Health and fitness

Suppleness/flexibility –

This is the ability to move our joints through their full range of movement. Flexibility is vital to stay healthy and avoid injury. This is also needed in football, as a striker and a goalkeeper, they need to get to other places very quickly, they need to react very quickly, for example, the striker needs to act quickly if the ball is played into him and the keeper needs to be aware of the strikers, if they shoot he would need to dive and save the ball from going into the back of the net.  

Body Composition –

This is what our body is made up of, the percentage of fat in the body. This needs to be kept at a minimal for footballers, as the player would have to carry more excess weight, which would lead to him getting fatigued very quickly.  

Types Of Training

Aerobic Training 

Aerobic training needs a constant supply of oxygen, the effects are mainly to do with the way the body maintains this supply. Effects of aerobic training are :-

• The heart grows larger. Its walls grow a little thicker. So it can hold more blood and contract more strongly. Becomes a better pump.
• The body makes more blood, with more red blood cells in it. so more oxygen can be carried.
• Arteries grow larger and more elastic.
• The resting heart rate falls.
• The heart rate returns to normal more quickly after exercise.
• The rib muscles and diaphragm grow stronger. So the chest cavity gets larger when you breathe in.
• This means the lungs can expand further. Vital capacity increases. More oxygen can be taken in with each breath and more carbon dioxide removed.
• More capillaries grow around the alveoli. This means more blood is available for gas exchange.
• Because gaseous exchange is speeded up, you can exercise longer without tiring.

Anaerobic Training  

 

        This is training without oxygen.  The effects of anaerobic training are :-

• Our muscles hypertrophy, they become larger as the individual muscle fibres grow thicker.
• The heart walls increase in thickness.
• Anaerobic threshold increases, enabling us to work harder and longer before becoming tired.
• We can cope with lactic acid better.
• Recovery rate after exercise is quicker because removal of lactic acid is faster.
• Fast-twitch muscle fibres increase in size and become better able to cope with lactic acid before becoming tired.
• Muscle cells store great amounts of ATP, creatine, phosphate and glycogen.
• The chemical reactions in our muscle that produce energy increase in quantity, speed and efficiency.    

Principles of Training

        We need to train in order for us to improve our fitness. For steady progress and to avoid injury we should adapt the SPORT (also known as SPORV) principle. They stand for the following :-

• Specificity (Specific) – Training for our own particular sport. Every type of exercise has a particular effect on the body, in this case we need to specify the type of training, so it has a particular effect on a body part that we want to aim. The type of training we choose must be the right type for the right type of improvement we want to see. For example, if we want to improve the strength of our arms then running will not help much, therefore we need strength training exercises like weight training for our arms. E.g. 10 mile running is not specific to football.

• Progression (Progress) – Increasing training/amount of work gradually over time. The body takes time to adapt to more or harder exercise. We must build up the stress on out bodies in a gradual, or progressive way, or our bodies won’t be able to handle the pressure. If we build up the stress too slowly we become disinterested and bored and give up. If we are unfit we can improve our fitness level quickly, however the fitter we are the harder it is to improve. For example, lifting heavier weights or running further.  

• Overload (make it harder/more difficult) – is to work harder than normal. To improve the fitness of body systems we need to work them harder than normal. The body will then gradually learn to adapt to the extra stress and after a while we will be become fitter. We can overload our bodies our bodies by training more often, by working harder or by spending more time on a particular exercise. This is similar to Progression. For example to improve aerobic fitness by running, we could run more times a week, complete the fun in a shorter time or by increasing the distance of the run. The aerobic system will gradually learn to cope with the overload and we will become fitter.

• Reversibility – (Reversible) Means the training we have done and the improvements we have made, can change very quickly, if you stop training. If our muscles are not used the Atrophy, they waste away. We cannot store fitness for future use, it is ongoing, if training is stopped fitness will disappear. It only takes 3-4weeks for our bodies to get out of condition.

• Tedium (also known as Variance) Our training programme must be varied to avoid tedium (boredom). By using various training methods we will be kept motivated and we will be likely to carry on with the training. For example, the location of where you train can be varied, we can have a long work out followed by a short one. E.g. playing different teams on different pitches.

Training Methods

There are many different types of training methods. They are all based on the different ways our body adapts to regular exercise and include :-

Continuous Training –

This training method involves exercise with out rest periods.

There are two types : Long/slow distance involves whole body activity between 60-80% maximum heart rate and is good for general conditioning. High Intensity work at 85-95% of maximum heart rate improves speed and endurance.

Interval Training –

This training method involves alternating periods of work with periods of rest. Training sessions can be longer because the rest periods allow us to recover. We can vary : -

• The time or distance of each period of work
• The amount of effort (intensity)
• The length of time we rest for
• The type of activity we do when resting
• The number of work and recovery periods in each session

Fartlek Training –

‘Speed Play’ is the English term for this training method. It involves varying the pace at which we walk, run or cycle and the type of terrain we travel over. It is good for improving VO2 Max and our recovery process.

Weight Training –

This training method is the most popular form of resistance training. It can be designed for our own particular sport. The sport principle should be followed when using this method. With this method we perform reps and sets. Reps are the number of times we repeat an exercise without resting. Sets are the number of reps done in succession, e.g. one set equals ten reps.

Circuit Training –

 We perform a series of selected exercises, or activities, in a given sequence. These can be designed to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness. We can make the exercises more difficult by : -

• Increasing the number of stations
• Increasing the time spent at each station
• Increasing the number of reps at each station
• Increasing the number of complete sets of exercises we complete.

Safety

 Never put two muscle groups together, e.g. press ups station along with chin ups station. Don’t forget to warm up and cool down.

Advantages :-

• Circuit training can include a big variety of exercises, which makes it fun. (Variance)
• It is very adaptable. You can design a circuit to develop one or more aspects of fitness or to suit a sport. (Specificity)
• It is an efficient way to use training time
• The circuit can be indoors or outdoors. You could create an effective circuit in your living room
• You can include equipment, weights and exercise bikes
• Disadvantages :-
• It can take a lot of time and effort to set up a circuit
• Good planning is needed to stop people getting in each other’s ways.

Warm Up 

A warm should conclude: -

• Gentle exercise for the whole body, such as a light jog. This gradually increases heart rate, breathing and blood supply to the muscles. It warms up our muscles and prepares us mentally for the session
• Gentle stretching, to prepare muscles, ligaments and joints
• Practising techniques and skills to be used in the session

My warm up will consist of a 5mins jog around the pitch, then I will be stretching out, holding each stretch for 8secs.

Warm Down 

• We should always finish the session with a period of lighter exercise.
• We should avoid going from hard exercise immediately to rest as it makes you tired and you loose your inspiration.
• Lighter exercise shortens recovery time by helping to remove carbon dioxide, lactic acid and other waste products
• Lighter exercise makes sure that the blood continues to circulate well and prevents it pooling in the skeletal muscles, which may lower blood pressure and cause dizziness. It also prevents you having to respire Anaerobically accumulating lactic acid in the muscles making them feel tired and ‘rubbery’.
• While the muscles are thoroughly warm, flexibility exercises can be carried out with less chance of injury through over stretching
• Light exercise will prevent muscle soreness and stiffness

My warm down will consist of 3mins light jogging around the pitch followed by a full range of stretches.

Circuit training

Activity Briefing –

Activity 1   =

At this activity I will also be aiming to do as many reps as I can. Press ups are when you place both hands on the ground and your toes touching the ground so your whole body is being supported by your legs and your arms then you have to lower your body down until your elbows are at 90degree angles, then you raise your body so the elbows are fully extended. Press ups target the biceps triceps and deltoids, the fitness being improved is also muscular endurance.

Activity 2   =

In this activity the purpose is to run quickly but in a fast time as in sprinting. This will help my breathing rate over the training sessions and it will help my physical appearance as I will have some changes to my appearnce.

Activity 3   =

At this activity you get in a push up position and then bring your knees inwards towards you stomach by making your feet jump from where they were to your stomach. You could say it is like going from point A to B. this helps your abdominal the most. It also helps your hamstrings.

Activity 4   = 

To do as many step ups as possible, targets muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance of legs.

Activity 5   = In this it is the same as doing press ups but you clap when your hands are not on the ground trying to support you. This shows signs of your co-oridnation and how well you are at it.

Activity 6   =

This is a activity which takes the sit ups on to a further stage. I will try to do as many fast sit ups as I can.

Activity 7   =

At this activity I will be aiming to do as many sit ups in the time limit. Sit ups are when you lie flat backed on the floor with your hands on the sides of your head near your ears, with your knees bent and stationary, the aim is to bring your body up, this applies pressure on abdominal muscles. Sit ups target the abdominal and upper leg muscles, the fitness being improved is muscular endurance

Activity 8   =

In this activity I intend to sit down with my legs straightened. My arms will be pressured on the bench and I will try and lift my self up by using the bench through my arms and hands.

Activity 9   = 

The aim is to repeat as many chin ups as you can, this improves muscular endurance in biceps triceps and upper chest. To do this you hang from a bar and you try to pull your way up to your hands with out the support of the ground.

Activity 10 = This is proberly one of the simplest activities. In this activity you just hop for the period of time and that is it. But this does help your legs and abdominal.