITT principles of exercise. These are frequency, intensity, type and time.
I am going to do three sessions a week, combining both my circuits. I could either use rep max as a limit of the number of repetitions of each exercise to do or a time limit. I have decided to use the time limit as this gives me the opportunity to overload my body and, thus I can easily change the time intervals for during exercise and for rest periods. This will be beneficial for when I feel the exercises becoming easier because I can alter the intensity and still achieve a maximal work out level throughout the six-week period.
Session 1.
Date: 08/03/02
2 circuits
10 stations
30 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (5mins)
Mobility work; Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Sit ups-Crunch,
Shuttles,
Press-ups,
Tricep-dips,
Burpees,
Squats,
Plyometric jumps,
Normal sit-ups,
Back raises,
‘V’ Sit-up.
Cool Down: Jogging (5 mins)
Skipping (3 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: I feel this circuit was good and beneficial. The positioning of my stations was correct and I didn’t concentrate on one part of my body for too long. My rest periods were long enough, but I don’t feel my circuit was set at the right intensity for my body. I think I need to spend more time on my stations, as I didn’t feel enough effect from the amount I did this time. I felt as though they were too easy for me. I also felt a bit fatigued the day after; I think this was due to an insufficient cool down, so in my next circuit I will increase my cool down time.
Considerations for next session: I am going to increase the amount of time spent at each station from 30 seconds to 35 seconds, thus pushing my body slightly harder than last time. At present I am going to continue with just two sets of the circuit, but when I feel them becoming too easy I will increase the frequency to three.
Session 2.
Date: 13/03/02
1 circuit (Plyometric).
10 reps at each circuit station
1-minute rest after each separate circuit.
This circuit will help to develop muscular endurance, I will aim to do this circuit no more than once a week, and certainly not on days before a
match, as this type of circuit takes time to recover from.
Lower body circuit: Tuck jumps, Upper body circuit: Press-ups.
Stride jumps,
Jumping squat. Abdominal circuit: Normal sit up,
Reverse curls,
1 leg v-sit.
Evaluation: I feel this circuit was good and beneficial. It was more beneficial to my cardio-vascular endurance than session 1 because it contained more running, sprinting and plyometric work. This circuit worked my body to the limit, I felt as though I really pushed myself so I don’t need to increase the intensity or frequency at present. I made sure I cooled down sufficiently this time, compared to my last session, illustrated by the fact that I showed no signs of DOMS the day after.
Considerations for next session: I am going to keep the intensity the same, as it will take a couple of weeks for my body to adapt to the pressures it has been put under. I will attempt to do the circuit on a Wednesday again as this gives me sufficient time to recover from the session for my football match on a Sunday.
Session 3.
Date: 15/03/02
2 circuits
10 stations
35 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest in between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (5 mins)
Mobility work; Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Sit ups-Crunch,
Shuttles,
Press-ups,
Tricep-dips,
Burpees,
Squats,
Plyometric jumps,
Normal sit-ups,
Back raises,
‘V’ Sit-ups.
Cool Down: Jogging (7 mins)
Skipping (4 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: This time I feel the circuit was set at the right intensity for my body. I spent enough time at each station and worked my body to its full potential. My cool down time was sufficient this time as illustrated by me having no signs of DOMS the day after. I felt very pleased after doing the circuit as I felt I had really achieved something.
Considerations for next session: I am going to keep the intensity of this circuit the same, as I feel it is set at the right level for me. I may well increase the frequency after my next week of sessions as my body becomes more able. I think I am going to use some variance in my circuit next time, I may change the squats to step ups as this will work on the muscular endurance of my legs but will break up the repetitive routine of my previous circuits.
Session 4.
Date: 18/03/02
2 circuits
10 stations
35 seconds at each station with 3o seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (5 mins),
Mobility work; Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session Outline: Press ups,
Tricep dips,
Shuttles,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Burpees,
Back raises,
Step-ups,
Normal sit-ups,
Plyometric jumps,
‘V’ Sit-ups.
Cool Down: Jogging (7 mins)
Skipping (4 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: During this session I varied the position of my stations to try and make it more interesting and to try and work my body slightly differently. I felt some of the exercises getting easier again so I am going to increase the intensity slightly next time, thus I will always be pushing myself to my limit. I felt that changing my squats station to a step-ups station was beneficial because I still worked the muscles in my legs but because the stations are different they worked a different range of muscles.
Considerations for next session: I am going to increase the intensity again of my circuits, as they are not working me at my maximum level. I am going to increase the time at each station to 40 seconds from 35 seconds, but next time I want to increase the intensity I will add another set of circuits rather than adding more time to my stations.
Session 5.
Date: 20/03/02
1 circuit (Plyometric)
10 reps at each station
1-minute rest after each separate circuit.
Evaluation: I really felt that this circuit was beneficial to my training programme. My body hasn’t adapted to the increased workload yet because I still felt that I worked my body to its maximum. When I took part in this circuit it had been raining previously, thus the ground was softer than usual and put more strain on my muscles. This meant that I did have some slight muscle fatigue the following day due to some anaerobic exercise causing a build up of lactic acid.
Considerations for next session: I am going to increase the intensity slightly from this session. I am going to do three half laps combined with my different body circuits compared to the two I did this time. This will work my body slightly harder but not too much as to cause exhaustion. I will continue to do the circuit on a Wednesday as this fits in well with my football matches on a Sunday.
Session 6.
Date: 22/03/02
2 circuits
11 stations
40 seconds at each with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (8 mins),
Mobility work; Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Press ups,
Tricep dips,
Shuttles,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Squat thrusts,
Back raises,
Step-ups,
Normal sit-ups,
Plyometric jumps,
‘V’ Sit-up,
Shuttles.
Cool Down: Jogging (10 mins)
Skipping (4 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: I felt after this session that I had increased the intensity too much from last time. I struggled when trying to complete the second circuit due to me adding extra time to my stations and by the addition of an extra set of shuttles at the end of the circuit. Although I did spend even longer on my cool down this time I still had signs of DOMS for two days after. The changing of the crunch sit-up station to the lower abdominal station was beneficial because this time I was working my lower and upper abdominal muscles compared to just the upper ones in my previous circuits.
Considerations for next session: I am going to decrease the time spent at each station back to 35 seconds because 40 seconds is too much for my body to cope with at the moment.
I am going to keep the second set of shuttles in place though as this will help improve both my muscular endurance and cardio-vascular endurance further. I am going to keep the stations the way they are at present because I feel they are working well and don’t concentrate on one part of my body for two long.
Session 7.
Date: 25/03/02
2 circuits
7 stations
35 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (3 mins),
Mobility work; rotating arms
Dynamic stretching of the upper body.
Session outline: Press ups,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ sit up,
Tricep dips,
Sit ups-Crunch,
Cool down: Jogging (3 mins)
Stretching: Stretches concerning the upper body.
Evaluation: This session has been changed quite dramatically from my previous sessions, due to me straining my groin during my football match yesterday. I wanted to continue with my training programme but adaptations had to be made to prevent me from making the injury worse. I was also keen to continue training to ensure that the injury had a minimal effect on my overall progress. I have included all the circuits concerning my upper body and arms as I can still work these muscles without feeling any pain. I have left out of my circuit all the stations that would use my leg muscles, thus giving my body time to recover from my injury. I still positioned my stations so that I didn’t work one muscle group too much. I also had to adapt my warm up and cool down accordingly. So instead of warming up primarily my legs, I concentrated more on my upper body and arms.
Considerations for next session: I would normally have done my Plyometric circuit on Wednesday of this week, but because of my injury I am not including that circuit. I am only going to do two circuits this week concentrating on my upper body and my arms, thus giving my groin time to recover.
Session 8.
Date: 28/03/02
2 circuits
7 stations
35 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (3 mins)
Mobility work; rotating arms
Dynamic stretching of the upper body.
Session outline: Press ups,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ sit up,
Tricep dips,
Sit ups-Crunch,
Cool Down: Jogging (3 mins)
Stretching: Stretches concerning the upper body
Evaluation: I decided to just continue with my upper body circuit this time. I feel as though my body is getting stronger and can cope with more repetitions each time I do my circuits. Although my leg is slowly recovering I still decided to leave the leg stations out of my circuit because if I put too much strain on it I will make it worse again.
Considerations for next session: I am not taking part in my game on Sunday, thus giving my leg even more time to rehabilitate. I think in my next session I am going to bring in some light leg stations to try and strengthen my groin back to normal. I will still continue with my upper body circuits, as I want to continue with the progress I am making at present.
Session 9.
Date: 01/04/02
2 circuits
10 stations
35 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (5 mins),
Mobility work; rotating arms
Dynamic stretching of the upper body.
Session outline: Press ups,
Shuttles,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Shuttles,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ Sit up,
Shuttles,
Tricep dips,
Sit ups-Crunch.
Evaluation: I felt that this circuit was beneficial to the recovery programme of my groin as it worked the strained area, but only slightly as not to cause me discomfort. I only included shuttles to the upper body circuit because I can control the intensity of my running, therefore can ease off the intensity if I feel any discomfort. I feel now that instead of increasing the workout time for my stations, as this would overload my muscles too severely. I will add an extra set of circuits into my programme, so instead of only doing two circuits I will now do three.
Considerations for next session: I am not going to include the plyometric circuit this week, I am just going to continue with the upper body circuit and selected leg stations, so as to still not put too much strain on my groin. Hopefully if it continues to heal correctly this week I will be able to resume my normal training programme next week.
Session 10.
Date: 04/04/02
3 circuits
10 stations
25 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (7 mins),
Mobility work; rotating arms
Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Sit ups-Crunch,
Press-ups,
Shuttles,
Tricep-dips,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Burpees,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ sit up,
Squats.
Cool Down: Jogging (6 mins)
Skipping (3 mins)
Stretching: As outline previously.
Evaluation: Due to me going football training on Tuesday and having experienced no pain concerning my groin I have decided to resume back to my normal training programme. The only station I have not included is my plyometric jumps as I still feel these may be too intense for the recovery stage I am at, at present. I increased the frequency of my circuits from two to three as I felt this was the best way to increase the intensity of my training programme. I felt that this worked well, I did not overload my body to severely and my rest periods were sufficient. I did not feel any pain through out the session and my cool down was sufficient because I did not feel fatigued the following day.
Considerations for next session: I am going to keep the circuit the same as I feel it is correct for the intensity I need at present. Depending on how my football match goes on Sunday, I will decide then whether to include my plyometric jumps station or not.
Session 11.
Date: 08/04/02
3 circuits
11 stations
25 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (7 mins),
Mobility work; rotating arms,
Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Sit ups- Crunch,
Press-ups,
Shuttles,
Tricep-dips,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Burpees,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ sit up,
Squats,
Plyometric jumps.
Cool Down: Jogging (6 mins)
Skipping (3 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: I have included the plyometric jumps into this session as I feel I am back to my full fitness. I felt that the circuits really worked my body to its limit but my upper body seemed to find the stations easier than my lower body, primarily because my upper body has been in constant training and my lower body hasn’t. I felt the stations were in a correct position throughout my circuit and my rest periods were long enough.
Considerations for next session: I am going to re-introduce the plyometric circuit into my training programme for my final week of training. I am going to include every station I had in it previously as I feel I can cope with the demands of the session.
Session 12.
Date: 10/04/02
1 circuit (Plyometric)
10 reps at each station
1-minute rest after each separate circuit.
Evaluation: I felt that the intensity of this circuit was too high for my body. I think if I had kept the number of half laps between each station at two then I would have felt ok, but because I had not done this circuit for two weeks my body was not ready for the demands it was put under. I managed to complete the circuit but was extremely fatigued afterwards and although I included a very through cool down I still had signs of DOMS the day after.
Considerations for next session: I am going to keep the stations the same from my previous circuit, although I am going to increase the intensity to 30 seconds compared to 25 seconds previously. Although my upper body felt as though the stations were too easy last time I am going to keep the workout time at each station the same for both upper body and lower body. This because 30 seconds will work my leg muscles to their limit and the aim of my training programme primarily is too improve the muscular endurance in my legs not my upper body.
Session 13.
Date: 12/04/02
3 circuits
11 stations
30 seconds at each station with 30 seconds rest between stations.
Warm up: Jogging (8 mins)
Mobility work; rotating arms,
Jumping,
Sprints,
Side steps,
Floor touches.
Dynamic stretching: As outlined previously.
Session outline: Sit ups-Crunch,
Press-ups,
Shuttles,
Tricep-dips,
Lower abdominal lifts,
Back raises,
Burpees,
Normal sit ups,
‘V’ sit up,
Squats,
Plyometric jumps.
Cool Down: Jogging (8 mins)
Skipping (4 mins)
Stretching: As outlined previously.
Evaluation: This was one of my best sessions to date. I felt that it really worked my body to its maximum and I could tell the improvements I have made over the five-week period. My upper body strength has improved drastically, so too has the muscular endurance in my legs. Although I will not no how much they have improved until I re-test myself. The layout of my session was correct and so to was my cool down time. I thought that the fact I had increased the intensity again would mean that I would feel fatigued the following day but my body felt fine.
My New Fitness Test Results.
Evaluation
During my five-week training programme I felt that my sessions have been very successful. I really enjoyed taking part in each session as I varied them, thus meaning they did not get boring or repetitive. I feel within myself as though I am fitter and my new fitness test results on the previous page prove this. I felt that throughout the five-week period the positioning of my stations were always correct; they did not concentrate on one part of my body for too long. This meant that I could have a higher intensity workout because I was not overloading specific muscle groups. I tried to increase the intensity so that it was set at the right level for my body, although on a few occasions I increased it too dramatically. Even though I had a through cool down it was not enough to remove the lactic acid from my muscles, thus causing me to show signs of DOMS the following day. I was disappointed that I picked up an injury in the middle of my training programme as this prevented me from developing to my full potential over the five-weeks. I was forced to decrease the intensity of my sessions and primarily concentrate on my upper body, although towards the end of my programme I was back to full fitness.
My motivation was sustained throughout the programme by me setting myself specific targets that I wanted to achieve and gave myself rewards for achieving a good session. I set the target of me reaching level 11 on the bleep test at the start of my training programme, although I did not quite make it I think that if I had not strained my groin half way through and would have continued with the progress I was making I would have achieved my target.
At the start of my training programme I decided that I wanted to improve my cardio-vascular and muscular endurance. I gave a catalogue of the attributes a footballer needed and in particular those that played in defence or midfield. The first criteria was that of speed, from my first fitness test my sprinting has improved from 4.08 seconds to 4.01 seconds to sprint 20 metres. Although this is not a huge improvement I have nearly knocked a second off my best time, which means that in my matches now I will have an extra burst of speed to get me to the ball quicker than my opponent, to beat my opponent or to avoid my marker. I will also be able to keep up with my opponent easier, thus meaning I will be able to concentrate more on producing an accurate and efficient tackle to win possession. The development and strengthening of my fast twitch fibres will help my performance because now I will need to use less effort than before to sprint the same distance.
The second criteria was strength and balance. From my first fitness test I only managed to produce 30 press ups in a minute compared to when I retested myself and achieved a score of 35. This was a good increase for me, as I had been forced to concentrate on my upper body in the middle phase of my programme due to injury. Although you don’t necessarily need upper body strength to play football, it does give you the added advantage that you can hold the ball up, and shield the ball when it is needed. By including stations such as burpees and squats in my circuits and by doing one plyometric circuit a week I have also improved the strength and muscular endurance of legs. This will improve my performance because I will now be able to produce more powerful shots, which is one of my major weaknesses during a game, I will also be able to jump higher, thus meaning I will be able to defend better and get to the ball before my opponent. This is important for me because I am quite small compared to other players so need to produce more height in my jumping. By having an increased number of mitochondria because of my training, my muscles will be able to generate energy more efficiently.
My third criteria was that of cardio-vascular endurance, I have increased my score of the multi stage fitness test from level 10.2 to level 10.5. This will help my performance in my matches because now I will have the endurance to allow me to make forward runs towards the end of my matches, thus maybe creating a goal scoring opportunity. My all round game will improve because I will not get fatigued as easily and will be able to contribute more to game situations.
My fourth criteria was agility; I have improved my time at the Illinois agility run from 17.01 seconds to16.06 seconds. This will improve my performance because football is multi-directional and by improving my ability to turn at speed I will be unpredictable to my opponents and harder to defend against.
I still hope to further develop my training programme by continuing with my circuits. I would try to vary them so that I do not get bored and lose motivation. Also if I vary the stations I will achieve a more all round body muscle development, thus continuing to improve my performance. I am going to try and achieve a higher cardio-vascular endurance, because even though I improved my score on the multi stage fitness test I did not reach my target of level 11. Therefore I am going to develop my training programme to incorporate more cardio-vascular stations. I will continue with my circuits right up to the beginning of preseason training, as this will give me a good level of fitness to start on. I will concentrate on my all round fitness throughout the preseason phase, which means that by the beginning of next season I will be able to concentrate more on skill development. I am also planning to incorporate a change in diet into my training programme, thus giving me more carbohydrates and a lower fat intake to help me produce more energy for my sessions.
Bibliography
Davis, B. Bull, R. Roscoe, J. Roscoe, D. (2000) Physical Education and the study of sport. Fourth edition. Mosby-Harcourt Publishers Limited.
Mafe, A. (1998) Football fitness. Boxtree
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