The heart rate is a useful parameter for monitoring the reaction of the athlete's body to training and the HRM provides a convenient method for measuring and recording heart rate during exercise.
Heart rate, on its own, does not allow for an accurate assessment of the training effectiveness over time and cannot tell the coach or athlete which aspects of the training program are having a positive or negative influence on training adaptation.
Ergogenic Aids
History of the use of Ergogenic Aids
Throughout history athletes have experimented with ergogenic aids to improve performance. Since the very first Olympic Games athletes have tried various means to give them the "winning edge". Ancient Greek Olympians ate mushrooms to enhance their performance, the Aztecs ate the human heart for the same reasons and Roman gladiators were "doped up" to make their fights more exciting for the paying audience.
Today ergogenic aids and drugs continue to play a role in sport and have been the focus of much controversy.
Some of the Ergogenic Aids used by Athletes
Oxygen is essential for the production of energy by aerobic processes. The greater the body's capacity to supply oxygen to the muscles during exercise, the greater the ability to maintain aerobic activity without fatigue. If a person can improve their capacity to utilise oxygen they are likely to improve their performance in endurance events.
To increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood some athletes train at higher altitudes where the air contains less oxygen. The body then adapts to the shortage of oxygen by increasing the number of red blood cells. When the athlete returns to sea level the increased oxygen carrying capacity of the blood should enable the athlete to push harder and faster.
Caffeine is a performance enhancer as it is a central nervous system stimulant and has been used by some athletes as an ergogenic aid in endurance exercise. Caffeine does not seem to benefit short-term high intensity exercise.
Prolonged and frequent caffeine intake can lead to excessive nervousness, and can result in a condition known as "caffeinism", causing restlessness, anxiety, diarrhoea, headaches, and heart palpitations. In addition to this, caffeine has a diuretic effect which can rob the body of its water supply.
Blood doping involves putting extra blood into the body which increases the level of haemoglobin thereby providing an increased oxygen carrying capacity for delivery to, and use by, the working muscles. The extra blood used can be the athlete's which has been previously withdrawn or can be another persons.
Blood doping is banned in sport because of the potential dangers to an athlete's health and the unfair advantages associated with the practice. The risks associated with blood doping are bacterial infections, congestive heart failure, hypertension and blood clots.
Amphetamines act as stimulants of the central nervous system and the sympathetic division of the peripheral nervous system, and have been used by some athletes to enhance performance. They increase blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow to the active muscles.
Side effects from the use of amphetamines include rise in body temperature, fast breathing, increase in heartbeat and blood pressure, coordination problems and aggressive behaviour.
Steroid use in sport has been widely publicised. Steroids are drugs derived from hormones. Anabolic steroids are one group of these hormonal drugs and are used by some athletes as ergogenic aids. They are taken to enable increased training, at increased intensity and to reduce the recovery time required between training sessions.
There are a large number of side effects associated with anabolic steroid use. In both men and women it has been linked with liver and kidney disorders and a marked increase in the risk of coronary heart disease among other things.
Clearly the use of drugs to enhance performance in sport is unacceptable and will be an issue which continues to be addressed at an international level. There is no place in sport for any activity which puts the health of an athlete in danger. However, the search will continue for new techniques and substances to give athletes a winning edge as they strive to be the best in their field.
Altitude Training
Training near sea level while living at an altitude of 2500 m (8000 ft) for a month enhances subsequent endurance performance, probably by increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood through an increase in production of red blood cells. A small proportion of athletes shows no improvement or even reduced performance with this "live-high train-low" strategy, but the enhancement for the average athlete is 2-3%.
The extra red blood cells and the enhancement of performance are probably lost by 2-3 months after return from altitude. Living and training at altitude is less effective than living at altitude and training near sea level, because the lack of oxygen at altitude results in detraining through reduction in intensity of training. Loss of heat acclimatization from training in cooler temperatures at altitude can also reduce the benefit of altitude exposure.
Sprinters may benefit from living or training at altitude, but less is known about the magnitude, duration, and mechanism of the effect. Athletes residing at altitude can get the benefit of training at sea level by performing high-intensity training on ergo-meters while breathing oxygen-enriched air. Athletes residing at sea level can simulate altitude exposure by resting in a chamber at reduced air pressure or in a "nitrogen house" or tent flushed with air containing less oxygen. Infusions of blood or injections of the hormone erythropoietin also simulate effects of altitude exposure. All of these practices can increase the fraction of red cells in the blood toward a dangerous level, so they need to be monitored and controlled by blood testing.
Plyometrics
Speed and strength are integral components of fitness found in varying degrees in virtually all athletic movements. Simply put the combination of speed and strength is power. For many years, coaches and athletes have sought to improve power in order to enhance performance.
Throughout this century and no doubt long before, jumping, bounding and hopping exercises have been used in various ways to enhance athletic performance. In recent years, this distinct method of training for power or explosiveness has been termed plyometrics.
Whatever the origins of the word the term is used to describe the method of training that seeks to enhance the explosive reaction of the individual through powerful muscular contractions because of rapid eccentric con
tractions.
Plyometric type exercises have been used successfully by many athletes as a method of training to enhance power. In order to realise the potential benefits of plyometric training the stretch-shortening cycle must be invoked. This requires careful attention to the technique used during the drill or exercise.
The rate of stretch rather than the magnitude of stretch is of primary importance in plyometric training. In addition, the coupling time or ground contact time must be as short as possible.
The challenge to you as coach or athlete is to select or create an exercise that is specific to the event and involves the correct muscular action. As long as you remember specificity and to ensure there is a pre stretch first then the only limit is your imagination.
Task 3
Unit 9
Analyse the Current
Application of monitoring and
Training technology
To
Enhance sport
Performance
