Improving Performance IQ2: What are the planning considerations for improving performance? Flashcards
WHat do the initial planning considerations focus on?
Focuses on the specific sport of the athlete (s). The sport is broken down to identify specific components of fitness that are more fundamental. These components of fitness become the focus for planning training programs as they must be developed in both the individual and the team.
How are effective programs developed?
Based on data gained from previous seasons and current performances. Data is gathered in the form of tests, standards, stats and performance records, which become the basis of planning to address individual and team requirements
Why should there be different planning to address both individual and team considerations?
Because some individuals may have maintained a high level of fitness during the off-season, whereas the team as a whole may not have.
What are some considerations for individuals performance and fitness needs?
Physical fitness
Physical attributes such as strength, power, endurance and flexibility
SKills such as running and batting
Development of game sense and tactics
Psychological considerations such as arousal and motivation
Social considerations such as friendships and support
What are some considerations for team performance and fitness needs?
Establishment of team goals
Development of tactics and strategies that involve groups of players such as line outs for rugby forwards
Organisational considerations such as training days and venues
Leadership issues such as captaincy
Allocation of support roles such as managers and equipment personnel
How should sport specific performance and fitness needs be addressed?
The athlete’s sport should be broken down into its various components, and the key components of fitness identified.
What is an example of addressing sport specific performance and fitness needs in individual sports? (2)
A triathlete focusing on their cardiovascular fitness or a specific component of their race such as the swimming component
A 100m sprinter might want to focus on reaction time and power
How should sport specific performance and fitness needs in team sports be addressed?
In team sports, the sport specific performance and fitness needs are essentially the performance and fitness needs of the team.
For example, an AFL team will all need good cardiovascular endurance, power, muscular endurance and coordination, all of which are team performance and fitness needs. The team may also need to introduce days to address strategy and leadership
However, within the team, certain members of the team may need more specific performance requirements as opposed to others. For example, a football striker needs to be fast, coordinated and accurate, however a centre back may not need the same accuracy or speed.
What are the types of athletes that performance and fitness needs will have to address?
Elite and recreational/amateur athletes
What are the performance and fitness needs of elite athletes?
Have much more detailed and higher level performance and fitness needs.
Will complete a wider range of fitness and performance tests to determine their performance and fitness needs
What are the performance and fitness needs of recreational/amateur athletes?
Would not complete as many tests and would often have more general low level performance and fitness needs. For example, they may only require a lower level achieved on the beep test, as compared to the elite athlete.
Moreover, their goals would be to develop relationships rather than be performance focussed.
They thus have less performance/fitness needs
Why is the schedule of events/competitions important in the initial planning considerations?
Because we need to identify when major events and competitions are held, to allow athletes to peak their performance for competition. Careful planning of training leading up to, during and after events/competitions is vital for an athlete to perform their best.
The schedule of events/competitions is used to guide the creation of a year or more long training program. This training plan needs to reflect schedules and ensure that players are not underloaded or overloaded in terms of training volume. Each individual sport will have a different schedule of events/competitions. For example, a track athlete will want to peak during summer (in Australia), whereas an NRL player will want to peak sporadically during the season
What needs to be considered as part of the schedule of events/competition?
Need to consider major competitions (i.e. State of Origin), weekly competitions,
What is the difference between elite and recreational athletes when it comes to schedule of events/competition?
Elite athletes have a larger array of events/competitions that they can compete in, including club, state, international levels of competition. They have a more COMPLEX schedule of events. For example, an athlete may play in the A-league, but also have Asian champions league and play for Aus in international games, causing competitions to overlap with each other, and requiring the athlete to prioritise when to peak.
Many recreational athletes do not make schedules of competition, but simply know when they are competing and turn up. They may also not show up to training as it isn’t compulsory and only has to worry about the weekly weekend game.
Why does initial planning need to consider climate and season?
Climate and season is important as it determines the type of environmental conditions in which the sport will be played. The climate and season then affects how to best prepare for the sport
It is important that athletes are fully prepared in terms of attire both for training and during competition which may be at various climates or seasons, especially if competing internationally.
For example, heat, wind, rain, cold, fog and humidity are examples of climactic influences which require implementation of specific strategies such as protective clothing
What is an example of the implementation of specific strategies to address climate and season?
Protective/reflective clothing, sunscreens and fluid during hot weather to prevent heat stress and dehydration, allowing for the athlete to perform optimally.
In addition to that, a sport which is played in summer should be prepared for by training in the heat with summer like conditions, whereas the opposite applies for winter
How does an individual consider climate and season?
Need to consider where the competition is played at, the altitude which it’s played at etc, which all contribute to various climates an athlete needs to compete in.
What is an example of considering climate and season for the sport played? (2)
For example, tennis competitions are held at various locations around the world, each requiring specific preparation according to the climate and season where the competition is held. (Tennis Grand Slams are held in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York, each requiring different acclimatisations)
There is also a similar situation in athletics, where the place where the competition (i.e. Olympics) is, will influence how the athlete trains to be able to acclimatise to the environment in which they are going to be competing in
What are the differences between elite and recreational/amateur athletes when it comes to planning for climate and season?
Elite athletes will have to consider a wider range of climates and seasons in their planning. They will have to travel around the country and sometimes around the world for different competitions, pushing them into different climates and seasons, thus requiring greater consideration for climate and season in their planning
Meanwhile, the amateur participant will not have the same issues as they will only have local competitions, thus not having to consider the climate of a different country which they may be playing in, and instead just has to consider the climate and season at the local level where they play. They will not have the same amount of variation as an elite player has to adapt to
What is periodisation?
The process of breaking the year down into smaller time periods in order to structure the training program effectively
What three main subphases does periodisation have to combine?
Macrocycle
Mesocycle
Microcycle
Why is periodisation important?
To structure the year and ensure the athlete peaks in performance at the right time (i.e. for major competitions such as Olympic trials etc.). It ensures that volume and intensity for training are ideal
What are the 3 phases of competition in a training eayr?
Pre=season (preparatory)
In- Season (Competitive)
Off-season (Transition)
What are the 7 considerations that needs to be addressed for effective periodisation?
Planning - needs to be planned out
Solid base - general fitness established, addressing the specific components of fitness
Progression - A logical progression of activities that should lead to attainment of set short and long term goals. Prevent training plateaus, with progression to higher levels require as soon as adaptations take place
Balance volume and intensity - program should show how different activities enable volume and intensity to be manipulated for the benefit of the athlete
Rest and recovery - Needs to incorporate sufficient variety + relief to avoid overtraining and fatigue and decreased motivation
Avoid injury - The plan needs to carefully manage loads, expectations and skill requirements, as injury will set back gains. This could be achieved by having less number of training sessions a week
Individualisation; the plan must be adapted to each athlete and address their specific needs. Physiological differences and differences in positions (for team sports) played will mean that individual needs will be different
What is the pre-season?
It is the period before competition, where the trainer focuses on developing the basis or fundamentals required for the sport
How long does the pre-season last?
6-12 weeks or longer, depending on the type of competition.
What happens in a typical pre-season workout?
It requires a high volume of training at moderate levels of intensity. It needs to target the appropriate energy systems. These training sessions are typically longer, and aims to increase stamina and mental aspects such as drive and commitment
What are the goals of pre-season training? (5)
Improve all aspects of fitness such as strength or flexibility, particularly those specifically required in the sport
Develop technique
Improve performance biomechanics
Introduce strategies and familiarize players with them
Teach appropriate mental skills
What are common forms of training during pre-season training phase?
Continuous training
Fartlek training
Interval training
Circuits
Resistance work
Variations of long slow work with short fast work
What should occur towards the end of pre-seaosn phase?
Physical condition and quality of skill performance (for example, technique, biomechanics and strategies) should reach targeted levels. As it progresses into the specific phase of preparation, it may start to focus on more sport specific aspects of training, including the development of skills such as power, speed, ball control etc.
What is the in-season?
This phase is commonly referred to as the competition phase, and it will vary in duration, depending on the type of sport. During this period, there are great number of competitions which the athlete will be needed to peak for, and thus very specific sport skills will be improved during this period
During this season, there is an increase in intensity and an emphasis on technique, strategies and tactics.
It is also essential to MAINTAIN skill and sport-specific fitness levels which have been gained from the pre-season
What is the aim during the in-season period? (5)
Maintain stamina
Practice and improve tactics and strategies
Perfect skill execution
Gain competitive experience
Continue work on developing appropriate mental skills
How are the aims of the in-season best achieved?
Supplementary work on required fitness components, including strength, power, agility, flexibility and speed
use of highly specific skills practices (drills)
Continuation of conditioning training
Use of small games, grids and resistance work to increase intensity and provide relief
What principle of training is especially important during the in-season? Why?
The principle of specificity needs to be applied more during the competition phase. This is because we want to prepare the athlete for the competition, to allow them to perform their best. For example, sports which require explosive actions such as sprinting and high jump will require a decrease in overall volume, and increase in intensity and speed.
What is the off-season/transition phase?
It is the period immediately following the competition, and focuses on relaxation and recovery. During this period, training volume and intensity decreases and may even become non-existent. It ultimately allows the athlete to recover from the intensities of competition before they once again begin to increase training volume and intensity in the pre season
It is essentially a physical and mental recovery from training and competition, allowing for time for general refreshment
What is the off-season phase characterised by? (6)
One week of total rest
Remaining weeks consisting of active rest, with training sessions being reduced to a couple of times per week, and a corresponding reduction in both volume and intensity
A change in environment, such as outdoors to indoors or use of swimming for runners and cyclists
Diet modification to reflect the decreased workload
Maintenance of strength and flexibility
Work on weaknesses such as injuries or perhaps on specific technical skills
What are the 3 subphases?
Macrocycles, mesocycles, microcycles
What is a macrocycle?
It is the larger training cycle and normally encompasses the whole year. They can be both larger or smaller than a year, but it will vary depending on the sport. Athletes will often set macrocycle goals that they wish to achieve
For example, an athlete training to win the olympics will have a four year macrocycle in order to qualify for and then peak during the olympics
Why do we need other measures other than macrocycles?
It is because more specific detail is contained in mesocycles and microcycles, which reflect small changes in habits to improve training outcomes.
What are mesocycles?
These are smaller chunks of time than a macrocycle, and typically last a few weeks (4-8 weeks), and they often match up with the 3 phases of competition (pre, in and off season). Mesocycles join together to create the macrocycle. Typically, the macrocycle goals are broken up into smaller goals that are to be achieved during each mesocycle
This allows for detailed planning and specific objectives to be achieved
What are microcycles?
These are even smaller periods of time than mesocycles, with it lasting a few days - a week (7-10 days). It is often used to focus on a singular aspect that adds together with other microcycles in order to achieve mesocycle goals, which accumulate to achieve macrocycle goals
These are the building blocks to create the year long training program using periodisation. They include detailed info about frequency of training, intensity, duration and volume together with skills, activities, resistance training, plyometrics and specific season organisation
What is an example of a microcycle
Microcycle for a week:
Monday: AM: strength training, PM: skill development + technique
Tuesday: AM: plyometrics, PM: long intervals
Wednesday: AM: Strength training, PM: Circuit + technique
Thursday: AM: Pilates, PM: Circuit + technique
Friday; AM: Strength training PM: skill development + speed drills
Saturday: Competition
Sunday: Rest
When writing a training plan, for example if there is a day for plyometrics what should you write with it?
Detail each session for sets, repetitions and recovery
I.e. Jumps, reactive drop jumps, speed hops etc
What are the 9 different types of training which should be implemented into a microcycle/mesocycle? WHat should you include with a description for each? (I.e. if given macrocycles to fill out, should fill it out with reference to these)
Warm up: Detail exercises for duration, reps and recovery
Cool down: Detail exercises and duration
Strength: Detail each set, repetition, resistance, speed, rest between sets + recovery
Endurance: Detail activities to maintain cardiorespiratory endurance
Speed and agility: Detail activities to maintain speed
Flexibility: Detail exercises to maintain flexibility and improve core stability
Technique: Detail how to continue development on technique improvement
Plyometrics: Detail each session for sets, repetitions, recovery
Psychology: detail and be alert for signs of overtraining
What is peaking?
This is a temporary state where the athlete is performing at their absolute best during competition
It is the phase of training in which performance is optimised to meet the demands of a race competition or series.
What are the physiological indicators of peaking?
A state of excellent health
Heightened rate of recovery from training
Body systems, particularly the circulatory, respiratory, muscular and energy systems are tuned for optimal functioning
Adjustments to technical and tactical preparation completed
Superior neuromuscular coordination
What are the social and psychological indicators of peaking?
Heightened self confidence and motivation
Ability to tolerate higher levels of frustration and react positively to practices that simulate the competition environment
A state of mental alertness and readiness for action
How is peaking achieved?
Requires months of preparation, gradual increases in volume and intensity of training and a short tapering period just prior to performance
First the athlete undergoes intense training to ensure their body and the relevant components of fitness are at their highest. they will undergo a large volume of high intensity training, however before the competition they will taper down to allow nutrient levels to be at optimum levels and allow the athlete to fully recover from training before the competition
How should peaking be prioritised?
It should be aimed to have the athlete peak for the most important competitions, but it can be difficult especially in sports which have a long in-season such as rugby, AFL, cricket etc.
What does peaking require the athlete to have?
Great general body conditioning, good sports specific conditioning and great skill execution combined with strategy and tactics that enable them to perform at their best
What is tapering? How does it work?
The reduction of training volume and intensity just prior to competition to allow peaking to occur. This is especially because high volume and intensity of training impairs performance as there are lots of muscle tears –> reparation of the tears from training. It also allows the body to replace nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, as well as vitamins and minerals required for competition which can only be replenished during rest periods
It ultimately aims to boost performance and allows for tissue to rebuild and replace energy stores
How is tapering implemented?
It is implemented through the reduction in volume and even training sessions leading up to the competition but continue with the same intensity (intensity might even increase).
The frequency and volume should decrease but intensity remain the same
It should be implemented a few weeks prior to competition instead of just a few days before for the greatest benefits
What are the four different tapering methods?
The Step taper
The Linear taper
The exponential, slow decay taper
The exponential, fast decay taper
What is a step taper?
33% reduction in training volume in the first week, followed by a further 33% in the second week
What is a linear taper?
It is a reduction in volume and intensity gradually over the designated time period
What is the exponential, slow decay taper?
Has a greater reduction in training load at the beginning of the taper, before levelling off at 40-50%
What is the exponential, fast decay taper?
Has a greater reduction in training at the beginning, with the training load reduced to 20-30%
How do you select which taper to use?
The type of taper used generally depends on the training load. In the case of endurance events such as a marathon, a two week taper is required, however shorter distances such as 5km only require a one week taper
The best results for athletes in resistance programs such as weightlifting is through the step taper, while exponential decay tapering seems to work the best for endurance athletes
What are sport specific subphases?
Refers to the selection of what is focused on during the subphases of competition in order to cater specifically for the relevant sport. It refers to the meso and microcycles that combine in order to achieve the larger goals of the athlete or team.
Each sport has specific components of fitness, skills tactics and other variables that needs to be focussed on, these differences in sports require sport specific subphases to be developed in order to best prepare the athlete for competitions
Essentially the subphases will always differ according to sport and fitness of the athlete as well
Develop and justify a periodisation chart
MAKE MY OWN OR LOOK AT THE SS IN THE PDHPE FOLDER
What are the elements to be considered when designing a training session? (6)
Health and safety considerations
providing an overview of the session to athletes
Warm up and cool down
Skill instruction and practice
Conditioning
Evaluation
Why is it important to consider health and safety when designing a training session?
This is because a disregard for health and safety can lead to injury, illness and poor performance
What are some important considerations for health and safety? (6)
Injury prevention
Protective equipment
General equipment
Apparel
Environmental hazards
Illnesses
How should injury prevention be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
Activities such as warm ups/cool downs and stretching are safety prerequisites for all physical activity. Athletes need knowledge of how to safely use specialised equipment such as strength training machines. Spotting and supervision is required in many gymnastics and weight lifting activities
This will ensure that the athlete’s health will be maintained through the use of preventing injury
How should protective equipment be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
Essential protective equipment such as mouthguards, helmets, face guards, padding etc. need to be worn both during practice and games to ensure the athlete doesn’t suffer an injury and remains safe.
How should general equipment be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
Equipment such as bats, clubs, javelins etc. should be checked regularly for safety. Cracked, worn or suspicious equipment need to be repaired or discarded. This will ensure that the athlete does not suffer from an equipment malfunction during competition, which may lead to an injury or a risk to health for the athlete. For example, a pole vaulter’s pole may snap in the middle of the jump, causing the athlete to fall, having detrimental impacts.
How should apparel be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
Clothing such as shorts, tops, jumpers etc. need to be comfortable while providing some protection, and must allow freedom of movement and airflow. Freedom of movement will prevent the athlete from being restricted by their apparel, which may lead to trip hazards, etc. It must allow good airflow so that the athlete is not too hot, which may increase the chances of the athlete suffering from health conditions such as a stroke.
Good footwear must also be supportive and protective, as poor footwear may contribute to blisters, calluses and even structural deformities. This may impair the health of the athlete as well
How should environmental hazards be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
Depending on the sport, sunglasses, sunscreen, protective suits, hats and caps may be needed to protect the body from potentially damaging ultraviolet rays. This could impair the individual’s health, and thus actions should be taken to prevent these environmental hazards from affecting the individual
How should illnesses be considered as part of health and safety considerations?
The risk of illnesses such as colds and influenza is a health risk, and may put the athlete off training for a while, which may have detrimental impacts. However, the use of safe health practices and awareness of modes of viral transfer during training may reduce the risk of illness affecting the athlete’s health.
What are some other essential considerations for athlete health and safety, other than the ones listed above?
The training session must suit the athlete being trained; if a child has low levels of fitness, then the training session should match their fitness and skill levels, similar for adults.
The health and safety considerations must also consider the athlete’s state of health and whether they are ready for training. This can be both mental and physical health.
Why is providing an overview of the training session to athletes as part of designing a training session important?
It ensures that the intentions of the coach and expectations of players are channeled in the same direction. It also has the advantage of gathering the players in a forum situation, where specific issues can be addressed, to ensure optimal performance in game.
When an athlete knows what the aims of the training session is, and how these aims are going to be achieved, it improves the results of training. This is because the athlete understands the purpose of each activity, and how it will benefit them, thus motivating them to train better
It also allows athletes to have input into training and their expression of the confidence in the program
How long should providing an overview take?
It is not normally a length process, and is simply the coach letting the athletes know that they have thought through and prepared the training session to improve their performance in a particular area
When should an overview be done?
Should be completed just prior to a warm up or even during the warm up
What is the purpose of a warmup?
It prepares the body for the session, improving performance, which during training means improved physiological adaptations and promoting safety in the session
What should a format of the warm up follow?
General body warm up until the body begins to sweat. I.e. jogging and skipping
Stretching - important in ensuring that the required muscle groups are extended before the range that is required of them in the sport itself. Stretching also promotes blood circulation, increases muscle relaxation and improves performance
Calisthenics - General bodyweight exercises such as push ups and abdominal crunches that involve large muscle groups. These should be specific to the game, and should work the muscle groups used in the activity
Skill rehearsal/drills - In this phase, the athlete performs some routines required later in the game/sport/training. For example soccer players may participate in patterns that increase agility and replicate movements required in the game.
What is required for a warm up?
A warm up should be specific to the activities that are going to be completed in the session and the muscles being used
What is a cool down? What is the goal?
A cool down occurs after the training session and needs to be included in order to speed up recovery and help ensure good physiological adaptations occur.
Goal is to help remove waste products, and fluid in order to decrease post exercise oedema (swelling)
What does a cooldown consist of?
Low intensity movements using the same muscle groups and body systems that were used during the training session.
What does instruction at a training session involve?
Refers to delivery of a body of knowledge by a coach (or coaches) to the players.
What does good instruction require?
Prior organisation and effective communication skills. All coaching sessions need to be well planed, provide guidance on how to perform the fundamental skills and should allow these to be practised in related drills and movements.
What are the 7 requirements to have effective instruction when planning a training program ?
Brief - the instruction is concise and factual to allow maximal practice time
Well timed - use words when their impact will be greatest
Specific - instruction needs to be specific to the skill, game and situation, and it should not be general
Constructive - Focus on the positive points for improvement, not on how poorly the skill is being performed
Clear - There should be no misunderstanding about the information communicated by the coach
Informative - All instruction should relate specifically to information that the players need to know. Additional, unrelated material is confusing and can actually hinder the learning process
Demonstrable - Effective instruction is supported by visual aids such as demonstrations to provide clear pictures of skills and techniques required
The allocation of time to specific skill related activities need to be deided, along with how the activities will flow together for best development of the skill. The selection of skill instruction and practice activities should be determined by the athletes’ stage of skill acquisition
How long does skill instruction and practice take?
Skill instruction should be short and to the point
What does skill instruction normally include?
Demonstration of the skill (may be broken down into its various parts before being combined to perform the entire complex skill
What is conditioning?
Conditioning is the base work required for the sport, and varies from sport to sport. It is NOT just cardiovascular endurance, however it is about bringing the body to the desired state for use in the particular sport. This type of training largely occurs in the pre-season or the preparation phase of competition
It covers all of the components of fitness (health and skill related)
How long should be spent in training session for conditioning?
The amount of time spent on conditioning should match the requirements during competition and the need of the athlete. Generally, 20+ minutes is set asied for conditioning during a training session.
Which part of the training session should be reserved for conditioning?
If the focus of training is the end of the game and the coach wants the athletes to perform well when fatigued, then conditioning should be done at the beginning
If focus is on skill development, conditioning should be left until the end of the training session.
How intense should fitness conditioning sessions be?
It should reach the training zone intensity (70-85% MHR) and remains there for at least 20 minutes. While the fitness session needs to be thorough and challenging, it doesn’t have to be completely exhausting, and may even encompass skill practices over cardiovascular endurance
Need to ensure that it is not so intense that the athlete is fatigued and is unable to carry out their fitness conditioning well.
What is the evaluation, as part of planning for a training session?
During this period, coaches should re-address the goals or aims of the training session that were discussed in the overview. Athletes should be given a chance to provide feedback to the coach on the training session, as well as the coach providing feedback to the athlete.
It is an appraisal of performances after the training session, and is typically carried out during and after the cooldown, involving the coaches and players reporting on the value of the session.
What is included in an evaluation?
Includes some planning for the next session and checking in with the athletes - a time to review the training session and how the athletes feel after the session. After the training session, there should be further evaluation between members of the training staff + coach to determine if the session was effective
What is the key point to the evaluation process?
It focuses on the achievement of goals, and if further actions are needed in order to achieve them.
What is overtraining?
Overtraining occurs when a person exceeds their body’s ability to recover from strenuous exercise. It is the point where a person may have a decrease in performance and plateauing in training
It often occurs when an athlete does high intensity training in high volumes and not allowing for enough rest between sessions of high intensity, affecting their recovery and preventing physiological adaptations from occurring.
It is a psychological and physiological condition caused by training loads which are too demanding.
What can overtraining lead to?
Poor performance and leads to injuries, particularly overuse injuries. It will also affect their recovery and prevent physiological adaptations from occurring.
What often occurs to athletes who suffer from overtraining?
They become fatigued, tired, lethargic and experience a lack of motivation.
What are the symptoms of overtraining?
Lack of motivation
Poorer performances
Increased resting heart rate
Higher blood lactate level
Lack of drive and level of enthusiasm
Insomnia
Decreased appetite
AND A LOT MORE
What should be done if an overtrained athlete is identified?
Reduce the amount and intensity of training sessions
May need to take a complete break from training
Change in frequency, intensity and time may be adjusted
Rehab and testing and treatment should occur for the athlete if they receive injuries due to overtraining.
How can overtraining be avoided?
Have a good balance in the amount and intensity of training
Planning a training year ensuring the athlete has regular rest periods (weekly)
Inclusion of recovery sessions and skills or tactical training - allows recovery from higher intensities
Monitor each athlete closely looking for the signs and symptoms of overtraining
How does amount and intensity of training contribute to planning to avoid overtraining?
This is because overtraining is primarily caused by too much training, so adjustment to the amount and intensity of training needs to be made.
Better attention to training volume and intensity projections established in periodisation charts help prevent overtraining, as it allows for the identification of how much training and how hard training should be to allow for appropriate recovery
Large volumes of training at high intensity cause overtraining because the athlete does not have enough time between training sessions to recover from the previous training session
How long should strength training have for rest?
48 hours of rest for the muscles to recover and adapt appropriately to the training
What are the symptoms of overtraining? (Psychological considerations)
Increased nervousness
Poor concentration span
Irratibility or anger
Emotional sensitivity
Depression
Lack of motivation
Sensitive to criticism
Confusion during competition
Responds poorly to criticism/on field banter
Easily gives up
What are the strategies to improve the mental well being of athletes suffering overtraining?
Reduction or cessation of training
Active rest
use of relaxation techniques
Change of routine and environment such as using cycling as a break from swimming
Replacing pressure with positive reinforcement
What is the main psychological consideration of overtraining?
A lack of motivation. An athlete who has overtrained will lack motivation. They will be tired and not want to get up in the morning, but they will also no longer feel like training. They will lose focus on their goals and no longer want to do the hard work to get there.
WHy is a lack of motivation different to lethargy?
Lethargy is about a lack of energy to train whereas a lack of motivation is not wanting to train or compete. Lethargy can lead to a lack of motivation as body is tired, causing our emotions to become elevated.
What are the symptoms of an overtrained athlete? (physiological considerations)
Pain
Lack of energy
Headaches
Loss of appetite
Injuries
Poor technique
Excessive thirst
Frequent error in performance
Poor performance
Increased resting heart rate
What are the 2 focus areas in physiological considerations?
Lethargy
Injury
What is lethargy?
It is characterised by feelings of slowness, tiredness and lack of energy. Athletes in a lethargic state do not train or perform to their best ability, leading to a gradual deterioration in performance.
What is lethargy (as a form of overtraining) caused by?
Caused by excessive training volume and intensity without sufficient rest and relaxation periods. Measures will thus need to be taken to address the problem.
In addition to that, after training, there are minor injuries to muscle cells. This constant low level pain wears the athlete out, causing them to become tired and more lethargic
What does lethargy cause?
It leads to the athlete not being able to train or perform to their best ability, leading to a gradual deterioration in performance
How does overtraining contribute to the physiological consideration of injury?
Need to understand how it is caused at the muscular level.
Every high intensity training session causes minor injuries to muscle cells, but they require time to heal. These micro-tears usually stimulate the physiological adaptations that occur from training, but if they havent fully recovered before the next training session, the small injuries become reinjured and become larger. The longer this goes on, the larger the injury which can lead to other injuries
What could contribute to an athlete’s risk of suffering from overtraining
There are some general guidelines, but everything is and always should be athlete specific. Individual aspects include:
Stress from work or family
Medical conditions
Nutrition
Sleep
Use of recovery strategies
How much training is too much?
As a general rule, athletes should not be completing high intensity training every day. Training intensities should be in their relevant training zones and need to only occur 3 times a week.
However, the amount of training considered ‘too much’ will vary from individuals depending on their past experience (i.e. amateur or professional)
The type of training should also be examined to ensure the amount and intensity of training does not place too much stress upon the athlete
What do you do if you identify an overtrained athlete?
Reduce the amount and intensity of training sessions
May need to take a complete break from training to recover fully from their training session
If overtraining is identified early, a change in frequency, intensity and time may be adjusted
Often overtraining is not identified until after injuries begin to occur, in this case, rehab should occur and testing be done before the athlete returns to normal training and competition
How can overtraining be avoided?
Have a good balance in the amount and intensity of training
Planning a training year ensuring the athlete has regular rest periods (weekly) is vital
Inclusion of recovery sessions and skills or tactical training - allows recovery from higher intensities
Monitor each athlete closely looking for the signs and symptoms of overtraining
How do you identify an overtrained athlete?
Look at the psychological and physiological considerations of training above. All of these are symptoms of overtrained athletes.
What What are the symptoms of overtraining? (Psychological considerations)
Increased nervousness
Poor concentration span
Irratibility or anger
Emotional sensitivity
Depression
Lack of motivation
Sensitive to criticism
Confusion during competition
Responds poorly to criticism/on field banter
Easily gives up
What are the symptoms of an overtrained athlete? (physiological considerations)
Pain
Lack of energy
Headaches
Loss of appetite
Injuries
Poor technique
Excessive thirst
Frequent error in performance
Poor performance
Increased resting heart rate
