8/15 markers Flashcards
Evaluate which of the following training methods would have the greatest positive
impact on the energy systems an elite road cyclist uses in a race:
* altitude training
* high intensity interval training (HIIT).
8m
A01:
- Altitude training involves working above 1500 m/5000 feet.
- High intensity internal training (HIIT) is a mixture of high-intensity anaerobic periods of work and low-intensity aerobic recovery intervals. Primarily, it develops the ATP-PC system, resulting in a natural increase in levels of EPO/red blood cells.
AO2:
- Altitude training develops the aerobic energy system so the cyclist will use their aerobic energy system to cycle for long periods of time without fatiguing.
- High intensity interval training (HIIT) primarily develops the anaerobic energy systems, so the cyclist will use their ATP-PC system to cycle at maximum speeds, e.g., sprinting, and their anaerobic glycolytic system will be used to maintain a high intensity effort,, e.g., a hill climb.
AO3:
- Altitude training would have the greatest positive impact as road cycling races are long and the aerobic energy system will be the body’s primary means of ATP
resynthesis, and this would allow them to maintain the same/higher average speeds as others in the race, allowing them to finish in a fast time. Improvements in the cyclist’s aerobic energy system would also allow them to recover quickly between high-intensity efforts, allowing them to repeatedly climb hills without undue fatigue.
- HIIT training mirrors the demands of road cycling races involving periods of high intensity/anaerobic
work, eg climbing hills, followed by aerobic recovery on the downhill sections. HIIT training would improve both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems without the negative impact
of travel/cost/time associated with altitude training.
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Table 2 shows the difference in physiological measures between two 30-year-old 1500 m runners.
Evaluate whether the data in Table 2 could be used to predict the VO2 max of each runner and which runner would win a 1500 m race.
15m
AO1:
- Max cardiac output: The maximum amount of blood that can be ejected from the heart (left ventricle)
in one minute.
-Calculated as maximum stroke volume x maximum heart rate.
-Max A-VO2 diff: The largest difference between the oxygen content of the arteries and veins. This
indicates how much oxygen the performer is able to extract at the muscle site.
-VO2max: Maximum volume of oxygen which can be used/consumed/utilised by the body per minute/unit of time (ml/kg/min).
AO2:
-All three measures are specifically related to a runner’s VO2 max/aerobic power.
- Runner B will have a higher VO2 max/aerobic power.
- As both runners are the same age, the max heart rate will be similar/the same, so there will be a difference in max cardiac
output due to higher max stroke volume of runner B.
- This will be due to cardiac hypertrophy and a stronger heart muscle being able to eject more blood from the heart/higher ejection fraction.
- This means more oxygenated blood will be circulating around runner B’s body and arriving at the
muscle site.
AO3:
- Runner B’s higher VO2 max will be an advantage in a 1500-metre race as it will allow the runner to use more oxygen per minute than runner A.
- A 1500-metre race lasts for more than three minutes so the aerobic energy system is an important source
of ATP resynthesis/VO2 max is an important indicator of success over 1500 m.
- Having a higher VO2 max means that Runner B will be able to run at faster speeds for longer periods of time while remaining below his anaerobic threshold/without fatiguing/as higher VO2 max will
increase their lactate threshold.
- However, the data in the table gives no indication of anaerobic capacity/lactate threshold.
- Runner B might have a higher VO2 max; however runner A may run more efficiently, maintaining higher
speed while expending less energy.
- Runner A may have a high enough VO2 max to stay close to Runner B over the first 1100 m, then a
faster kick over the final 400 m, resulting in victory.
Evaluate the effectiveness of altitude training for an endurance athlete preparing for a one-off event like the London Marathon.
[8 marks]
AO1:
* Training at more than 2000m/8000 feet above sea level.
* Usually for at least 30 days/month.
* Three phases – acclimatisation, primary training, recovery.
* Higher EPO levels increase red blood cell count
AO2:
* Marathon is a long duration, low intensity/aerobic event and altitude training will specifically boost
aerobic power/VO2 max.
* Increased concentration of haemoglobin provides endurance athlete with increased capacity to carry oxygen.
* Increased myoglobin in muscle cells allows more oxygen to be stored and transported to mitochondria.
* Altitude sickness which may prevent the athlete from training.
Benefits can be lost within few days back at sea level/up to few days so may have no impact on
competition.
A03:
* Increase in VO2 max will allow the endurance athlete to perform at high intensities for longer periods of
time whilst still working aerobically.
* This will result in a higher average speed over the duration of the event which is a key factor in determining the outcome.
* As benefits only last for up to 14 days training must be performed close to the event to be effective,
however travelling close to a race may also have a negative impact on performance in the race.
* If it is correctly timed the gains in aerobic power could be the difference between winning and losing the event.
Each of the following athletes uses a different main energy system to resynthesise
ATP during a race:
* Athlete A is a 100 m runner
* Athlete B is a 400 m runner
* Athlete C is a marathon runner.
Analyse how each of these athletes could use different dietary supplements or
manipulation to optimise their performance in a race.
Refer to the relevant energy systems throughout your answer.
[15 marks]
AO1:
- Energy systems: aerobic system: main energy system during long duration/low intensity/3 minutes plus. Anaerobic glycolytic system: main energy during high intensity, short duration, approximately 10 seconds–3 minutes. ATP-PC system: main energy during high or maximal intensity; short duration; approximately 5–10 seconds.
- Dietary supplements/manipulation: creatine, sodium bicarbonate, caffeine, and glycogen loading.
AO2:
- Athlete A – 100 m= ATP-PC system as 100 m is high or maximal intensity/ short duration/majority of the race completed in under 10 seconds. Creatine.
- Athlete B – 400 m= Anaerobic glycolytic system as 400 m is high intensity/short duration/lasts more than 10 seconds but
less than 3 minutes.
Sodium bicarbonate.
- Athlete C – Marathon= Aerobic system as marathon is long duration/low intensity/lasts more than 3 minutes.
Glycogen loading.
Caffeine.
AO3:
- Athlete A – 100 m= Taking creatine may increase the 100m runner’s phosphocreatine stores. This will allow the sprinter to use this system for a longer period of time.
- Athlete B – 400 m= Taking sodium bicarbonate will buffer lactic acid produced by the anaerobic glycolytic system. This will delay the negative effects of lactate on performance allowing the athlete to run at faster
speeds for a longer period of time.
- Athlete C – Marathon= Glycogen loading will increase the athlete’s stores of muscle/liver glycogen which is the fastest energy
source to produce energy using the aerobic system via glycolysis. Having more stored glycogen will allow the marathon runner to run faster for longer before their glycogen stores become depleted/they ‘hit the wall’.
Evaluate the effectiveness of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for a central midfielder in football.
[8 marks]
AO1:
* Alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.
* The work interval should be anaerobic, and the recovery interval should be aerobic.
* HIIT improves anaerobic power.
AO2:
* Sport-specific skills can be included.
* Work:rest ratio adapted to meet demands of football.
* Exercises selected to be sports specific
AO3:
* Central midfielder requires anaerobic power, but it may not be the most important component of
fitness/requires several other components of fitness as well.
* As such, HIIT may be beneficial but only as part of varied training programme.
* Aerobic power may be considered the most important component of fitness for a central midfielder so
other methods such as Fartlek/continuous/interval training may be more beneficial.
* High intensity nature of the training makes injuries more likely which could lead to the footballer
missing games.
* HIIT would develop the performer’s ability to perform football skills such as passing when
fatigued/negative transfer may occur as skills suffer due to fatigue.
Usain Bolt and Mo Farah are both multiple Olympic champions, Usain Bolt in the 100 m and Mo Farah in the 10 000 m. Analyse how the structures of their predominant muscle fibre types differ, producing
functional characteristics that impact on their performance.
[15 marks]
AO1:
-Type I (slow twitch) Type IIx (fast glycolytic). Small, Number of mitochondria: High, Capillary density: High, Myoglobin content: High
-Type IIx (fast glycolytic), Large, Number of mitochondria: Low, Capillary density: Low, Myoglobin content: Low.
AO2:
- Mo Farah= Mo Farah’s predominant muscle fibre type will be type I/slow twitch as 10 000 m is a longdistance running event which lasts over 3 minutes requiring the aerobic energy system. The structure of these muscle fibres gives them a high aerobic capacity. This is because: The high capillary density of type I muscle fibres means they are supplied with large amounts of oxygenated blood.
- Usain Bolt= Usain Bolt’s predominant muscle fibre type will be type IIx/fast glycolytic. The structure of these muscle fibres gives them a high anaerobic capacity. This is because: Large motor neurone provides great impulse to more muscle fibres resulting in faster, stronger contraction. High ATPase levels mean that ATP can be broken down more quickly to produce the energy required for muscle contractions.
AO3:
- Mo Farah= Higher VO2 max/increased lactate threshold will allow Mo Farah to run at a faster speed for a longer period of time without fatiguing. This will give him a faster time for the race compared to an athlete with a high percentage of type IIa or type IIx muscle fibres. While Farah may be required to sprint at the end of the race, his position before the sprint, determined by his aerobic capacity, is much more important than the speed of his finish in determining success.
- Usain Bolt= The increase in power from type IIx muscle fibres will allow him to drive out of the blocks and
accelerate quickly. His increased speed will allow him to cover the remaining distance in the race in the fastest time possible. As the race is short and quick, aerobic power is not required/fatigability is not a consideration, so muscles do not need these functions.
Analyse how changes in venous return occurring during exercise help performance in aerobic events such as a triathlon.
[8 marks]
AO1:
* valves – prevent backflow of blood
* skeletal muscle pump – working muscles contract and compress veins to push blood back towards the
heart
* respiratory pump – increased respiration/changes in pressure in the thorax compress veins to push
blood back towards the heart
AO2:
* during exercise increased use of muscles in arms (swimming) and legs (swimming, cycling, running)
compresses veins more pushing more blood back to the heart
* increased breathing rate during exercise causes increased effect of respiratory pump returning more
blood to the heart
* suction pump of the heart increase as the heart beats harder and faster during exercise
* overall increase in venous return during exercise.
AO3:
Starling’s law.
* This causes the heart muscle to stretch more increasing ejection fraction/stroke volume/cardiac
output.
* More blood leaving the heart means more blood sent to the lungs for greater gas exchange (removal
of CO2 and uptake of O2).
* More blood to working muscles supplying O2 for resynthesis of ATP.
* The more O2 that is supplied the longer the performer can work aerobically for, limiting the production
of fatiguing by-products such as lactate.
* Can work at higher intensities for longer periods of time.
Analyse how the musculo-skeletal and lever systems operating at the knee and ankle of the take-off leg contribute to gaining maximum height in the high jump.
[15 marks]
AO1:
Knee:
* hinge joint
* articulating bones are femur and tibia
* quadriceps and hamstring are antagonistic pair.
Ankle:
* hinge joint
* articulating bones are tibia, fibula and talus
* gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior are antagonistic pair.
Levers:
* fulcrum/pivot, resistance/load, effort.
AO2:
Knee:
* the knee extends
* this is caused by the quadriceps
* contracting isotonic concentrically
* this is a third-class lever system.
Ankle:
* the ankle plantar flexes
* this is caused by the gastrocnemius
* contracting isotonic concentrically
* this is a second-class lever system.
AO3:
Knee:
* third-class lever system has a longer resistance arm than effort arm
* this system has a mechanical disadvantage meaning the force produced is lower
* it does mean that the lever system can move at high speeds and with a greater range of movement
* this allows the athlete to jump quickly/explosively into the air
* if the athlete has bigger/stronger quadricep muscles this will increase the force produced allowing
them to jump higher if the mass remains the same.
Ankle:
* second-class lever system has a longer effort arm than resistance arm
* this system has a mechanical advantage meaning it produces high force
* this is important as ankle joint required to lift the weight of the whole body
* joints work together to produce speed and force resulting in a powerful/explosive jump.
