With some of the activities like the continuous training and the fartlek training the weather must be monitored to make sure that when sprinting for example the surface is not wet and slippery and the point of take off when running needs to be chose carefully on the correct surface and not when running around a corner but perhaps on a straight. All of these must be looked at so that each method of training can be completed successfully. The final thing that could be looked at is if I have any injuries when attempting one of the three areas continuous, fartlek or circuit maybe I shouldn’t push myself past the limit but still complete the exercises to prove my willingness and commitment. Each one of the areas within the programme will contribute towards an improvement in fitness levels, the continuous training will provide overload as your body is experiencing more running than before and will become used to that level of working out, the circuit training will help in all aspects of fitness as every part of the body is improving and your stamina levels are constantly rising because of this, the fartlek part gives a variety of sprints, jogs and walks which when referring to the S.P.O.R training principle gives specifity and also contributes to the gradual increase in fitness.
Cardiovascular fitness is also known as cardiovascular stamina aerobic power or aerobic capacity, it is the ability of the heart and lungs to transport oxygen to the working muscles as quickly as possible when exercising. Therefore before I start I must determine my current level of cardiovascular fitness. For this training programme I will complete all 3 of the areas fartlek, continuous and circuit to ensure the principles of training are covered and I achieve maximum improvement through this.
Cooper run
The cooper run consists of a 12 minute run around a 100 meter square circuit the idea for improvement in fitness is to achieve as many laps as possible within the time allowed, if on the first attempt I achieved 25 laps to say I have been successful and Improved my cardiovascular fitness the 2nd attempt at the end of the programme should see a clear difference in the two amounts of laps. To ensure I complete it properly I will stretch before the run and cool down afterwards to ensure my muscles are warmed up and will not be damaged when I start the run. In this test I must run as far as I am able to within the 12 minutes allowed even if I need to slow down it is important to continue moving so my amount of laps will not be affected. It is a maximal test that measures aerobic capacity (i.e.-must cover as much ground as possible in the time allowed) my fitness level is established according to the distance run to the established norms for the test. To complete the test properly I will require the following equipment.
- Flat outside space
- Marked area with cones (100 metre circuit)
- Stop watch
-
Whistle
The 100-meter circuit looks like this:
Warm-up
Before I begin each session I will warm up substantially to reduce the risk of injury. As the warm up progresses I will increase the intensity at a gradual rate and with the cool down follow the same process but progressively decrease the intensity. My partner will start counting the number of laps and when I have finished I will record my heart rate to see of it is within my aerobic training threshold which for someone of my age (16) should be:
Working at 60%-123
Working at 80%-164
The maximum my heart rate should be when exercising should be 204 with the boundaries being 220 minus my age.
There are three parts to a warm up:
1.Pulse Raiser- we need to increase our heart rate, this will allow more blood pumping to the working muscles. It also makes them more flexible and lowers the risk of injury.
2.Stretching- this increases the range of movement of the muscles, it stops muscle from being strained, each of the chosen stretch must be held for 6-8 seconds.
3. Mobility- exercises e.g. ankles waist and shoulders. These help with flexibility and rotations of all of these help with mobility and enable your body to move more freely. This helps a footballer when reaching and stretching for balls that maybe not as easy to reach if their body wasn’t as mobile.
Methods of Training
1.Circuit Training
This consists of various stages of certain exercises and activities ranging from jogging down to the more noticeable fitness based press-ups and sit-ups that are all important to a footballers progression and fitness. All of the 10 activities will improve a footballers overall cardiovascular fitness and as I persevered with it benefited me the same. During the circuit of 2 rotations I felt ready and motivated and ready to improve the second time round on the circuit, due to the overload I felt slightly tired on the second rotation because of the increased amount of time spent on each activity, other ways of exploiting the body to overload could be to increase the intensity or even increasing the frequency would allow the body to become overloaded and from this used to the rest of the overloading that might be ahead. This is the circuit we used:
10 based Circuit 30 second activities
Results:
Circuit 1: Circuit 2:
From the two tables you can see that my fitness level improved due to my heart rate (bpm) during exercise rose even though in some of the activities I didn’t beat my first circuit scores it is clear I have improved as my cardiovascular levels have gone up.
Graphs
1st Attempt
- Resting Heart Rate: 72 Bpm
- Exercise heart rate 168 Bpm
- Exercise heart rate 152 Bpm
2nd Attempt
Resting Heart Rate: 60 Bpm
- Exercise HR 144 Bpm
- Exercise HR 184 Bpm
Heart Rates
1st Circuit
2nd Circuit
2.Continuous Training
This method of training consists of constant running around a set course. The objective is to maintain the run hence the ‘continuous’ it lasts for 20 minutes and the aim is to finish without having stopped during the whole time. It is not essential to complete as many laps as possible but to ensure a constant jog is maintained. This makes the heart work at a high level for a long period of time which a footballer requires to do, if at any other time shorter runs need to take place these will come easier than before completing the continuous training. At various points around the track I recorded my heart rate and noted my peaks and my lows. Towards the end I took my heart rate at 5 minute intervals to find out my recovery rate and to see if my heart rate decreased to its resting level.
