Sports Med Unit 4: Performance Enhancement Continued

Cardiovascular Endurance

The body's ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and remove waste during sustained physical activity.

Muscular Endurance

The ability of a muscle or muscle group to sustain repeated contractions.

Power

The ability to exert maximum force quickly.

Speed

The quickness of movement of a limb or the whole body.

Strength

The extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance.

Adaptation

The body's ability to respond to training by improving its capacity to handle physical demands.

Purpose of Training

To systematically stress the body so it improves its capacity and performance.

Overload

Applying greater-than-normal stress or load to the body to produce training adaptations.

Specificity

Training should be relevant and appropriate to the sport the athlete is preparing for.

Reversibility

The gradual loss of training effects when exercise intensity or duration is reduced.

Periodization

Varying a training program at regular intervals to optimize performance and help an athlete reach peak performance.

Pre-season

High-volume, low-intensity training focused on technique, with strength and power workouts introduced during the second half.

In-season

Low-volume, high-intensity training focused on maintaining technique and achieving peak performance.

Post-season

Active rest involving low-volume, low-intensity activity to provide a physical and psychological break.

Slow-Twitch Fibers

Muscle fibers that use oxygen efficiently, contract slowly, and resist fatigue during prolonged activity.

Fast-Twitch Fibers

Muscle fibers that produce short bursts of strength or speed but fatigue quickly.

Fascia

Connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles and other structures.

Fascicle

A bundle of muscle fibers.

Muscle Fiber

An individual muscle cell.

Myofibrils

Contractile structures inside muscle fibers that contain sarcomeres.

Sarcomere

The basic contractile unit of a muscle.

Actin

A thin protein filament involved in muscle contraction.

Myosin

A thick protein filament that interacts with actin to produce muscle contraction.

Neuromuscular Junction

The point where a motor neuron communicates with a muscle fiber.

Sliding Filament Theory

Muscles contract when actin and myosin filaments slide past each other, shortening the sarcomere.

Isometric

A muscle contraction with no joint movement, performed against a fixed resistance. Examples include wall sits and stationary presses.

Isotonic

A movement in which muscles change length while moving a load through a range of motion. Examples include bench presses and biceps curls.

Isokinetic

A movement performed at a fixed speed with variable resistance that matches the force applied. Specialized equipment is required.

Eccentric

A muscle contraction in which the muscle lengthens while controlling a load. Example: lowering a dumbbell during a biceps curl.

Concentric

A muscle contraction in which the muscle shortens while producing force. Example: lifting a dumbbell during a biceps curl.

Closed-Chain Exercise

An exercise in which the distal segment is fixed. Examples include squats, lunges, and push-ups.

Open-Chain Exercise

An exercise in which the distal segment moves freely. Examples include knee extensions and throwing movements.

Plyometrics

Exercises involving rapid muscle stretching followed immediately by contraction to improve explosive power.

Stretch Reflex

An automatic muscle response to stretching that helps increase force production during a rapid contraction.

Free Weights

Equipment that allows a variety of exercises, control over range of motion, improved coordination, and recruitment of stabilizing muscles.

Weight Machines

Exercise equipment that is relatively safe and easy to use but often targets specific muscle groups and requires less coordination.

Exercise Tubing

Resistance equipment that offers a variety of exercises but may not provide enough resistance for substantial strength gains.

Bodyweight Exercises

Exercises that use the body's own weight as resistance and generally require no equipment.

Repetition

Performing an exercise one time.

Set

A group of repetitions of a particular exercise.

Resistance

The opposing force a muscle works against during contraction.

Strength and Size Training

Training using high resistance and low repetitions.

Muscular Endurance Training

Training using low resistance and high repetitions.

Power Training

Training that emphasizes rapid, explosive movements.

Spotter

A person who assists an athlete during an exercise to help maintain safety.

Balanced Training Program

A training program designed to develop the body appropriately and help prevent injury and overuse.

Range of Motion (ROM)

The range through which a joint can move, including movements such as flexion and extension.

Flexibility

The ability of a joint or series of joints to move through an available range of motion.

Static Stretching

Stretching to a comfortable position and holding it without forcing the movement, usually for 10–30 seconds.

Ballistic Stretching

Using body momentum to bounce at the end range of a stretch. It may increase flexibility but carries a risk of injury.

Dynamic Stretching

Using active muscular effort to move muscles through an extended range of motion, often using sport-specific movements to warm up.

Proprioception

The body's ability to sense its position and movement.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)

A stretching method in which the target muscle is contracted and relaxed before being stretched actively or passively.

Contract/Relax PNF

A stretching technique in which the muscle is stretched, contracted against resistance, and then moved into a new stretch position.

Hold/Relax PNF

A stretching technique in which the athlete stretches to a comfortable position, holds a contraction against resistance for 10–15 seconds, and then moves into a deeper stretch.

High Altitude

Elevations where reduced oxygen availability makes it more difficult for the body to take in oxygen. Approximately 8,000 feet is used as a reference point in these notes.

Altitude Acclimatization

The body's adjustment to reduced oxygen availability at higher elevations.

Red Blood Cell Production

The production of additional red blood cells, which helps the body transport oxygen during altitude adaptation.

Live High, Train Low

Living at high altitude while training at lower altitude.

Live High, Train High

Both living and training at high altitude.

Live Low, Train High

Living at low altitude while training at high altitude.

Temperature Acclimatization

The body's gradual adaptation to exercising in hot or cold environmental conditions.

Hydration

Maintaining adequate body fluids to support normal physiological function and exercise performance.

Jet Lag

A temporary disruption of the body's internal clock caused by traveling across time zones.

Circadian Rhythm

The body's internal cycle that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and other biological processes over approximately 24 hours.

Light Exposure

Exposure to light at appropriate times to help adjust the body's circadian rhythm to a new time zone.

Low-Intensity Exercise

Light physical activity performed to reduce muscle stiffness and help the body recover after travel.