Chapter 12: Physiological and Psychophysiological Bases for Sport Performance

Question 1

What is Aerobic Metabolism?

Answer 1

The process in which oxygen combines with food to power muscle contractions.

Question 2

What is Anaerobic Metabolism?

Answer 2

This process is used when Oxygen is limited and the energy created comes from creatine phosphate and goes away quickly and fatigue sets in when used for long periods of time.

Question 3

What are the 5 principles of training?

Answer 3

1. Overload
2. Recovery
3. Specificity
4. Athlete Progression
5. Training Periodization

Question 4

What is Burnout?

Answer 4

Emotional and physical exhaustion, a reduce sense of accomplishment, and sport devauation.

Question 5

What are the 2 systems that make up the Automatic Nervous System (ANS)?

Answer 5

1. Parasympathetic System - rest and recovery
2. Sympathetic Nervous System - Fight or flight

Question 6

What is the Psychomotor Efficiency Theory?

Answer 6

Focuses on the processes that occur in athletes’ brains to achieve expert performance. Psychomotor efficiency theory is concerned with neural resource allocation and is “based on the basic formula that efficiency = work/effort” (Hatfield, 2018, p. 43). When novice athletes are learning a new skill, neurological processes in the brain are controlled, attention-demanding, conscious, and inefficient. In other words, novices have to consciously attend to the step-by-step components of how to execute the skill. This process is effortful because a new neural pathway is being created. With practice, fewer neural resources are required because athletes do not need to think as explicitly about the execution of the skill. The brain processes of experts during performance are therefore rapid, smooth, and effortless, and they demand less attentional capacity.

Question 7

What is the definition of ‘Choking’ in sports performance?

Answer 7

Mesagno and Hill (2013), is “an acute and considerable decrease in skill execution and performance, when self-expected standards are normally achievable, and which is the result of increased anxiety under perceived pressure”

Self-focus attentional theories suggest that suboptimal performance or “choking” occurs when athletes, particularly in the competitive setting and under pressure, turn their attention to skills that have been previously well-learned (Baumeister, 1984; Beilock & Gray, 2007). In other words, under pressure, athletes revert to the earliest stage of motor skill learning, cognitive processing, and attempt to consciously control skills that have become automatic. This typically results in a suboptimal performance.

Question 8

How does Psychophysiology Training help athlete’s and their performance?

Answer 8

Enables athletes to become self-aware of what is going on within their body and brain, develop the ability to effectively focus, and learn to effectively self-regulate the autonomic and central nervous systems (Schwartz & Andrasik, 2017). Research has demonstrated that this ability to self-regulate arousal and attention helps athletes reduce anxiety and enhance performance (e.g., Christie, Bertollo, & Werthner, 2020; Dupee & Werthner, 2011).

Question 9

What are the stages of the Wingate Approach to Psychophysiology Training?

Answer 9

1. Introduction: learning self-regulation techniques
2. Identification: identifying and training the most effective response modality
3. Simulation: training with simulated competitive stress
4. Transformation: transitioning from the lab to the field
5. Realization: achieving optimal self-regulation in competition