After completing the Circuit/ Fitness Tests I will cool down to prevent my muscles from seizing up afterwards.
Principles of Training
When planning and doing my training Program I will consider the principles of training.
SPORT Principles
Specificity- As I am training to improve my aerobic endurance and arm power, I will make the exercises I do specific to those areas.
Progression- During the program I will gradually increase the work I am doing by adding more sets or reps or even increasing weight or length of activity. This will build up my fitness. If I trained at the same level all the time, my fitness would not improve.
Overload-To improve fitness you need to work the body harder than usual. You do this by overloading it. To overload the body you increase the frequency, intensity time or type of the exercise.
Reversibility- As the effects of training are reversible I will need to continue training to keep fit.
Tedium- If you do the same thing over and over again it gets boring so I will try and vary the exercises to avoid this.
FITT Principles
Frequency- Increase the amount of exercises you do. If you increase the amount of exercises, you will gradually get used to doing that amount of exercise.
Intensity- Increase how hard you work, how much effort you put into it. The more effort you put into exercise the more your body will benefit from the exercise.
Time- If you do an exercise for a longer period of time then your body will adapt to working at that level for that amount of time.
Type- If you change the type of exercise you do it will make the exercises less tedious
Pre-Training Tests
Before I started my exercise program I did the cooper test and medicine ball throw test. Here are the Results:
Description of Activities
Warm Up
Firstly I will raise my heart rate by jogging. Once my heart rate is in my training zone, I will stretch the muscles I will be using. These include: biceps, triceps, quadratics, latissimus dorsi, trapezes, deltoids, abdominal, quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocnemius. Then I will jog to keep my heart rate up and start my circuit.
Warm Down
I will use the last part of the circuit (dribbling) as part of my warm down to gradually bring my heart rate down. I will then stretch out the muscles I used (see above) and then walk at a steady pace to bring my heart rate down to near resting.
Here is the table of Values for reps and sets/ work: rest for the Exercises.
Monitoring
Heart Rate Chart
Evaluation
Evaluation of Planning
Refer to your Pre-test scores for any fitness tests.
I based my program on the pre-tests I did. Firstly I tested my aerobic endurance using the cooper test. This gave me a benchmark for my aerobic endurance. As with the cooper test, the medicine ball test gave me an idea of the component of fitness. This told me the strength in my arms and then I could base my exercises on that too.
Where the exercises in the correct order? Explain why/why not.
I tried to use the BALs principle where I could. Most of the exercises were in the right order however some of the exercises I did worked at more than one part of the body so in places it was difficult to use BALs. Shoulder presses for example will work deltoids and triceps. The shoulder presses were after tricep dips in my program. This means there are two exercises next to each other which work on arms. I think I spread the exercises out as best I could though.
Explain how you applied principles of progression/ overload
In my exercise I used progression and overload. I did this by building up the number of sets and reps of the activities each week and by doing more work than feels comfortable. By increasing the number of reps and sets I do each week, I apply progression. I also progresses by moving further away from the wall (sit ups), increasing weights (shoulder press) and by other methods of progression (in description of activities above). Overload was applied with all exercises as I did more work than usual which works the body harder.
Where the exercises/ activities the correct ones to choose? Explain why/ why not
All the activities I did in my circuit were relevant to the aspects of fitness I wanted to improve. Press ups, tricep dips, sit ups, shoulder presses and weights contributed to my throwing; and squat thrusts, shuttle runs, jog and dribbling contributed to my cardiovascular endurance.
Evaluation of Monitoring
How effective was the recording of your heart rate?
I recorded my heart rate throughout the exercise programme; before and after the session and after every exercise. To count my heart rate I counted my pulse for 15 seconds and then multiplied the number by 4. Although this gives you a reasonable heart rate, it isn’t as accurate as it could. If you count one or two beats wrong then it will throw the whole heart rate by 4 for every beat you miscount. In the last session I wore a heart rate monitor so the readings for the last session will be extremely accurate.
Did you make any changes to your Program? Explain why you did/ did not do so.
In my practice session I found the amount of reps for tricep dips, squat thrusts and shoulder presses too comfortable so I increased them. Otherwise I would not be overloading those parts of the body, and training wouldn’t have an effect. I decreased the time for the shuttles as it was unmanageable.
Explain the effects training had on you in any of the 5 sessions.
During the sessions I had a stitch various times (usually in the jog or shuttles) and lactic acid built in my arms on the medicine ball throw and tricep dips. These were worse in the first sessions and in the lasts session I didn’t get stitch or lactic acid building up. I noticed I did not get fatigued as much after and my recovery rate increased toward the end of the program.
Were the results you achieved what you expected? Explain why this was/ was not the case.
In my Planning I said I wanted to increase my cardiovascular endurance and my muscular strength in my arms. From the pre-tests I can tell I have improved both aspects of fitness. I have also increased my recovery rate.
As you can see from the table, in 10 minutes, my heart rate dropped 12 beats in the first session but by the end of the program it dropped 28 beats. This shows my recovery rate has increased. Session two is an anomaly. The reason for this is because I was ill and it took longer for me to recover.
Evaluation of Performance
Were the activities the correct ones to choose? Explain why/ why not.
Yes I think I chose the right activities because I improved on both fitness tests. I think the arm exercises worked well but I think I could have done more cardiovascular exercises.
Was the program easy to manage (set up, do, record progress etc)?
As I planned my program well it was easy to follow. I made charts to fill in as I did the program which made it easy to record heart rate etc. It was tough to get the weights I wanted when I wanted them but I worked it out with someone who was using the same weight as me which worked. Doing the program was easy because I knew exactly what I was doing and most of the exercises I could do on one mat without changing as I planned the stationary exercises to be together (press ups, sit ups, squats etc.).
Were the exercises in the correct order? Explain why/ why not.
When I got to the part in the program where I do tricep dips then shoulder presses I felt lactic acid in my arms. This is because I had done 2 high intensity exercises which work arms. When I was planning the program I used the BALs principle as best as I could but two exercises which worked arms had to go together otherwise I wouldn’t be able to use the BALs principle.
Did you enjoy it and work to your limit? How do you know?
I enjoyed doing the programme and because I enjoyed it I am continuing it in my own time to keep fit otherwise the effects of the sessions would reverse due to reversibility. I could tell I was working hard because I was sweating and my heart rate was in the aerobic training zone for the majority of the activities which is between 60% and 90% of max heart rate (between 120 and 185 bpm for me). Sometimes I went into my anaerobic training zone which shows I was probably working too hard.
Final Evaluation
Refer to your Post test scores
In the pre-tests I ran 2600m in 12 minutes and threw a 3kg medicine ball 10 yards. In the post-tests I ran 2700m (with illness) and threw the medicine ball 12 yards. This shows I have improved both aspects of fitness. I probably could have run further if I was illness free.
Was the program easy to manage (set up, do, record progress etc.)?
Overall the programme was easy to manage. I managed to keep up with recording the data and my progress. I coped well with the sessions and I think I organised my circuit well. This made it easier to perform and monitor.
Explain what progress or improvements you have made as a result of completing the program
As I can now throw a football further on a throw in I can create an attacking opportunity easily when playing football and I can now last the whole 90 minutes without getting as tired. I have modified the program so I can do it at home. Instead of exercising doing reps and sets I work out along to music.
If you were going to continue with the program what changes would you make?
As I said before, I have carried on with the program and changed it so I can work out to music. For example I do exercise for a verse then rest for the chorus then exercise for the next verse until the song is finished. Then I do a different exercise for the next song. I would also extend the length of the jog as we were restricted to lesson time for the circuit.
