Exercise Assessment, Prescription, Training Methods, and Planning

Comprehensive review flashcards covering personalised exercise assessment, types and principles of training (CROWSTV), physiological adaptations (MRSHOE), training session design, and periodisation phases.

What is a pre-exercise questionnaire, and what is its primary purpose?

It is a form filled out by individuals before beginning exercise or an assessment that gathers information on health history, current fitness levels, and concerns to help fitness professionals design safe and effective exercise regimes.

What is health screening, and why is it conducted prior to an exercise program?

It is the assessment of an individual's medical history, risk factors, and current health status to identify potential issues that could impact safe exercise participation, establishing a clear starting point for a personalised program.

What specific health factors are usually covered in a health screening?

Age, gender, health status, medical conditions, family history of heart disease, medication uses, current or past injuries to muscles, joints or bones, and current physical activity levels.

How does the notes define a recreational participant versus an elite athlete?

A recreational participant engages in physical activity or sport for enjoyment, fun, fitness, or social interaction rather than high-level competition, whereas an elite athlete is highly skilled, competes at a high level, and trains regularly to achieve peak performance and competition success.

Why is fitness testing important for recreational participants compared to elite athletes?

For recreational participants, it establishes a baseline to guide safe and effective progression (especially when starting or returning). For elite athletes, it fine-tunes performance, identifies weaknesses, optimises training to meet competitive goals, and tracks progress to maximise results and minimise injury risk.

What are the five summary points of how exercise assessment assists recreational participants?

Establishing a safe and engaging fitness foundation, identifying personal fitness goals, preventing injuries by identifying risks beforehand, promoting motivation through participation and enjoyment, and improving performance by tracking progress.

What are the four summary points of how exercise assessment assists elite participants?

Detailed sport performance (identifying strengths and weaknesses), sport-specific training (targeting specific fitness needs), goal setting and periodisation (planning around competitions), and continuous monitoring (tracking progress and adjusting training).

What does RPE stand for, and what is its role in exercise prescription?

Rate of perceived exertion; it measures how difficult an exercise feels to an individual, helping professionals adjust training intensity to suit fitness levels, monitor fatigue, and reduce the risk of overtraining.

What is aerobic training, and what adaptations does it produce?

Training that develops the body's ability to use oxygen to produce energy during prolonged exercise, improving cardiovascular endurance, aerobic capacity, oxygen delivery, and fatigue resistance.

How do continuous training, fartlek, aerobic interval, and circuit training differ in aerobic training?

Continuous involves sustained steady exercise without rest; fartlek varies continuously between fast and slow intensities; aerobic interval separates repeated aerobic efforts with recovery periods; circuit training involves a series of exercises performed across different stations with limited rest.

What energy systems are targeted by anaerobic training, and what does it improve?

It uses the ATP-PC and anaerobic glycolysis energy systems to improve speed, power, explosive performance, tolerance to fatigue, and the ability to perform repeated intense efforts without relying primarily on oxygen.

How do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Sprint Interval Training (SIT) differ?

HIIT alternates high-intensity exercise with recovery periods (e.g., $30\text{ seconds}$ intense running followed by $30\text{ seconds}$ recovery), whereas SIT features short, maximal-effort sprints followed by longer recovery periods (e.g., $6 \times 20\text{-second}$ maximal sprints).

What is plyometric training, and what physiological mechanism does it utilize?

Explosive movements (such as box jumps and bounding) that use the stretch-shortening cycle to improve muscular power.

What are the four methods of strength training outlined in the lecture?

Free weights (dumbbells/barbells requiring stabilising muscles), fixed weights (guided machines providing controlled resistance), bodyweight exercises (using body weight as resistance), and elastics (resistance bands providing portable resistance throughout movement).

What are the four flexibility training methods and how do they function?

Static (holding a stationary stretch), dynamic (controlled active movements through a range of motion), ballistic (bouncing or rapid movements to increase range), and PNF (alternating stretching and muscle contraction with a partner).

What are the three methods used to develop skills and tactics in sports?

Drills (repeated practice of specific skills), modified games (adapted through rules, space, or player numbers), and games for specific outcomes (designed to achieve tactical goals, such as completing five passes before scoring).

What does each letter in the training principles acronym CROWSTV represent?

C = Cool down, R = Reversibility, O = Overload (progressive overload), W = Warm up, S = Specificity, T = Training thresholds, V = Variety.

How is progressive overload applied in aerobic training versus strength training?

In aerobic training, duration, distance, frequency, or intensity is gradually increased (e.g., extending a $20\text{-minute}$ run to $25\text{ minutes}$). In strength training, resistance, repetitions, sets, or frequency is gradually increased (e.g., increasing weight for squats).

What are the recommended training thresholds for aerobic training versus strength training?

Aerobic training requires training in the aerobic training zone, generally around $60\text{--}80\%$ of maximum heart rate. Strength training requires an appropriate resistance and repetition range to stimulate muscular adaptations (e.g., heavier loads for maximal strength).

What does the principle of reversibility entail for aerobic and strength adaptations when training stops?

Aerobic cessation leads to a decline in cardiovascular fitness, reducing endurance and $\dot{V}\text{O}_2\text{max}$. Strength cessation leads to a gradual decrease in muscular strength and muscle size due to lack of stimulation.

What does the physiological adaptations acronym MRSHOE stand for?

M = Muscle hypertrophy, R = Resting heart rate, S = Stroke volume and cardiac output, H = Haemoglobin level, O = Oxygen uptake and lung capacity, E = Fast/slow muscle fibres.

What is the general timeline for chronic physiological adaptations, and what are the timelines for resistance training?

Chronic adaptations occur after a minimum of $6\text{--}8\text{ weeks}$ of training. For resistance training, strength can increase through neural adaptations after $7\text{ weeks}$, while muscles increase in size after $10\text{ weeks}$.

What specific cardiovascular adaptations occur as a result of aerobic training?

Cardiac hypertrophy occurs (specifically the left ventricle enlarges), blood volume can increase by up to $25\%$, and plasma volume expands more than red blood cells, which reduces blood viscosity (thins the blood).

What is $\dot{V}\text{O}_2\text{max}$, and what causes it to increase with aerobic training?

It is the maximum amount of oxygen in liters ($\text{L}$) the body can gather and utilise through muscles or other cells. It increases due to higher haemoglobin levels, greater muscle capillarisation, and increased pulmonary diffusion.

What is muscle hypertrophy, and how does it develop through training?

An increase in muscle size occurring when stress causes fibres to tear and break down; when repaired, the number of protein filaments increases, enlarging muscle fibres so greater force can be exerted faster.

Which muscle fibre types are predominantly targeted by aerobic versus anaerobic training?

Aerobic training targets slow-twitch muscle fibres (e.g., for marathon running), while anaerobic training targets fast-twitch muscle fibres (e.g., for gymnastics).

What key aspects must be considered when designing a training session for individual and group sports?

Health and safety considerations, overview/aim of the session (goal specific), warm-up and cool-down, skill instruction and practice, conditioning, strategies and tactics, and athlete reflection and/or coach evaluation.

What are the recommended durations and components for a session's warm-up and cool-down?

Warm-up: $5\text{--}10\text{ minutes}$ of jogging, cycling, or skipping followed by dynamic stretching, callisthenics, and sport-specific skill rehearsals. Cool-down: $5\text{--}10\text{ minutes}$ of light jogging followed by static stretching.

What are the characteristics of the pre-season phase of a yearly training program?

Lasts $6\text{--}12\text{ weeks}$, features high training volume at moderate intensity, targets specific energy systems, develops required fitness components (aerobic, strength, flexibility), improves technique and biomechanics, teaches mental skills, and introduces strategies towards the end.

What are the key training shifts that occur during the in-season (competition) phase?

Training intensity increases while volume decreases to maintain pre-season fitness, perfect skills, practice competition tactics, strictly apply specificity, manage fatigue/recovery, and manipulate loads so athletes peak for major events.

What are the primary characteristics of the off-season (transition) phase?

Lasting about a month, it provides mental and physical recuperation through active rest (usually one week of total rest followed by active rest), reduced training volume/intensity ($2$ sessions per week), diet modification, and rehabilitation of weaknesses or injuries.

What are macrocycles, mesocycles, and microcycles in training periodisation?

A macrocycle is a long-term planning framework (such as an annual plan); a mesocycle is a training block lasting $4\text{--}8\text{ weeks}$ with specific objectives; a microcycle is a short training cycle, usually lasting $7\text{--}10\text{ days}$, detailing day-to-day session organisation.

What is tapering, and how is it structured prior to competition?

A period immediately before competition where training volume is dramatically reduced and frequency is reduced by about $20\%$ while intensity is maintained or increased, allowing fatigue removal, tissue rebuilding, and energy store replacement.

How does the duration of tapering vary between endurance athletes and strength/speed athletes?

Endurance athletes may taper for weeks, whereas strength or speed athletes may only need $3\text{--}5\text{ days}$.

What are the four tapering methods named in the lecture notes?

Step tapering, linear tapering, exponential slow-decay tapering, and exponential fast-decay tapering.