PLANNING
1. Aim of your programme
My aim of this programme is to improve upon the specific fitness components that I have chosen chiefly on account of permitting myself to participate more effectively and efficiently in a given sport and so increase the skill level of that particular component. I have analysed my fitness profile and decided to improve on my ‘Agility’ and ‘Stamina’. The two fitness components I have preferred relate profoundly to the specific sport I am going to focus on which is Basketball. A very high-level of agility is required when you are involved in this sport. It would be utilized mainly in dodging the opponents, getting past them with ease etc. Stamina is compulsory in almost every physical activity; therefore, I have identified the significance of this key component and so wish to progress on it. In the context of basketball, this element would allow me to contribute fully throughout the whole game for e.g. prevent the possibilities of fatigue intensely. Subsequently, both of these components, if successfully progressed would be a great advantage for me. By acquiring an elevated level of agility and muscular endurance, I can advance my game and compete in a much higher level.
For Agility, I undertook the ‘Illinois Run Test’ and I managed to achieve 18 seconds. This was above average when comparing it to all my other colleague’s results. In fact, I got the fifth best score. The highest in my set was 13.34 seconds. In the Stamina section, the bleep test determined our level. I scored 10. This was also above average when compared to the class. The highest score achieved was 11.1. Yet I chose both of these specific components though not my weakest but as it will increase my ability to take part in Basketball profoundly.
At present, I am not suffering from any serious injuries or diseases that ought to be considerate; this should not affect my personal programme, thus the prospect of reversibility is minor. I do however sometimes endure from short-term shin aching which I presume is due to lack of accurate warm ups prior to participating in a physical sport.
I have thorough knowledge of all the factors such as smoking, drugs etc that will considerably affect my performance. I have no intentions in abusing any drug etc so I should have the maximum chance to improve.
During this programme, I will ensure that I will not go on any holidays chiefly because of reversibility hence once again the possibility of undergoing reversibility is trivial. That is if I do not tolerate any unexpected or misfortune injuries or disease.
I was currently involved in the school’s basketball team where we had training once every week and usually a match once a week too. This was a utility for my personal programme but now the season has ended.
I usually play football on Tuesdays and swimming on Saturdays with my peers. Although it is just for leisure, it will facilitate my 6 week PEP because I will have good general fitness.
Consequently, in this 6 weeks programme, I want my Agility to enhance from 18 seconds to 14 seconds, a transform of 4 seconds. As with my Stamina, I want it to increase from 10 to 13.
PLANNING
2. Awareness of Safety Aspects
I will begin each session by series of warm-ups. It is recommended to take it easy and relax whilst warming up and stretching. I will execute dynamic stretching wherein I will perform gentle jogs, knee ups etc. It will depend on the type of training and myself as to how long I will do my warm-ups for. By undertaking these warm-ups, it will make me more flexible, give me a better range of motion in my muscles, and joint especially during the agility exercise. It will also help prevent injuries such as muscle tears and strains.
I will end each session by a series of cool down. This will help remove waste products (lactic acid) produced by exercise and will minimize muscle soreness and joint pain. I will use the same routine for the cool-down as I did for my warm-up and stretching. However, I will also carry out static stretching wherein I will hold each position for at least 10 seconds bearing in mind not to over stretch and not to overdo it.
Whilst training, I will need to be fully acknowledged of the correct techniques to carry out particular tasks and be quite familiar with equipments as not knowing might lead to severe injuries.
For the Agility, I will make sure that the ladders have something on them so that if I tread on one I can grip and prevent slipping over. In addition, I will perform it on a soft ground just so if I do trip over, I will land softly and do not injure myself.
For both training, I will ensure a mobile phone is in my possession for help in case of any accidents.
I will train 6 hours a week, working on 3 hours for each aspect, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I will be doing agility training and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I will be doing continuous training. This will leave me with Sundays as a rest period.
I will also make certain that I perform my training after two hours of eating so my digestion is fully complete which will avoid any cramps etc during training.
For each exercise I will be undertaking, I also have to take account of the type of clothes and footwear I should be wearing. Choosing the suitable clothes can make a lot of difference for e.g. for running a long distance, I will prefer shorts to tracksuits because the sweat produced by the legs in the process of running can escape (dissolve) easily and allowing slight cool down. I will wear running spike shoes as they will give support to the arches and cushion my ankles. If however, I was to choose to wear a shoe that was quite high at the back, than it could damage my Achilles’ tendon or if the shoe was too tight than I would suffer from series of problems such as blisters, corns, bunions, and verrucas. Jewelleries such as watches, rings earrings, and bracelets should be removed as they may interfere whilst training.
Other factors like the environment must also be considered such that uncontrollable weather and ground conditions might make it unfavourable when carrying out an outside activity. Should there be any harsh weather conditions like a storm than I must postpone my continuous training outside. Ground conditions like wet, slippery, and frozen I can manage by just diverting to a suitable place. However, I should reschedule my training if there is a flood.
PLANNING
3. Appropriateness of Exercises
Agility is an important factor in Basketball. In order to dodge the opposing team, get pass them with little effort etc agility is a necessity. The anaerobic exercise I will be doing to improve my agility is by a Ladder drill. I will improvise a floor ladder by using tape or sticks. The ladder will be flat, 4 meters long with 20 cm squares (400 cm²) and 20 rungs. I will first begin with 2-4 movements going across the ladder placing only one alternative foot in the middle of each square. This will be repeated for the full length of the ladder, therefore I will have to repeat the whole sequence 5 times. I will then run through the ladder touching both feet in each square. Each week I will increase the number times I do one whole sequence by 10, starting from 50. These patterns should to some extent mimic the movements that I will be undertaking in a Basketball match. In addition, I will try to each week increase the pace at which I complete one full move.
