In order to test any changes improvements or changes in my fitness I will need to conduct a serious of fitness tests. To test my cardiovascular endurance I will do the ‘bleep test’ which is a multistage shuttle test. An advantage of this is that that it is a good measure of my improvement or decline of my fitness within cardiovascular system. My previous scores for my test on the cardiovascular system before my 8 week training programme was 5.6, therefore I am aiming for a score of around 6.5 to 7.5.
To test my muscular endurance I will test the number of sit-ups and pull ups I can do in 1 minute. This is also easy to measure and requires little time and facilities, however I am aware that there can only be so much improvement seen as the test is as I pointed out earlier only 1 minute long. The previous tests I have done for muscular endurance are 25 sit-ups and 3 pull-ups in 1 minute therefore my personal aim is to reach around 30-40 sit-up and between 6-10 pull ups per minute.
The final test I will take will be a 30-meter sprint to indicate any improvements or declines in my speed. This is a good indication of speed over a short distance and will reflect the demands of my sport.
In assistance to my fitness programme I must also take into account my diet and lifestyle. Currently I am not very active the only exercise I take part in is PE. I take part in PE lessons at schools, which are an hour long each. I participate in a couple of lessons a week but this is not enough to lead a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully my pep will improve my lifestyle as well as my fitness levels in general. Unfortunately my diet at present is neither healthy nor balanced everyday I have similar meals consisting of cereal, snacks like
- Crisps
- Chocolate
- Biscuits
Occasionally I also have a cooked meal in the evening. During my PEP I will try and cut these snacks out!! According to the physiologist Karvonen the quantity and quality of exercise needed for an adult to gain health related benefits depends on the individual and that which may be recommended to improve sports specific fitness.
Key
L4= level four
The level I will be training at on the cardiovascular machines
10 minutes warm up and cool down before and after each session.
Evaluation
My first week went very well. I was extremely focused and put all my effort in every aspect of my PEP. The only part I found difficult was the diet as I struggled with the cutting out of snacks but with a lot of work I managed to do it!! Another thing I realized when I did it was that I was really unfit. For my 1st week I worked at level 4.5 on cardiovascular machines.
Self assessment 9/10
10 minute warm up and cool down before and after each session
Evaluation
The 2nd week I feel I have been doing very well at this early stage in my PEP. I to find all the running difficult at times but have decided to run outside as well as inside to improve my speed in different conditions and terrains I upped the level I was working at on the cardiovascular machines to level 5.
Self assessment 8/10
10 minute warm up and cool down before and after each session.
Evaluation
Week 3 = towards the end of the week I had started to feel slightly fitter. I’m not tiring as much or as early in any of my sessions. I’m finding it considerably easier and have been increasing the levels on the treadmill, bikes, rower and stepper to level 6.
Self assessment 9/10
10 minute warm up and cool down before and after each session.
Evaluation
Week 4 = m feeling much healthier I have cut out all my snacks and I am sticking to my criteria of eating only 3 meals a day. I have currently lost 5lbs this I~ also due to the exercise I have been doing. Only half way through my PFP and Positive results are showing and I am very pleased I continued working at the same level as last week on the cardiovascular machine
Self assessment 9/10
10 minutes warm up and cool down before and after each session
Evaluation
Week 5 = I was disappointed with my effort and found it a lot more difficult this week. My mom and dad have gone away and I’m finding it really difficult to fit everything in. As you can see from my diet I had not been up to standard as I bought and ate chips from the chip shop. I'm also disappointed as I have not increased the level I have been working at I have remained at level 6.
Self assessment 5/10
10 minute warm up and cool down before and after each session
Evaluation
Week 6 = I am still finding it difficult with my parents away because there’s only me to push my self and make my own meals. I have been doing brilliantly with my exercises, as I have increased the level of the cardiovascular machines to level 6.5; it’s my diet that keeps letting me down due to my constant snacking. Unfortunately I have put a couple of pounds back on.
Self assessments 3/10 for my diet
7/10 for my performance
10 minutes warm up and cool down before and after each session
Evaluation
Week 7 = this was a great improvement on my previous weeks, I pushed myself to level 7 on the cardiovascular machines, and stuck to my diet and the exercise programme brilliantly I think it was partly because I no I have only got 1 week left and felt pressure to improve.
Self assessment 10/10
Evaluation
Throughout my 8-week exercise programme I aimed to improve my personal fitness in specific areas applicable to netball, which were speed, cardiovascular endurance, and muscular endurance. I also aimed to stick to an 8-week training programme designed by myself that took place either in the gym or outside. And also a healthier diet, by cutting out all snacks. To improve my fitness in netball the components I choose were sufficient as they all helped improve my fitness level in specific areas applicable to netball. To improve my level of fitness in these components I used a number of different methods of training. For my cardiovascular endurance I used continuous training and because I did not exceed 60% of my workload I improved my energy levels over a longer period of time so this particular method of training was sufficient. For cardiovascular endurance I choose a different method of training which was interval training, this was appropriate as my exercise periods were punctuated with short rests so I did not overload myself. For my final component, which was muscular endurance, I also choose interval training but this was in the form of circuit training, my circuits consisted of push-ups sit-ups and occasionally pull-ups. As the component I choose was endurance one I focused on repetitions which over the weeks did prove to be a successful method of training.
Throughout my 8-week training programme I also focused on two principles of training which were suitable for the aims of my PEP (personal exercise programme). I choose specificity, which was important, as one of my aims was to improve my fitness levels in specific areas in netball. I also focused on progressive overload, as this is a gradual increase in workload, which leads to physical adaptation, which is what I needed, as my aim was to improve my fitness, my body needs to adapt to the demands.
Unfortunately my PEP turned out to be unsuccessful as after the 7th week of my exercise programme I went on holiday. I became ill and had to see a doctor while I was abroad I was suffering with bronchitis. Bronchitis is an infection in the lungs either caused by a virus or bacterium. The infection causes inflammation of the lung tissue and has symptoms such as
- A dry cough
- White or light yellow phlegm
- Pain in middle of chest
- Sore muscles
- Breathing difficulty
- Queezing
Bronchitis lasts for days or even weeks depending on the cause or severity. As I suffered from all of the above symptoms the doctor issued me with an inhaler, anti-biotic and a cough syrup. To overcome my bronchitis I was told to drink fluids, get plenty of rest, and only take part in light exercise and to avoid smoke. So when I came back I was unable to finish my final week of my PEP. I attempted to test myself to see if I had improved, but I could not complete the tests as I was suffering chest pains and had difficulty breathing.
On the positive side some of my aims were achieved during the first Seven weeks but as I was ill I was still unable to achieve my aims completely. Due to my injury I could not see if my PEP was successful or not, as it was not completed fully.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- GALLIGAN ET AL
- INTERNET
- TEACHERS NOTES
