Personal information:
Name- Kshi Ramdin
Age- 15
Date of birth: 05/05/1989
Height- 6ft 3 inches
Weight- 13.9 stone
Existing fitness level:
My fitness is of quite a good level at the moment because I am involved in numerous sporting activities and training sessions which consist of lots of fitness work so I can comfortably deal with the demands of everyday life.
Present training demands:
I am currently doing rugby training for around an hour after school every Monday. I then have a games session every Wednesday and I also do kickboxing training every Wednesday night. During the week I also have a few PE lessons in which I play basketball or hockey. On Tuesday nights I have football training. On Saturday morning/afternoon I have a rugby match for the school and then have a weight training session at the gym afterwards. On a Sunday morning I have a football match for my Sunday-league football club.
* I play rugby for the under 16 As team every Saturday.
* I play football every Sunday in the Epsom and Ewell league for Walton Heath and we are currently looking to gain promotion to the top league for next season.
Sports I play:
* Football
* Rugby
* Kickboxing
* Basketball
* Hockey
I have had various injuries in the past mainly being back injuries which in the last few years has meant I have had to miss a few games in order to recover properly but I haven't had any injuries so far this season and I am currently injury free.
Chosen sport and position:
The sport that I have chosen is football and my specialist position that I have chosen is centre forward.
The fitness demands include:
* Strength- Amount of force muscles are able to exert against a resistance. There are 3 types of strength including Static (maximum force versus immovable object). Explosive (maximum force used in one movement, and a combination of speed and force), and Dynamic (repetitive application of force).
* Coordination- Refers to the ability to integrate the actions of parts of the body (eg. hand-eye coordination, eye-foot coordination).
* Speed- Time from the initiation to completion of a movement (ability to cover a distance in a short period of time).
* Agility- refers to the accuracy and speed of changing direction whilst moving.
Football is a physically demanding sport and as a centre forward or whatever position you play on the pitch a good fitness level is needed in order to play at a reasonable standard except the goalkeeper perhaps. Every position needs a certain physical requirement if an individual is to perform well in that position. For example it is vital a goalkeeper has a good level of agility and flexibility to get in position to make saves and will need to have quick reactions if he is challenged by a surprise deflection of the ball for example. However a goalkeeper does not need anywhere near the same levels of aerobic fitness as an outfield player such as a central midfielder, who has to run up the pitch when his side are attacking and run back to defend when the opposition are attacking which is very tiring, so it is vital that outfield players have good levels of aerobic fitness to keep getting round a football pitch whether they are sprinting short distances, jogging or walking.
As a striker coordination is important as I have to try and make good contact with the ball as often as possible to give myself a greater chance of scoring or setting up a goal with a perfectly weighted pass. Speed is important in order to outrun a defender while running with the ball, or just to be able to get to the ball first so you regain possession for your team. Speed also helps as you don't have to take so many risks in trying to get in an advanced position to get to the ball first so you wont get as many off-sides called against you because you will be able to stay comfortably onside and still get to the ball first. Agility is important for changing direction quickly while moving at speed so defenders will find it hard to keep track of you and put in a tackle that wont be seen as a foul. Agility helps you to evade opponents. endurance is important for helping you maintain your bursts of speed throughout the match and this is essential for a striker to keep on getting into scoring positions as the striker wont be of much use if they have one quick burst of pace and then are too tired to go on anymore runs. As a striker it is useful to be strong and tall because then you will be a main target for set pieces such as free kicks and corners. Leg strength and power is important to help you jump higher and therefore be more useful in the air when challenging for headers or trying to out jump a defender to get a scoring opportunity. However as football is such a physical game it is useful to have good overall muscular strength and this will also combine to help with the maintaining of good posture which will help to reduce the risk of injury.
Seasonal Factors
Athletes need to plan a training programme suited to the sport that they participate in, including their capabilities and their reason for training. Many sports take place seasonally and may be classed as SUMMER or WINTER activities. Examples of seasonal sports are Hockey, Netball, Football, Cricket, Rounders and rugby. These activities all have a closed or off season for rest and recuperation.
* Out of season- Light training with gradual build up to a good level of aerobic fitness. Light skills training with non-competitive games.(4- 6 weeks training)
* Pre-season- High intensity interval and weights training. Flexibility and skills training. Practice matches. (4-6 weeks)
* Closed season for rest and recuperation- complete break to help recovery from any injuries. Recreation and relaxation in other sports or activities. ( 6-10 weeks)
* Playing season- Playing competitive matches once or twice a week. Maintenance and light weight training. Speed work, and quality rest and appropriate diet. ( 30-36 weeks)
Most Athletes are likely to have a seasonal training programme which will make them look at 4 different factors which are:
* Out of season- light training, mostly aerobic and strength training.
* Pre-season- Increase in the intensity of training particularly muscular and cardiovascular fitness, refine skills technique and increase in the amount of anaerobic training.
* Early season - compete in selected competitions, continue with aerobic and anaerobic training to maintain levels of fitness, skills training and physical rest before competitions.
* Peak season- more regular competitions with appropriate training and rest periods between competitions. Maintain fitness levels, mental preparation, diet and exercise prior to competitions.
In a single training session the athletes time is also often split into 4 different categories
* Warm up- Increases the blood flow to the muscles, increasing the temperature and reducing the risk of energy and increases mental arousal levels.
* Fitness- The amount and importance of fitness depends on the activity. Most sports demand a good level of aerobic fitness although some sports demand high levels of cardio respiratory fitness.
* Skill phase- This can be the practise of either individual skills so that they can reach new levels of performance or team skills as players in team sports need to be able to work in small groups or units and also in full-team situations. Whole team skills can be practised without any opposition which is known as unopposed practice. An example in football is at set pieces such as a corner. The attacking players work together to see various types of corners and how effective they are and when they feel they have perfected there technique they will bring opposition in to make it harder.
* Cool down- Gentle exercise done after an intensive activity is stopped so that the lactic acid is ridded from the muscles therefore preventing soreness and pain and ensuring the body returns to its normal state.
In the short term I will hope that there will be a noticeable change in my fitness levels and therefore performance levels although I will not be expecting the increase to be that great, I hope there will be a definite increase in my fitness levels.
In the long term I will hope that the training will cause my body to adapt to the increased load placed upon it by the training and so eventually various parts of my body will start to show visible changes.
Stated aims of the programme
In my programme I will be looking to improve:
* My overall muscular strength
* My agility
* My explosive strength
How would improving these aspects of fitness actually improve my performance?
Aims Benefits
Improving overall muscular strength
Improving the strength in my legs will improve my explosive strength to jump up for a header or sprint to the ball. good upper body strength will help me to shield the ball from the opposition and outmuscle the opposition off the ball legally. Having good muscular strength will help me maintain a good posture so decreasing the risk of injury.
Improving my agility
This will help me to get past defenders with greater ease as I will be changing direction at greater speed so this will make it harder for defenders to keep track of me. I will be able to run with the ball without losing my balance so easily therefore will improve my skill on the ball.
Improving my explosive strength
This will help me to out jump defenders to the ball which is important as a striker because I will be looking to latch on to any heading opportunities that come my way. If the explosive strength in my legs has improved then this could also lead to improved speed which would help when trying to outrun a defender when running with the ball or chasing a loose ball.
Cardiovascular endurance
Despite this not being one of my main aims I am hoping it will improve along with my other aims because of my circuit training which should help strengthen my heart muscles. It is important for a footballer because you are constantly on the move for 90 minutes whether you are sprinting or jogging and recovery rate will improve so you will be able to run for longer.
Pre-test tables:
Pre-testing is required so that you can decide how well each test fits in with your aims to try and improve the certain aspects of your fitness. Once you have tried out all these different tests you can then choose which particular tests you are going to choose which will be specific to your aims and which will show how you have improved in certain aspects of your fitness from before the 6 week training course and after it.
Some of the tests we did included:
* Illinois Agility Run- You have 6 cones placed about 1 metre apart from each other and to test your agility you firstly have to lie on the left hand side of the cones face first on the ground with your head in line with the starting point and then when you are told to go, get up and sprint to the end of the cones then come back by going in between each cone and then turning around doing the same going round each cone and once you have gone round the last cone at the end turn round and sprint down the right to the start again and time how long it took you.
* Reaction Testing ( Ruler Drop Test)- Your partner holds a 30cm ruler out in front of them and you position your index finger and thumb next to the 0cm mark without touching the ruler. Your partner then drops the ruler without giving you notice and the closer to the 0cm mark you can catch the ruler the faster your reaction time is.
* Bent arm hang- You have a bar and you have to hold onto it for as long as possible with your outer wrist facing you and with your chin above the bar. This is a test for the strength in your arms and shoulders.
* The Sergeant Jump (test for explosive strength)- you have to stand beside a wall and keep your legs and feet flat on the floor then reach straight above your head as far as you can and use a chalk to make a mark. Then jump as high as possible making a second chalk mark at the highest point. The distance between the two chalk marks gives you an indication of your explosive strength.
* (Bleep test)- This is used to test your speed but mainly your stamina. For this test you have to run from one line to another of length 20 metres. You have to get your foot on the line each time before you hear the next bleep until you cant carry on any longer and stop and your fitness is measured by how many levels you have managed to run through.
Out of these various tests the ones I am going to choose to help me describe my stated aims are:
* The Illinois Agility Run
* The bent arm hang
* The Sergeant Jump
* The Bleep test
Reasons why I have chosen these particular exercises for my pre-tests
* I chose the Illinois Agility Run to try and improve my agility because if I am able to run at speed and change direction whilst moving then that would help me greatly on the football pitch when trying to avoid tackles coming in from the opposition and I have stated improving my agility for this reason in my aims. So using the Illinois Agility Run as one of my pre-tests will allow me to see how well my agility has improved after the six-week training course when I take the test again and compare my times.
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This is a preview of the whole essay
* I chose the Illinois Agility Run to try and improve my agility because if I am able to run at speed and change direction whilst moving then that would help me greatly on the football pitch when trying to avoid tackles coming in from the opposition and I have stated improving my agility for this reason in my aims. So using the Illinois Agility Run as one of my pre-tests will allow me to see how well my agility has improved after the six-week training course when I take the test again and compare my times.
* Using the bent arm hang will give me an indication of how my strength has improved. This is important as one of my aims is to improve my power because this will help me greatly on the football pitch when jumping for a header, holding the ball up or trying to outmuscle an opposition player from the ball.
* Using the Sergeant jump will help me see how my explosive strength has improved. This is important because improved explosive strength will help me jump higher for headers and as an extra my speed might also increase as the explosive strength in my legs improves although this is not one of my stated aims.
* Using the Bleep test will help me see how my cardiovascular endurance has improved which is not one of my specified aims but it will be useful if this has improved also due to my work on speed and my agility. It would help because I will be able to carry on running round the football pitch for 90 minutes trying to do my job of striker as best as possible such as running into space for longer or chasing down balls put over the top of the defence for longer.
Pre-test Results
The data represented in the following table represents the average score of each test as I repeated each test twice for greater accuracy.
Test
Test to prove
Average score
Resting Heart Rate
Sergeant jump
Explosive power
53cm
62bpm
Illinois Agility test
Agility
1.9secs
59bpm
Bent-Arm Hang
Upper body strength
35.42secs
61bpm
Bleep test
Cardiovascular endurance
Level 14.
60bpm
My Circuit
My circuit will include 8 stations altogether and I will probably do two circuits per week depending on how I feel the first week goes. I will do around 6 laps of my circuit for each session as I have estimated that each lap of my circuit will take around 10 minutes to complete and so 60 minutes should be a substantial period of time for each session. I will start my first circuit with appropriate exercises with sensible intensities and effective frequencies that are suitable for me taking into account my current fitness levels and abilities. If I do not do this then I may find that the circuit is not at the right level of difficulty for me to see any visible differences in my level of fitness. The circuit may be too easy or too difficult which may lead to me becoming bored with the programme and not performing the exercises in the correct manner. If I make the intensity and frequency of the exercises in my circuit too advanced a level that isn't suitable for my abilities then this could lead to me getting injuries such as muscle strain. However my exercises will be carried out with a high level of intensity and I have set my target heart rate zone at 70-85% of my maximum heart rate so my training zone will be from around 125bpm to 205bpm. I can improve my performance by building up frequency and intensity of exercises gradually over the weeks at a level that isn't too dangerous or too easy as this wont help my performance. As I increase my fitness levels I will be able to perform better as the body will become accustomed to the demands of the training programme.
In my recordings after each session I will include my recovery rate and see how my fitness has improved by looking at the variation of times it has taken my heart to recover after an exercise over the weeks. If I find that an exercise doesn't benefit me and help to improve my performance because it is too easy then there are a number of decisions I could make to overcome this factor. I could overload by increasing the number of repetitions in an exercise or the frequency and intensity of the exercise. I could repeat certain exercises again or if necessary the whole circuit.
I will have to structure the order in which I carry out the exercises in the circuit in a particular way so that I don't end up doing similar fitness exercises one after another such as two consecutive arm/leg exercises. I will look to vary my exercises and structure them in a way that they will help improve all the aspects of fitness that I want improving which were agility, upper body strength and explosive strength.
Benefits of using circuit training
Circuit training is becoming more and more popular with regular gym-goers and is appealing to those who aren't regular gym-goers but want to go to the gym and see maximum results in the minimum time. Circuit training combines cardiovascular training with toning and resistance training. Circuit training can improve your fitness level greatly depending on the structure and balance of your session. Circuit training proves that performing a set of exercises in quick succession and in rotation is the key to seeing results even if you train only once or twice a week. One of the great things about circuit training is it doesn't matter what level of fitness you have and whether you're a top athlete or just a beginner, as you can all work together in the same training session. Depending on your current level of fitness you can choose the intensity and frequency of the activity you are performing at each work station to suit you. It has been said that a minute is the ideal time that you should spend at a station as short bursts of exercise greatly help improve cardiovascular fitness. Circuit training is good for developing basic strength and body tone. Circuit training normally consists of compound exercises which use more than one muscle group at a time which is generally more effective than using a machine in the gym which only concentrates on one set of muscles. Circuit training is a good fat burner because of all the rotation between exercises that goes on. Circuit training is not as boring as other types of training as you are always doing different exercises so this helps you to not lose interest.
The effectiveness of a circuit training session depends on many factors which are:
* How many different workout stations there are.
* The length of time between each station or circuit.
* The number of times a circuit is performed in a session.
* The intensity and frequency that the exercise is performed.
* Whether you have structured your circuit correctly so that you do not perform two arm/leg exercises in a row
Justification of the exercises chosen for my circuit
* Station 1: Press ups- This exercise will work my biceps, triceps, deltoids, pectoral and abdominal muscles. This will help me to increase the explosive strength in my upper arms and upper body. This will hopefully enable me to be more effective when holding the ball up while waiting for support from my team-mates or to be able to outmuscle opponents off the ball once I have completed my 6 week training program. For the first 2 weeks of the circuit I will be doing 20 press-ups. During weeks 3 and 4 I will increase this to 30 press-ups and for weeks 5 and 6 I will increase the number of repetitions again to 40 press-ups. I am increasing the number of press-ups I do by 10 repetitions every 2 weeks so that I can build up more strength in my upper-body and to show how I am progressing through the weeks.
* Station 2: The Illinois run- In this exercise I will set up a course with cones that I have to weave in and out of making sure that I move my body well to keep my balance while weaving through the cones. This run will also help to improve certain muscle groups including the quadriceps, abdominals, hamstrings and the gastrocnemius. This type of exercise will help improve my cardiovascular fitness. Over the 6 weeks I will shorten the distance between each of the cones. For the first 2 weeks the cones will be 2 metres apart, in weeks 3 and 4 the cones will be 1.5 metres apart and in weeks 5 and 6 they will be 0.5 metres apart. Doing this will help me to improve my agility more effectively and will also allow me to show my progression over the 6 weeks. This should allow me to move my body quicker and help me when playing football as I will be able to evade tackles more effectively or quickly change direction to get to a wayward ball first.
* Station 3: Bench dips- This is a very good exercise for increasing the strength in the upper body and the arms as the muscles involved are the biceps, triceps, abdominals, latissimus dorsi, deltoids and pectorals. This will help me when playing football as I will be able to compete physically with my opponents when battling to gain possession of the ball and if I do have possession of the ball then I can use my body weight and strength to an advantage and shield the ball with my body making it difficult for the opponents to get the ball off me.
* Station 4: I will set up a course of 10 cones in the garden and with a football I will dribble up and down through these cones once keeping my head up throughout. If I hit a cone then I will have to go back and start from the beginning of the course. I thought up this exercise as it will help improve my ball control and will make me a bigger threat when running with the ball in a match situation as I will be quicker and more aware with the ball at my feet and also more agile, so will be able to weave through the opposition at greater speed, as this exercise would help improve my agility because I am having to move my body in different directions constantly as I dribble through the cones with the ball..
* Station 5: Squat jumps- This is a good exercise to improve power and explosive strength as it is using many of the muscle groups. The arms are being used for the swing and the lift, the legs are being used for the spring and all the other muscles in your body are working to exert pressure upwards. This should help improve my explosive strength and give me more spring when jumping up for headers .
* Station 6: Leg raises- For this exercise I simply have to lie back on a mat with my arms held behind my head. Keeping my legs together I raise them up until they are in parallel with my abdominals and then I lower them again to about 6 inches off the floor and then repeat the process 20 times. This exercise helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles so this will improve my upper body strength which is one of main aims
* Station 7: Pull-ups- You have to hang from a bar with straight arms and then pull yourself up so that the bottom of your chin is touching the bar that you are using to lift yourself up with. Once you have done this one pull-up will have been completed. I will grip the bar with my palms facing towards me and next to each other. This exercise will help improve my upper body strength. Similarly to the press-ups I will also increase the number of repetitions I do but by 5 every 2 weeks. For weeks 1 and 2 I will be doing 10 repetitions so by the last 2 weeks I shall be doing 20 repetitions
* Station 8: Shuttle runs- I will mark out a course in my garden with 4 lines that I have to run to and over the 6 weeks I will be extending the distance between these lines. In the first 2 weeks I will have the distance between the lines at 5 metres, for weeks 3-4 I will extend distance to 7 metres and for the last 2 weeks I will make the lines 10 metres apart. This exercise will help strengthen and help the fitness of my quadriceps, calf muscles and hamstrings. As well as improving the strength in my legs it will help to improve the fitness in my body overall so will help me to improve my score on the bleep test, even though an improvement on my cardiovascular endurance wasn't one of my main aims, I stated that It would be a bonus if it improved along with the other aspects of fitness as I will be able to run for longer round the football pitch without feeling tired.
Safety factors to be taken into consideration
Warm up- Before I start any exercises in my circuit training session I will warm up and do some stretches. Warm up is very important because it prepares the body for physical activity, makes the muscles more supple to prevent injury, increases the blood flow to the muscles and increases arousal levels to the activity. Warm up will improve your performance levels in a game and doing drills before a match for example practicing passing skills before a football match also helps. Warming up can address the physiological and mental side, which helps you to start thinking and focusing about the game ahead. Vigorous warm up for a long period of time can increase muscle temperature and increase blood and oxygen supply to the muscles.
For my warm up I will begin with a five minute jog to increase my heart rate and flow of blood. Once I have done this I will do some stretches and flexibility exercises to warm up all the main muscle groups such as the quadriceps which I can warm up by doing squat thrusts and doing arm circles and sideways bends to warm up the muscles in the upper body and back. To finish off I will do some dynamic stretching which will involve a few SAQ exercises and for this I will be doing skipping and lunges.
Warm Down- Warming down is just as important as warming up because if you warm down then you will reduce the feeling of soreness after a demanding training session or game so your recovery time will improve and also improve your flexibility because of certain exercises and stretches that you will do when warming down. Warming down helps the body to remove waste products like lactic acid which remains in the muscles for longer once the pumping action of muscles contracting stops. This is known as blood pooling and commonly occurs in the legs. Stretching out the muscles with gentle exercise helps the body return to its normal state. Warming down is an ideal time to stretch the muscles safely and more effectively because the blood flow to the muscles is still quite high.
For my warm down I will start with a light jog for around 5 minutes and follow this with some gentle stretches.
Recovery- Recovery is a period of time which follows after a session of training or exercise during which the body is returning to its normal state for example returning to its normal resting pulse rate. Recovery time varies depending on how fit a person is. A fit person will be able to recover quicker than someone who is unfit.
Before I carry out any of my exercises in my circuit I have to consider safety issues and how I can make my circuit as safe as possible. Obvious safety issues that a performer should carry out before playing a game or going out to do exercise are:
* Tying back hair
* Wearing correct equipment and footwear
* Removing any jewellery such as chains, rings, earrings.
* Being aware to any hazards such as poor weather or foreign bodies on the pitch or training area.
* Making sure I warm up and warm down before and after my circuit.
* Perform the activities with the correct techniques.
Safety measures that I will take to make my circuit programme as safe as possible:
* Press-ups- I will lay a mat down on the ground and make sure that I do my press-ups on this mat.
* Sergeant jumps- I will make sure I am wearing the correct footwear and that there are no other people in the area while I am doing the exercise to prevent me or the other person from sustaining an injury.
* Leg raises- I will lay down a mat on the ground and perform the leg raises whilst lying on the mat.
* Pull-ups- I will make sure there is nobody standing in the area below me while I do the pull-ups which will help to prevent both parties from sustaining injury.
* Illinois run- I will make sure I am wearing the correct footwear for this activity.
* Shuttle run- I will make sure I am wearing the correct footwear and that there are no obstacles lying around in my garden which are in the path of my course and could cause me injury.
* Squat jumps- I will make sure I am wearing the correct footwear.
* 10 cone agility course with football- Again I will make sure I am wearing the correct footwear and that there are no obstacles in my garden.
Applying Training Principles to my circuit
There are many principles of training that I have to consider when I am doing my six-week training course. Below is what these principles of training are and how they relate to the programme.
SPOR:
Specificity- Everyone needs a different training programme because we do different sports. This is why I have to design my programme carefully to suit me. You need to train specific muscles that will help you when playing your sport. The training also needs to be at the right level. You need to do specific exercises to help certain muscles that will help the performer do better in his field of sport. For example a weightlifter will need to be in the gym using the weight machines to increase his strength and not outside running laps around the athletics track as this will not help him bulk up and gain strength. Also if you are unfit or a beginner you should not start off with a difficult programme which would see you running five miles around a cross-country course, instead you should start off with a programme that you can handle and as you become fitter and more experienced you can adjust the programme to make it more difficult accordingly.
I will need to do specific exercises to improve the strength in my hamstrings and quadriceps in the lower body and in my upper body I will need to do exercises that will improve the strength in my arms and shoulders.
Progression- The work done in your training session needs to be steadily increased as your body becomes accustomed to the work placed on it in the previous training. You should use progression because if you add the workload on your body too quickly especially at the time you start then this can lead to injury and muscle damage. It is much more effective to add more weight or increase the difficulty of an exercise as your strength and skill increases. When you first start training you see a reasonably big improvement in a relatively short space of time but as your body adapts and reaches a certain plateau it is much harder for the performer to keep on improving at the same rate and you need to do the same amount of exercise in order to stay at this level. In order to keep improving gradually and reach the next plateau the performer will need to increase the workload that he places on his body using overload.
Overload- You have to work your body harder than you normally would to become fitter and improve your performance by pushing your body to its training threshold. Overload can be increased by using (FITT). This is Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type.
Frequency- This means how often you train. The training sessions should be sufficient to bring about improvements. Generally the frequency of training increases as levels of performance increase. For example top premiership footballers would need to train most days to improve. The higher the demands in training the less frequently they will occur to allow the body to recover. If you are training two days a week you could maybe increase this to four times a week.
Intensity- Is increased by the raising of a workload. Examples would be increasing the distance being run in training or if you are doing weight-training increasing the number of repetitions or the weight being lifted. The training must be set at a sufficient level to bring about change in the body systems.
Time- This determines the length of the training session. Training time for each session should be judged in accordance with fitness levels so you could increase your training time by five minutes every session as you get fitter. For the same intensity, the time should be gradually increased as cardio respiratory and muscular endurance increases. It is important for the person to stay in their target heart rate zone, which will vary for each person as it depends upon their fitness and age, for a long enough period of time for a training benefit to be achieved. Time also relates to how long you want to spend on a particular aspect of fitness in your training programme to help you in your chosen sport. For example as I have chosen football, and upper body strength as one of my aims to help me in the sport, I can increase or decrease the amount of time that I want to work on my upper body strength.
Type- This means the type of activities included in the training programme should be the same as or closely associated with the particular sport or activity. For example in my training programme I have chosen activities such as dribbling with the ball through cones in order to improve my skill and agility for my chosen sport, football, and also doing the bent-arm hang which will improve my upper body strength and therefore help me to improve my performances on the football pitch.
Reversibility- This is just the reverse of progression. If you reduce the amount of training that you participate in the body naturally adapts to the new circumstances. Reversibility occurs a lot quicker than progression does.
* The aerobic capacity can be quickly reduced through lack of exercise
* When you stop using muscles for a long period of time the persons muscular endurance starts diminishing.
* Despite skill levels often remaining high, the performances of these skills may be reduced because of physical decline.
An example of reversibility could be improving physical strength through activities such as press-ups and bent-arm hang but then if you stop doing these activities then you will not be using these muscles any more so your physical strength will go in decline. This could affect performance on the football pitch as despite still having the same skill level you will not be able to carry them out as well because of a less able physique.
Performing and monitoring section
Below I will show my training programme for each week. For each week I have recorded on what days I performed my circuits, and on what days I did any physical activity such as matches or training for football and rugby. Below this I will write a weekly evaluation to sum up how I felt my circuits went during each week.
Week 1:- Monday 4th October - Sunday 10th October
Monday:
Rugby Training
Tuesday:
Football training
Wednesday:
Rugby training/circuit
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
U16A rugby match v St Olaves
Sunday:
Football match v AFC Ewell. Won 7-2
Evaluation of week 1:
As this was my first week of the programme I understandably found the first session quite hard. My body was not used to the workload that I had placed on it and rugby training before hand was also a factor for why I found the first session difficult because it was quite a physically demanding session so my muscles were already slightly tired. Although I found this first session very demanding I wont change any of the resting times or the workload as I felt these were sufficient and my body should adapt to the workload I am placing on my body as I go through the weeks. My stretches that I performed in the warm-up seemed to have worked to good effect as my muscles were not as sore or tense as I had expected the next day considering I had rugby training and did my circuit on the same day. I found all the activities that I performed in my garden quite difficult in both sessions this week because of the poor weather so my times in the shuttle runs were not as good as I would have liked because I had to be careful when keeping my balance because of the slippery conditions. However I feel that my times definitely improved on the second session as I knew what I had to expect and I had a day of rest on the Thursday so my muscles were fresh. After this first week I have decided that I will definitely complete my circuits twice a week as this shouldn't strain my body too much and it will also show my progression over the six weeks.
Week 2:- Monday 11th October- Sunday 17th October
Monday:
Rugby Training
Tuesday:
Football Training
Wednesday:
Rugby Training/Circuit
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
U16A rugby match v John Fisher
Sunday:
Football match v Weston Green. Won 3-2
Evaluation of week 2:
I was very pleased with my circuits this week as I didn't find them so hard to complete as my body is starting to get used to the workload being placed on it and so I improved on my times from the first week by quite a lot in every test. My recovery time and heart rate is already improving at such an early stage in the programme which is very promising. I had a very light rugby training on Wednesday so I was near full fitness when I did my circuit afterwards and so this helped me greatly. As I got such good scores in my first session I found I had to push myself very hard in order to try and improve on these results in my second session. I improved on all my activities in the garden such as dribbling through the cones and the shuttle runs because the weather was dry so I was able to run without worrying about slipping over which is why I improved my times on the shuttle runs more than any other activity from the previous week. Overall I felt this week was a success as I managed to improve on all of my times. However I can see that I am going to have to push my body very hard every week if I want to improve on my times after every week.
Week 3:- Monday 18th October - Sunday 24th October
Monday:
Circuit
Tuesday:
Football training
Wednesday:
Rugby Training
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
U16A rugby match v Epsom College
Sunday:
Football cup match v Netherne FC. Won 4-2
Evaluation of week 3:
Despite performing both my circuit sessions on days where I had nothing else on I found this week a lot more strenuous than the first two weeks. The reason for this was because I increased the workloads in press-ups from 20- 30 repetitions, I decreased the space between the cones in the Illinois run from 2 metres to 1.5 metres, I increased the number of repetitions in pull-ups from 10- 15 repetitions and I increased the distance to run in the shuttle runs from 5 metres to 7 metres. I made these adjustments to my programme as I had completed two weeks of my programme and every two weeks I increase the workload that I place on my body to show progression. I found these sessions very hard as my body wasn't used to the extra work placed on it. Despite finding this week difficult I was happy that I managed to motivate myself enough to finish both sessions, despite tiring before finishing the required repetitions in the pull-ups I really pushed myself and with some difficulty managed to pull myself up for the 15th repetition. . After this week I think that I will continue to increase the workload in the same intensity every two weeks as this will give me a challenge and help to motivate me to carry a good attitude towards the programme throughout the six weeks. My heart rate after both circuits this week was significantly higher than the previous weeks showing I had exerted a lot more energy into the sessions this week than I had in the previous sessions.
Week 4: - Monday 25th October- Sunday 31st October
Monday:
Rugby Training
Tuesday:
Football Training
Wednesday:
Rugby Training/Circuit
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
Sunday:
Football match v Epsom Dynamos. Lost 1-2
Evaluation of week 4:
I found this weeks sessions less strenuous than last week even though I had my first session of the week on the same day as rugby training. I felt that my body had started to adapt to the workload being placed on it and therefore my times on many of the exercises had improved from the sessions in the last week. I was very pleased at the pull-ups station as I completed the 15 repetitions with nowhere near the same difficulty as I had in the last week. I had to work hard again in the second session to try and improve on my scores in the session earlier in the week, but fortunately I had a day of complete rest on the Thursday before my circuit on the Friday and my body felt very good and I had no aches or pains so I was very motivated to do well in this session. My heart rate after the session was much lower than it was when I first started my programme and this was very pleasing as I could now see and feel the difference this training programme was making to my body. Overall this was a very good week for me as I improved on my times from the previous week and I could now see the improvement I was making.
Week 5:- Monday 1st November- Sunday 7th November
Monday:
Rugby Training
Tuesday:
Circuit
Wednesday:
Rugby Training
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
U16A rugby match v Cranleigh
Sunday:
Football match v Croygas. Won 3-0
Evaluation of week 5:
I had to increase my workload again to show progression as another two weeks had passed. Because of this I found my first session very challenging. I found my chest and arms were very tired by the time I reached the last lap of the press-ups and pull-ups. I also found the shuttle runs very difficult,especially the last lap as the shuttle run is the last exercise that I do after each lap so by the time I came to my last shuttle run of the session my muscles were very tired already. I could feel fatigue setting into my legs as I ran my last lap of the shuttle run as I wasn't used to running this distance yet so my time was not as good as I would have liked. However in the session on Friday I improved on a number of the exercises including the press-ups, pull-ups and shuttle runs. This was probably because my body was starting to get used to the new workload being placed on it which was pleasing.
Week 6:- Monday 8th November - Sunday 14th November
Monday:
Tuesday:
Football Training
Wednesday:
Circuit
Thursday:
Friday:
Circuit
Saturday:
Sunday:
Football match v Caterham Pumas. Lost 5-1
Evaluation of week 6:
I found my first session of the week extremely difficult as I was still recovering from a cold from over the weekend and so I could not breathe properly during the circuit and my muscles felt quite weak. Even though I managed to finish the circuit my times were quite poor as I didn't have any motivation and felt lethargic. By the second session however and the last session of the programme I had made a complete recovery and I was very energetic and rearing to really do well in this session to make up for my poor performance in the last one. This positive attitude really helped me and I improved on all my times. This was a very pleasing end to a challenging training programme.
Results Section
Before I started my six-week training programme I had to perform some exercises for my pre-tests to see how fit I was at the beginning. After the six weeks of circuit training I repeated these same exercises for my post-tests to see if my fitness had improved over the six-weeks.
Below are my results:
Pre-Test Table:
Test
Test to prove
Average score
Resting Heart Rate
Sergeant jump
Explosive power
53cm
62bpm
Illinois Agility test
Agility
1.9 seconds
59bpm
Bent-Arm Hang
Upper body strength
35.42 seconds
61bpm
Bleep test
Cardiovascular endurance
Level 14.0
60bpm
Post-Test Table:
Test
Test to prove
Average score
Resting Heart Rate
Sergeant jump
Explosive power
58cm
60bpm
Illinois Agility test
Agility
1.6 seconds
58pm
Bent-Arm Hang
Upper body strength
45.76 seconds
58bpm
Bleep test
Cardiovascular endurance
Level 14.8
59bpm
Sergeant jump
Illinois agility test
Bent-arm hang
Bleep test
Improvement
5cm
0.3 seconds
0.34 seconds
0.8 level
Results of my heart rate in each session
Session number
Resting heart rate (bpm)
Heart rate after session (bpm)
Time taken to return to resting heart rate (mins)
st (week 1)
63
68
5.42
2nd (week 1)
62
63
5.21
3rd (week 2)
59
46
5.07
4th (week 2)
60
39
4.56
5th (week 3)
64
71
5.32
6th (week 3
62
63
5.15
7th (week 4
60
48
5.01
8th (week 4
63
46
4.28
9th (week 5)
58
68
5.26
0th (week 5)
60
59
5.11
1th (week 6)
61
31
4.14
2th (week 6)
58
57
4.56
Over the page are two graphs showing how my results changed from the pre-tests to the post-tests, including all the different tests that I did and my resting heart rates.
Plyometrics
Using this will help me to improve my explosive strength, static strength and endurance. It involves the quick stretching of a muscle and using the energy generated in the elastic part of the muscle. The muscle then contracts using the stored energy. A simple jumping exercise is an example of this type of training and this is one of the reasons why I chose the Sergeant Jump as one of my exercises in my programme. On landing there is little flexion at the knee and ankle joints. The time in contact with the ground should be minimised by making the next jump as soon as your feet touch the ground.
Plyometrics will help me to improve some of my aims as:
Plyometrics improves endurance strength training- This is because the muscles work harder and for longer because of improved efficiency. Energy is taken from the fat you consume instead of glycogen and therefore is effectively used. Your muscles receive oxygen more efficiently due to the increase in the size of the capillaries.
Improves explosive strength training- This is because the muscles contract with more force. The tendons increase in size allowing larger forces to be transferred from muscle action.
It also improves static strength as muscles grow bigger as fibres get thicker.
Plyometrics is useful as little specialist equipment is needed and can be useful for many different sports.
Evaluation of Planning
I think that I planned out my circuit training programme well. I believe this because all of the pre-tests that I chose to perform for my programme were all relevant to the components of my fitness which I aimed to improve. The sergeant jump was a perfect test for improving my explosive strength as you need to use relatively the same technique when doing the sergeant jump and in a match situation where you have to use spring to launch yourself up for a header. The sergeant jump also links into plyometrics as it is a simple jumping exercise. This Is very useful as plyometrics not only helps improve your explosive strength but your static strength and endurance which were all included in my aims as the areas of fitness that I wanted to improve. The Illinois agility run was an ideal test to use for my agility as my position involves lots of skill on the ball and this will improve if my balance and ability to weave through opponents with greater speed improves. The Bent-arm hang was a useful test for my upper body strength as football is a very physical game and to be able to compete physically with your opponents is very useful as it can bring a new dimension to your game. I also used the multi-stage fitness test (bleep test) to test for my cardiovascular endurance. Even though improving my cardiovascular endurance wasn't one of my main aims as I felt I already had a reasonable level of fitness, I decided that it would be very useful if my cardiovascular endurance was to improve even further, as a footballer has to have very high levels of cardiovascular endurance in order to run up and down the pitch, making sprints and in my position in particular, it is important that I am always on the move so that my opponents cant pick me up easily, and so that I am able to make space for other players if the opponent defender decides to follow me.
I think I managed to get my intensity levels right as I tried to carry out my circuit at a high intensity level of between 70- 85% of my maximum heart rate which means my heart rate should have between 144bpm and 205bpm after every lap of the circuit. I feel this was a very reasonable intensity for a performer of my fitness as it was still challenging. If I were to repeat the programme again I think I would keep the intensity the same as I had it in this programme, but if I did change it then it would be by raising the intensity that I was working my heart at to maybe 80-85% but I would definitely not lower the intensity.
I feel that I chose the exercises in my programme successfully as I made sure that they would all work the muscle groups that I wanted to improve and therefore help me to successfully complete all of my aims. I not only made sure that the exercises I chose were relevant to my aims but I also made sure that they were all simple exercises and that no specialist equipment was needed. This was helpful as although I still had to take a number of safety precautions I didn't have to take anywhere near as many safety precautions as I would have had to have taken if I had done circuit training including weight machines. The exercises I chose were also useful because I could do them anywhere including my garden, I didn't have to go to a particular place to carry them out.
My planning of the order that I went to each station was also fine. I didn't have any problems such as a particular muscle group getting tired very quickly as I made sure that If I had an exercise that worked the arm muscles then the next station would include an exercise that involved running or leg muscles and not another arm based exercise. I also think that the variety of the exercises in the circuit helped to keep me interested as none of them were too similar and they all worked different aspects of my fitness.
Training principle is needed for a training programme. The training principles include (SPOR) Specificity, Progression, Overload, Reversibility, and linking in with Overload is the training principle (FITT) which is Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type.
I tried to incorporate all of these training principles into my training programme but some of them did not fit.
The Training principle that did not apply to me was:
* Reversibility- This is because I performed my circuit frequently twice a week throughout the programme. Because I didn't decrease the amount of training that I was doing for any period of time my muscular endurance had no chance of diminishing and my aerobic capacity wasn't reduced.
The training principles that I used were:
* Progression- This is when you increase a workload steadily after you have adapted to your previous session, it is used to develop an aspect of fitness quicker. I used progression in my circuit as I increased the workload every two weeks in many of my exercises. I feel that progression was a big factor as to how my fitness improved in certain areas over the six weeks.
* Overload- This is when you push your body harder than you normally would to try and get fitter. I did this in many sessions over the six weeks where I did well in a certain session and then the next session I really had to motivate and psyche myself up to try and beat the times that I got in the previous session which led to me pushing myself very hard. Because of this I got fitter as I pushed my body to further limits and so my times improved as I got more sessions under my belt over the weeks. This also helped to keep me motivated as it challenged me to try and improve even further.
* Frequency- This is where you increase how often you train, an example is training three times a week with recovery periods and also increasing the work demands. I did my circuit twice a week with recovery periods in between both sessions, and I also increased the work demands every two weeks. This helped me to improve certain aspects of fitness that I wished to achieve.
* Intensity- This is when you decide what your target heart rate zone will be as you perform the circuit. I performed my circuit at 70- 85% of my maximum heart rate and only on two occasions did I fail to apply this principle because of illness.
Evaluation of Performing
How things went as I did the circuit over time:
Week 1:- I found this week hard as it was my first week of the programme so my body was not used to the workload being placed on it. It also did not help that I had a very hard rugby training before my first session of the week.
Week 2:- This was a very pleasing week for me as I improved on all my times, and my heart rate and recovery time had improved. Having a less strenuous rugby training also helped make the circuit feel a lot easier.
Week 3:- This was a very challenging week for me as I had to increase the workload to show progression. Despite this being a muscle draining week I took confidence in that I managed to complete the sessions. With the greater workload my heart rate had increased from the previous week but I gave myself a longer recovery period this week to be able to cope with the demands of this week better.
Week 4:- This was a less strenuous week for me despite less recovery period and rugby training on the same day as my first session.
Week 5:- A challenging week because of the increased workload again and my body felt very tired by the end of this week. Despite this I could feel how my body had improved over the weeks as I don't feel I would have had a chance of completing the sessions in this week if I performed them at the beginning of my training programme with the same workload as I used this week.
Week 6:- Despite still recovering from a cold I managed to improve on my times. It helped that this week was less strenuous than previous weeks because of rugby training and match being cancelled. This was a very pleasing last week of the programme as my resting heart rate, heart rate after exercise and recovery time had all improved significantly.
Looking at my post- test scores I feel that many of the training principles I used did work for me as I improved on all my scores from the pre-tests.
I applied specificity successfully as all my chosen exercises were specifically designed to help improve the exact muscles that I aimed to improve and all these muscles did improve. I aimed to improve my agility and for that I chose to use the Illinois run. I aimed to improve my upper- body strength and for that I did press-ups and pull-ups and I also aimed to improve my explosive strength and for that I did the sergeant jump.
I applied progression successfully as I increased the workload of my session after every two weeks so as my strength improved I made the circuit more difficult in order to lead to further improvement in strength. I think that progression worked for me as I improved on my time in the bent-arm hang by a significant amount in the post-tests.
For overload I applied frequency successfully as I performed two sessions every week with recovery periods in between so reversibility could not occur. I also applied intensity successfully as I worked at 70-85% of my maximum heart rate for almost every session in the programme and I also raised the workload by increasing the number of repetitions being done. I feel that this principle worked for me as I maintained a good level of fitness throughout the programme and as the weeks progressed my times improved along with my heart rates and recovery times.
All my activities seemed suitable and in the right order. This is because I planned my activities in a particular order so that I never over-used one particular muscle group. For example I never followed an activity that worked the arm muscles with another arm specific activity. For example in my programme my first activity that I did was press-ups for upper-body strength which work the chest and arms, and I then followed this with the Illinois run for agility which is more cardiovascular and works the legs.
By placing the activities in a certain order this allowed all the muscle groups to have a decent amount of recovery time.
I feel that I was very motivated to do well throughout the training programme. The six week programme gave me a perfect chance to improve many aspects of fitness that I had always wanted to improve previously. Because of this I felt that I would put a lot of effort into the six weeks and do the circuit properly so that I would hopefully reap the rewards afterwards, instead of being lazy and having no sense of achievement. By increasing the workloads steadily after every two weeks this gave me a challenge to really push myself to improve. I got motivation to do well by looking to improve my scores after every session no matter how well I had done in the previous session. On some occasions I needed to use my motivation and mental strength to just finish every lap in the circuit in the weeks when I found the going very tough.
Evaluation of the Monitoring
Some of the modifications that I made as I progressed through the weeks were:
* After every two weeks I increased the workload to show progression and to help further improve the aspects of fitness that I wanted improving. By raising the workload this also incorporated the principle of intensity into my programme as I was raising the number of repetitions that I was doing.
* In week 3 I changed the day that I did my first session to the Monday to give me more recovery time until the next session. I did this because this was the first week that I was performing my activities with an increased workload so I felt that by giving myself more recovery time between the sessions would allow me to get through the week with less difficulty.
I kept a number of things in the programme the same however, such as:
* I kept the order in which I went to each station to perform an activity the same as I felt they were already in a good order and that I had allowed enough recovery time for each muscle group before they were needed again.
* I completed two sessions every week normally on the Wednesday and on the Friday but I occasionally changed my Wednesday session to either a Monday or Tuesday if I felt that I needed an extra day or two for recovery time.
I didn't change the rest times after each activity over the weeks but if I do a similar programme again I will certainly apply this principle to my circuit and maybe half the rest time after each station at a certain week.
Final evaluation of my programme
By comparing the pre and post-test changes in my scores and times I can definitely say that my programme has worked well and led to me fulfilling all of my aims that I wished this programme would allow me to fulfil. I improved in all of my tests including the bleep test which was a bonus as improving my cardiovascular endurance was not one of my main aims, however I still stressed the importance of having a good level of cardiovascular endurance as a footballer and how it will help greatly. I improved in the Sergeant Jump by 5cm and I have noticed that when playing in a football match or training I can leap much higher for a header which gives me an advantage on my opponents, I have also noticed that I am much quicker to the ball now which has allowed my football team to vary there style of play now as they are now able to play long balls over the defence for me to latch onto. All this improvement is because I have increased my explosive strength. I improved in the Illinois agility run by 0.3 seconds and because of my improved agility, when playing football I noticed I was able to dribble past and evade opposition players with more ease than I had before the programme. I improved greatly in the Bent-Arm hang by 10.34 seconds. My increased overall strength has given me a new dimension to my football game. I am much stronger on the ball so can compete much more physically with the opposition players. I can hold up the ball much more effectively now while waiting for my team-mates to give me options as I can shield off the opposition with my body weight. I also improved in my multistage fitness test (bleep test) and managed to make five more runs before the bleep sounded, before I tired and couldn't carry on. I was very pleased with this as I didn't incorporate any exercises into my circuit training programme that would specifically improve my cardiovascular endurance. Because of this I was pleasantly surprised at the improvement that I had made. Because of the improvement in my cardiovascular endurance I find that I am able to carry on moving around the football pitch for longer before I tire which means I am able to do my job as a striker more efficiently for a longer period of time during the game.
I found the manageability of the programme quite simple as I got into a routine as to what days I did my circuit on and by how much I increased the workload after a certain period of time. I was pleased with the way I carried the programme out, performing my circuit twice a week so I had completed 12 hours worth of training by the end of the programme.
I think that this programme has given me motivation to carry on this type of training as I have seen the improvement that can be made if the effort put in is right. I think if I was to use this programme as part of ongoing training I would make adaptations such as doing a four-week course doing three circuit's a week instead of a six week course and two circuit's a week as I did in this programme. I would also maybe add more stations to my circuit so instead of going to eight stations I would use fifteen stations and decrease the number of laps I do so this would give me more variety and maybe help improve various other aspects of fitness.
In conclusion this exercise programme has been a definite success and has given me motivation to carry on training.
My first graph shows that I have improved In all of my tests after completing the six-week programme.
* In the Sergeant jump I improved from 53cm in the pre-tests to 58cm in the post-tests so overall I improved by 5 cm. This shows that my explosive strength had improved over the six-week training programme.
* In the Illinois agility run I improved my time from 11.9 seconds in the pre-tests to 11.6 seconds in the post-tests so overall I made an improvement of 0.3 seconds. This shows that my agility has improved over the six-week training programme.
* In the Bent-Arm hang I improved from 35.42 seconds in the pre-tests to 45.76 seconds in the post-tests so overall I made an improvement of 10.34 seconds. This shows that my overall strength had improved over the six-week training programme.
* In the Multistage fitness test I scored a level 14.3 in the pre-tests and in the post-tests I scored a level 14.8 so overall I improved by 0.5 level. This shows that my cardiovascular endurance had improved over the six-week training programme.
My second graph shows that all my resting heart rates had improved after the six-week training programme.
For the Sergeant jump my resting heart rate was 62bpm in the pre-tests but 60bpm in the post-tests.
For the Illinois agility run my resting heart rate was 59bpm in the pre-tests but 58bpm in the post-tests.
For the Bent-Arm hang my resting heart rate was 61 bpm in the pre-tests but had improved to 58bpm in the post-tests.
For the Multistage fitness test (bleep test) my resting heart rate was 60 bpm in the pre-tests but by the post-tests was reduced to 59bpm.
In the pre-tests my resting heart rates ranged from 59bpm- 62bpm but in the post-tests the range had improved to 58bpm- 60bpm.
