HOW CAN WE PERSONALISE ASSESSMENT AND EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION?
What is the purpose of a pre-exercise questionnaire and health screening?
To identify health risks and determine whether exercise is appropriate and safe for an individual.
What principle of training requires the training stimulus to increase as the athlete adapts?
Progressive overload.
Name TWO phases of a yearly training program.
Pre-season, in-season or off-season.
Name the THREE macronutrients.
Carbohydrates, protein and fats.
Name TWO recovery strategies.
Examples include hydration, cool-down, massage, hydrotherapy, cryotherapy and relaxation.
Name TWO fitness or performance tests that could be used to assess an athlete.
Yo-Yo, Vertical Jump, Wingate
Name TWO aerobic training methods.
Continuous, fartlek, aerobic interval, HIIT or circuit training.
What is tapering?
A reduction in training load before competition to allow the athlete to recover and optimise performance.
Which macronutrient is particularly important as a source of energy during exercise?
Carbohydrates.
What is an overuse injury?
An injury resulting from repetitive stress or loading over time rather than a single traumatic event.
A coach tests an athlete before designing their training program.
What TWO things can the coach learn from the assessment?
The athlete's strengths/weaknesses and current fitness/performance levels, which can be used to develop an individualised program.
A basketballer wants to improve their explosive jumping ability. Which training method could they use and why?
Plyometric training, because it develops explosive power through rapid muscle actions, improving movements such as jumping.
Give ONE difference between training for an individual sport and a team sport.
Team sports require consideration of group dynamics, strategies and tactics, whereas individual sports can focus more specifically on the individual's event requirements.
Why is hydration important for performance?
It helps maintain fluid balance and supports physiological processes required for exercise. Dehydration can contribute to fatigue and reduced performance.
Name ONE way technology can be used to monitor training or performance.
GPS, heart-rate monitors, video analysis, accelerometers or other monitoring/recording technologies.
Why might the same training program NOT be appropriate for two athletes competing in the same sport?
Athletes differ in factors such as fitness levels, training history, goals, position/event, strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, training should be personalised to their individual needs.
Explain the relationship between training, physiological adaptations and improved performance.
Training provides a stimulus that places stress on the body. With appropriate recovery, the body adapts, producing physiological changes such as increased stroke volume or muscle hypertrophy. These adaptations can improve the athlete's ability to perform.
An elite 100 m sprinter and an elite soccer player are preparing for their major competition. Explain how the peaking and tapering requirements may differ between the two athletes.
Peaking and tapering can differ because individual and team sports have different competition structures, season lengths and energy demands.
Example Structure of competition: A 100 m sprinter may need to peak for a specific major competition, often competing in heats, semi-finals and a final over a short period. A soccer player may need to maintain performance across multiple matches throughout a competition or tournament, making it difficult to taper for one specific event.
Name TWO supplements identified in the syllabus for investigation.
Any two of:
Name the THREE areas in which technology can improve performance.
A recreational participant and an elite athlete both complete the same fitness test. Analyse how the results could be used differently.
A recreational participant may use the result to establish a baseline and set general fitness goals. An elite athlete could use the result to identify specific performance limitations, prescribe appropriate training intensity and monitor physiological adaptations over time.
An endurance athlete undertakes regular aerobic training. Explain how an increase in stroke volume can contribute to improved performance.
Aerobic training can increase stroke volume, meaning more blood is pumped with each heartbeat. This improves the delivery of oxygen to working muscles, supporting aerobic energy production and allowing the athlete to sustain exercise more effectively.
A coach gives a marathon runner and a soccer player the same endurance training program. Using the principle of specificity, explain why this is unlikely to optimise the performance of both athletes.
The principle of specificity states that training adaptations are specific to the type of training performed and the demands of the activity.
A marathon runner requires predominantly aerobic endurance to sustain continuous movement over a long duration, so their training would include longer-duration, continuous running. A soccer player requires aerobic endurance but also needs to repeatedly perform short, high-intensity efforts such as sprinting, accelerating and changing direction, followed by periods of lower-intensity activity.
A marathon runner and a 100 m sprinter have very different nutritional requirements. Explain why.
The nutritional requirements differ because the events have very different duration, intensity and energy demands. eg; Marathon runner, Requires a high carbohydrate intake to maximise glycogen stores before competition. Carbohydrate loading in the days before the marathon can increase muscle and liver glycogen, providing an important fuel source for prolonged aerobic exercise. 100 m sprinter, Does not require carbohydrate loading to the same extent because the event lasts only around 10–15 seconds and relies predominantly on the ATP-PC energy system, still requires adequate carbohydrates to maintain glycogen stores for training, while protein is particularly important for muscle repair and development.
An elite swimmer uses technology to improve their performance. Explain how technology can be used through training innovations, equipment advances, and monitoring and recording performance.
Training innovations: Technology such as underwater cameras and video analysis can provide feedback on technique, Equipment advances: Advances in swimsuit design and materials can reduce drag and improve hydrodynamics,Monitoring and recording Technology such as heart-rate monitors, can provide data about training intensity and performance