Muscular strength can be improved by weight training. Lifting heavier weights with a low number of repetitions is thought to be the best way to improve muscular strength. As tennis is a dynamic sport, I am going to include isotonic weight training in my program to ensure that overload is taking place when my muscle fibres are moving.
Anaerobic fitness can be improved by interval training and circuit training. Interval and circuit training are used because they consist of very strenuous bursts of exercise followed by recovery periods. This means that the anaerobic threshold rises and lactic acid tolerance improves.
Influential Factors of Training
There are many factors that can influence training: age, gender, illness and injury, diet and substance misuse can all have an effect on performance.
Age can affect performance as you do not reach your peak until you are in your twenties. Before you reach your peak, skills
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develop through experience – once you reach your thirties fitness levels begin to naturally decline. Gender also makes a difference to training. Females tend be weaker than males in aspects such as muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, speed and power because of the bodies structure. However, females tend to be more flexible than males. They also have a greater percentage of body fat. Eating a balanced diet is a very important factor in staying healthy. To perform at optimum level, you must make sure you meet the energy requirements of your sport. This is why some athletes eat special diets – some alter the proportions and types of foods they eat to make sure they achieve the maximum benefits from their training.
Substance misuse can be a major influential factor on training.
Smoking inhibits performance as it decreases the body’s oxygen carrying capacity. It also increases heart rate and blood pressure and can cause diseases such as cancer and emphysema. Alcohol also decreases performance levels as it reduces muscle glycogen levels. It leads to kidney and liver damage and can cause lack of motivation.
If you become injured during training then the principle of reversibility occurs. This means that over time the effects of exercise such as will reverse. For example, hypertrophy would reverse and become atrophy. This principle is based around the fact if you don’t use it you lose it! The same is true for illness however if you proceeded to train or compete when you were ill then you would be more likely to make errors and your level of concentration would be poor.
Measuring Success
As my PEP is tennis specific, I plan to measure its success by reporting the improvements I am able to make to my tennis. For example, an improvement in racket head control could be seen as a direct result of improved muscular strength in my wrist and forearms. Also my effectiveness during point play should improve and my recovery rate should speed up – this will show that I have been working within my training zones as the aerobic benefit will be evident.
GCSE PE - PEP
PEP Weekly Schedule
Over the next six weeks, I plan to carry out the following tennis and fitness program;
Monday – 2 hours tennis – Squad session
1 hour fitness – PEP
Tuesday – 2 hours tennis – Individual session
Wednesday – Rest day
Thursday – 1 hour fitness – Individual session with fitness trainer
1 hour’s tennis – Hitting session
Friday – 2 hours tennis – Squad session
1 hour fitness – PEP
Saturday – 2 hours tennis – Hitting session
Sunday – 4 hours tennis – Competitive play session
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My Programme
PEP Sessions
My PEP sessions will consist of a variety of gym based exercises.
After a five minute warm up, my first activity will be interval training on a treadmill. This will be followed by the first section of my circuit. I will then complete my hill interval training on a cross trainer and then I will finish the final part of my circuit.
Lastly, I will end my session with interval training on a rowing machine – then I will cool down and stretch.
Tennis Sessions
My tennis squad sessions consist of a warm up followed by structured drills and technical work. After that we play conditioned points and finish with normal point play. During my individual session I work on the technical side of my game a lot more. I work on different spins and practise patterns of play that I can implement in matches. Hitting sessions are far less structured and they simply consist of point and match play. Competitive play session will consist of singles and doubles matches and are designed to emulate a match situation.
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Weekly PEP Breakdown
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Evaluations & Results
Week 1 – During week 1 I completed my PEP twice. I managed to complete all exercises and I made sure I was working within my training zones to check that my programme was the right intensity and that I achieved overload.
Week 2 – By the end of the second week I began to see some improvement in my tennis. During my individual session, I noticed that my racket head control was better and I made more backhand volleys than usual – this was due to an improvement in the muscular strength of my wrists and forearms.
Week 3 – The third week saw the principles of progression and overload put into action! I increased the weights, times and reps of the exercises in my circuit – this increased the frequency, intensity and time of my programme.
Week 4 – During my tennis sessions in week 4 I noted that my core stability had improved. I hit fewer shots off balance and I was able to make more balls when my opponents forced me to play a defensive shot.
Week 5 – At the end of the fifth week I noticed that my anaerobic threshold and recovery rate had improved. During point play, I found that I was more prepared for the next point before the end of the twenty second interval. I also saw improve in the intensity of my movement and I was able to sustain a more effective contribution to the game for a longer period of time.
Week 6 – The last week of my programme saw marked progression from when I began my PEP. My muscular strength in the muscle groups in my legs was noticeably better and I found that I could not only work at a higher intensity but I could get more balls back in court. The intensity, frequency and times in my PEP sessions also showed progression and overload.
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Final Evaluation
My Personal Exercise Programme has been very successful. My fitness levels have progressed and the specific aspects of fitness I choose to work on have also improved. This shows that my programme created the right amount of overload and progression and that I was working within my training zones.
This has resulted in an improvement in my tennis. My core stability is much better and I feel that it is helping me maintain a more solid foundation and transfer energy from the centre of my body out to my limbs more effectively. This means that I am able to hit more powerful strokes and remain balanced during defensive play. An improvement in the muscular endurance in my leg muscles means that I am able to work at a higher intensity during points. My footwork and movement around the court has improved as a result and I am able to sustain a more effective contribution to the game. The increased muscular strength in my wrists and forearms has resulted in increased racket head control and speed. This means that I am able to generate more spin and I have seen a direct improvement in the technique of my backhand volley. Finally, I have also improved my anaerobic fitness levels. As a result, I have been able to recover more quickly between points and during longer rallies I have been able to maintain a higher level of intensity. This means that I am now making fewer unforced errors, improving the efficiency of my game.
In conclusion, I believe that my PEP has been a great success and I have achieved my goal! I think that it has shown me how choosing the correct training methods can make a difference to your sport and it has shown me what I need to do to improve in the future. If I were to repeat the process again I would like to include more variation in my programme. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed completing my Personal Exercise Program and I am very pleased with the result!
