Sit up bleep test
The objective of the Sit up bleep test is to monitor the abdominal muscles in relation to endurance. The equipment required is a gym mat, a tap/CD player, a copy of the Sit up bleep test, a stopwatch and an assistant. To perform this test the participants must listen to the instructions from the tape/CD and the aim for the individuals are to keep in time with the beep and perform as many sit-ups as possible. The assistant will hold the feet of the performer and make sure no cheating will occur. The other role of the assistant is to record the time that the athlete can no longer continue to keep in time with the beep, or when they fail to perform a sit up correctly. If this is not carried out strictly then the test will be seen as unreliable, the individuals undergoing the test should also be motivated. This test is valid as it records exactly what it is supposed to.
Warm Up
A warm up is a very important part of an athletes program as it can be a big performance enhancer in many ways. One example of this is that it can prevent injury. Warming up “prepares the body for an exercise session and it should always be carried out before a training session” (John Leggott College (PEP) Booklet).
The first section of a warm up involves a form of cardiovascular exercise. This is because it forces the heart to pump more blood to the working muscles. The reason for this is that ‘vascular shunting’ takes place; this is the shunting of blood to areas of need, meaning that more blood goes to the working muscles and therefore more oxygen. Other reasons include breathing rate and cardiac output increasing, therefore creating a bigger oxygen intake to the working muscles. The second section to a warm up is the execution of a range of stretches. There are different types of stretching methods for example dynamic and static. The key to stretching is to make sure that the joints and muscles used in the main activity are efficiently stretched. The third stage of a warm up includes a form of physical activity that is specifically related to that of the main activity. For example a hockey player would practice dribbling.
A suitable warm up that I am likely to pursue will have the same format as this. For example I will run for 5 minutes at an increasing intensity, I will then stretch all my muscles to prevent injury and increase elasticity and then I will finally produce an activity that is specific to the main activity if suitable.
Cool Down
It is also very important to execute a cool down post activity as it helps the body return to its normal state (before exercise) quicker. A cool down requires a form of light intensity cardiovascular work, such as a jog, but at a slow pace. This keeps the heart rate at a moderate level allowing a slightly elevated breathing rate which consequently affects the oxygen intake to increase. This flushes the muscles rid of waste products such as lactic acid via the process of oxidisation. Performing a cool down also allows the skeletal muscle pump to keep working and prevents blood from pooling in the veins (John Leggott College (PEP) Booklet). It is also important to perform a variety muscle stretches. This helps sustain muscle elasticity and therefore gives benefits towards the next training session.
A suitable cool down that I am likely to follow will have a similar layout to this. For example I will run at a decreasing intensity for 5 minutes and then spend 5 minutes performing stretches.
Stretching
In my personal exercise program it is necessary for me to complete a series of stretches before enduring a prolonged activity. I will make sure that I stretch all my muscles and joints that I will be using in the session.
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Heart Rate
The heart rate is controlled by two nervous systems. The parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. For the heart rate to increase an impulse is sent to the sympathetic nervous system were the accelerator nerve is situated. The hormone adrenaline is then produced by the accelerator nerve and is released onto the Sinoatrial node, which is the pacemaker of the heart. For the heart rate to decrease an impulse is sent from the medulla oblongata to the parasympathetic nervous system were the vagus nerve is situated. The hormone Acetyl Cholene is then produced by the vagus nerve and released onto the Sinoatrial node, the pacemaker of the heart.
Components of Fitness
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- the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (e.g. holding or restraining an object or person)
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- the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements. The two components of power are strength and speed. (e.g. jumping or a sprint start)
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- the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (e.g. Zigzag running or cutting movements)
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- the ability to control the body's position, either stationary (e.g. a handstand) or while moving (e.g. a gymnastics stunt)
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- the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (e.g. executing a leg split)
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- a single muscle's ability to perform sustained work (e.g. rowing or cycling)
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- the heart's ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (e.g. running long distances)
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Strength Endurance - a muscle's ability to perform a maximum contraction time after time (e.g. continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game)
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- the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved.
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For hockey players, the most vital components of fitness that apply to the sport are Agility, Balance, Flexibility, Local Muscular Endurance, Cardio Vascular Endurance, Strength endurance, Co-ordination and Power. Agility is important for hockey because players have to adapt and change direction in rapid succession. For example if a player began chasing the ball in one direction and then the ball was moved towards another direction the player would have to adapt to begin chasing in this new direction. Balance is an important aspect for succession, as the body needs to be controlled throughout a game. For example during a game a player may become unbalanced whilst undertaking a tackle and would need to have a good balance to recover and be successful with the tackle. Flexibility is essential within hockey, as players need to be able to achieve an extended range of motion at a joint. For example to execute a successive tackle a player must be flexible enough to get his/her body in the correct position. Local muscular endurance is also a key aspect to a hockey player’s game as there are a range of muscles that have to be able to sustain work. For example a player has to perform using his/her stick throughout the game. Cardiovascular Endurance is the most important component of fitness, as oxygen needs to be delivered to the working body for the whole period of the game. Strength endurance is fundamental within hockey, as players have to be able to perform a maximum contraction time after time. For example a player has to be able to dribble throughout the game. Co-ordination is crucial, as players must create a series of composed movements under control. For example dribbling should be composed and under control. Power is important to hockey because it is necessary to combine strength and speed to produce a series of forceful movements. For example the combination of speed and strength allows players to sprint and hit the ball in one fluent movement.
Strength is a fairly important component of fitness for all hockey players. Although it is not required for hockey players to have a high level of strength as the actions and movements involved throughout the game do not desire large forceful contractions of the muscles.
After analysing the components of fitness I have found which would be the most essential for me to train and from my fitness test results I have decided that the components of fitness I am going to improve are my flexibility, cardiovascular endurance and local muscular endurance.
Principles of training
Overload Training “Is making the body work harder in order to improve it. You will have a ‘capacity’ to train, which will be the normal level you work at. In order to improve you must extend that capacity by increasing your workload”. (Examining Physical Education). This is summed up to mean that if more work is put in, then the benefits will be greater.
“Specificity means that not only must training be sports specific (i.e. relevant to the demands of that sport) but the relevant components of fitness must be trained appropriately at the relevant time of the competitive sea-son”. (Advanced PE for Edexcel). For example during pre season training teams such as footballers would conduct skill based training in order to relearn basic skills.
Recovery represents how an athlete needs to rest and recover in between active sessions in order to see the full benefits of their training. “Rest and recovery can take many forms” For example resting may come in the form of an activity, however the activity must be performed at a less intense level to that of the training. “ Aerobic runs or cross training activities such as cycling can allow the body rest if they are not too demanding”. (Advanced PE for Edexcel).
Progression is the idea that there must be a gradual increase in workload to create an increase in fitness. Increasing the workload can be done in several ways, via intensity, duration and type of training undertaken. “If exercise takes place on a regular basis the body’s systems will adapt and start to cope with these stress’s that have been imposed. In order for further improvement to occur, the intensity of training will need to be gradually increased, this is progression”. (Sport and PE, a complete guide to Advanced Level PE).
FITT stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type. Frequency relates to the number of sessions undertaken, and clearly states how more session’s means more improvement. Intensity states that the harder the intensity of any session, the more gain there will be as a resultant. For example the phrase “put 110% in” is used frequently within many team game situations to emphasise this factor. Time is linked specifically to improvement and is clearly seen as beneficial when planning to improve. Type, is connected to the theory of specificity, pointing out that the sport that is being trained for must be relative to that of the performer. For example a dancer would not train to the requirements to that of a rugby player.
Reversibility or Detraining considers the effects that will occur to an individual if they have a long break or end their training plan for any number of reasons. For example if they break a leg the individual will become immobilised and will therefore experience the effects of reversibility. Another factor that can cause a performer to undergo the effects of reversibility is if they fall ill. “Just as progression can lead to an improvement, if you either stop or decrease the training you go into reverse and lose the effect.” (Examining Physical Education Pg 93).
From evaluating these principles of training I have found that my training programme must follow the basic ideas that the principles represent. Throughout my plan I will train specifically to my sport hockey, making sure that I overload, progress and rest.
Methods of training
Continuous training is described as long, slow distance training because it emphasises on distance rather then speed. The individual works at around 60% of maximum heart rate rarely exceeding 80% and looking to cover around 15 to 30 miles a day. A performer uses continuous training if they are looking to improve endurance for during the competition phase or off-season to maintain condition. Continuous training can also be used to improve general endurance and for health reasons.
Fartlek translates to speed play in Swedish, therefore meaning that Fartlek training refers to training at a range of different speeds. This type of training is relevant to all team games participants such as basketball football and hockey players. Fartlek training allows for freedom, as it has no definite speed or distance to be completed, therefore intensity levels may vary considerably. Although it has no set duration of time and no set speed, each session must last for up to 40 minutes.
“In interval training, the exercise period is punctuated by a period of rest. Circuit training and stage circuits are both frequently used forms of interval training”. (Advanced PE for Edexcel pg 209). Interval training is similar to Fartlek training as it is suitable to team games. This is because throughout a game players are constantly moving, but at different speeds. The main idea of Interval training is to have a period of work followed by a period of rest. This prevents the participant from becoming to tired, allowing them to train for longer. There are many variables that can be manipulated to create a successful interval training session. These are, duration of the work, intensity of work, number of repetitions and duration of the recovery period. Each factor is to be considered to suit to the performing athlete. For example short interval training sessions would be suitable to sprinting athletes, and long interval sessions are suitable for team players and middle distance athletes.
Circuit training is made up of different stations focusing on different areas. “Circuit training involves performing a number of callisthenic exercises in succession, such as press-ups, abdominal curls, step-ups etc”. (Sport and PE, a complete guide to Advanced Level PE). This type of training can also be adapted to become skill based meeting the specific requirements of each sports participant developing individual skills. Circuit training allows for self-alteration of the variables in order to meet the demands of the participants, otherwise creating no benefit. The variables to be considered are the time taken, the amount of work done and the load for each area.
Cross Training ”Cross training is performing a different activity, sport or exercise, to the one you are used to. For example a long distance runner may do cycling as a cross training exercise, a rower may do running or circuit training”. (). This allows athletes using this training method to enhance performance via a different range of exercise to that of normal. This is why caution should be taken. “An hour on a stair stepper or two hours of tennis if you've never tried those sports before may leave you too sore to complete a running workout you've planned for the following day.” ().
Weight training is a focus on the muscle contractions created under resistance in order to develop specific components of fitness. These components of fitness are strength, strength endurance and explosive power. The component of fitness that is trained is determined by the variables, these are weight or resistance, the number of repetitions and the number of sets. “Central to the devising of an effective weight training programme is the principle of one repetition maximum. Once this has been found for each exercise the coach can design a programme adjusting the resistance as a percentage of the athlete’s maximum lift”. For example if the athlete was to training strength endurance then the coach would derive a plan involving high repetitions with a lighter load.
Plyometrics training concentrates on increasing muscle elasticity. Plyometrics involves a quick eccentric muscle contraction followed immediately by a concentric muscle contraction. Activities such as hopping through ladders, bounding over hurdles and skipping are all examples of the exercises that can be used for this type of training. This method of training is relevant to all sports and the activities involved within the session can be adapted to suit. “For example a basketball player could perform a rebound after dropping down from a box.” (Sport and PE, a complete guide to Advanced Level PE).
After having researched the different methods of training I am going to conduct Plyometrics, interval and cross types of training sessions in order to improve the components of fitness I have chosen.
Nutrition for exercise
Whilst training athletes must follow a specific diet allowing the results of training to be larger, and creating an all round balanced nutrient intake resulting in a healthier, fit body. Depending on what exercise I am doing and when I am doing it I will make sure that I eat the correct carbohydrates, fats and proteins approximately 65% carbohydrates, 20% fats and 15% protein. I will also ensure that my intake of fluid is high as the need to keep hydrated is essential during training.
Periodisation
For all fitness plans it is important to consider the different periods of training. A training year is “composed of macrocycles (such as years training), mesocycles (the training year divided in sections, usually in order to peak for a particular competition, and microcycles (each training week or session that together combine in order to form one mesocycles). (John Leggott College, PEP booklet). Understanding this concept I will consider my aims for one week, one month and then the whole eight weeks.
Evaluation
The relevant fitness tests that were retested were the bleep test and the sit and reach test. The values of the new tests and the old tests are compared below. From these results it is clear that I have not improved throughout my fitness plan, which is disappointing. There are many possible factors for this, which I will discuss.
I have realised due to the validity and reliability of each test, the retesting of my tests may have a link to why my scores have altered. For example, the reliability of the bleep test is based upon motivation to do well. Therefore the need to succeed on this day may have been less then that on the day that it was first tested. This could have been for many reasons for example more people were watching on the first attempt which would increase the need to succeed, and less were at the time of my retest, resulting in a lack of motivation. Also the location of both the bleep tests was not the same, as the retest was performed in a gym, the floor had less grip and forced more slide. This may have slightly affected my retest score. When I next perform these tests for another personal exercise program I will make sure that the same location is used for each test.
The effects of detraining may have been present as I had a two-week gap between my 4th week of training and my 5th. This was due to a planned holiday, which could have affected my retest results. As I stated within the principles of training “Just as progression can lead to an improvement, if you either stop or decrease the training you go into reverse and lose the effect.” (Examining Physical Education Pg 93). Therefore the training that I had done was reversed and no good, (the idea of reversibility) affecting my score in the long run. This was one of my plans weaknesses. When I create another personal exercise program I will ensure that I have no breaks between training as this should lead to an improvement.
As my plan went on I felt that I correctly used the idea of recovery. I allowed a sufficient amount of time to allow myself to recover before my next training session, therefore allowing for an increase in performance during the next training session. This was a strength in my plan and will not be responsible for the reduction in my test scores.
Throughout my plan I have tried to follow the Principles of keeping my plan frequent, intense, to the correct time and to the correct type. However the frequency of my plan was followed so that I had three to four sessions of training a week, the gap I took goes against this idea, thus meaning that this principle was not followed correctly, being a weak point. I do although feel that the intensity, time and type were all followed properly as I trained hard and specific and made sure I trained relevant to the specific time. For example I kept my cardiovascular fitness up over the first four weeks and then focused more on the performance side in the last four. When I plan my next personal exercise program I will follow the FITT principles.
“If exercise takes place on a regular basis the body’s systems will adapt and start to cope with these stress’s that have been imposed. In order for further improvement to occur, the intensity of training will need to be gradually increased, this is progression”. (Sport and PE, a complete guide to Advanced Level PE). My plan has attempted to use the aspects of progression and overload well but may have not worked as well as was hoped. I had increased the duration of most the sessions that I had repeated, for example 10 minute warm up, then 15 minute jog, followed by five minute cool down, was improved to 5 minute warm up, followed by 20 minute jog followed by 5 minute cool down. This is also known as overloading. I have also trained specific to my sport as I began relearning basic stick skills pre season.
When planning my personal exercise program I considered the importance of nutrition and the importance it has towards improvement. I however did not follow a strict diet as I dismissed this idea. If I had displayed a full diet plan and followed it strictly I may have improved more and therefore would have increased my test scores and ultimately my fitness. During my next personal exercise plan I will plan a specific diet and stick to it, as this was a key weakness.
I used the methods of training that I thought were specific to my needs and which I thought would help improve my fitness the most. This choice was cross training, interval training and circuit training. I chose cross training because I thought it would allow me to part take in badminton, as this is good for my flexibility which I wanted to improve and also swimming which improves strength endurance. I chose interval and circuit training because it is easy to set up and there is not a lot of equipment needed for these sessions. When I conduct my fitness plan again I will use a wider range of methods of training to hope for an improvement.
Overall I felt that the plan was successful because of the ways I planned my training sessions. I made sure there was a different aspect each session to keep myself motivated, and by having a hockey match frequently on a Saturday gave me a small insight of improvements of short-term exercise that week. Although, my test scores show that I did not improve which suggests my plan wasn’t successful. However there are many factors that I have discussed which have affected my plan, I will therefore avoid them next time.
