Year 10 Peak Performance Study Set

Motor Skill definition

1. A motor skill is a learned action/ skill that produces a desired movement outcome.

Gross Motor skill versus Fine Motor Skill

1. Fine motor skills

- Delicate and precise movements that engage the use of small muscle groups e.g. playing the piano, writing

2. Gross motor skills

- Movements involving the use of large muscle groups that result in coordinated actions

e.g. throwing, kicking

Discrete, serial and continuous motor skills

1. Discrete skill

- involves movements of brief duration that have a distinct beginning and end. e.g. Catch, throw

2. Serial skill

- group of discrete skills strung together to create a more complicated, skilled action

e.g. Gymnastics routine, serve and volley in tennis

3. Continuous skill

No distinct beginning or end e.g. Swimming, cycling

Closed motor skill versus Open motor skill

1. Closed motor skill

- Environment is unchanging and predictable

- Often a static and internally paced movement (performer has complete control)

e.g. Free throw in basketball, Billiards, darts

2. Open motor skill

- Environment is constantly changing and unpredictable

- Dynamic and externally paced movement

Skill Acquisition definition

The 3 learning areas

1. Cognitive (Thinking) learning

- Learning by receiving knowledge and instruction and the development of intellectual skills.

2. Affective (Feeling) learning

- This deals with social interaction, attitudes, values, emotions and includes feelings, appreciation, enthusiasm and motivation.

3. Motor (Physical) learning

- Learning by doing and acquiring physical motor skills. includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas.

The Cognitive Learning Stage

1. This is when the performer is a beginner.

2. They make many errors and are inconsistent

3. They need to know the 'basics' - simple instructions

4. Demonstrations should be repeated several times by an experienced player (or video).

5. The practice should be more 'closed' and repetitive

6. Feedback and praise are vital but coach should not give too much information as this may result in frustration and confusion.

7. Improvement is rapid so the learner should not stay too long in this stage

The Associative Learning Stage

1. The performer has a good grasp of the skill and can produce the skill with fewer errors

2. There is an emphasis on refining and improving the skill

3. The performer can 'feel' if it is right or wrong and adapt to their own feedback

4. The coach should continue to give demonstrations and can give more specific feedback

5. Practise should include more 'Open' type skills so the performer feels it is more like a game

6. Improvement at this stage is more gradual and practice is essential to improve

The Autonomous Learning Stage

1. Athlete consistently achieves the desired result without thinking

2. The actions are more automatic and smooth

3. The athlete thinks more about tactics and being competitive

4. Participating in competition at this stage is vital because the athlete continues to learn even at this stage

5. They are able to make decisions quickly and accurately

6. They maximise opportunity, minimise the time and energy taken to complete the task - they make it look easy!

7. Progress is minimal as they are already close to their best

Factors affecting skill (view following slides)

1. Physical Maturation

Flexibility:

Early teens to early 20's - gymnastics, diving, figure/ice skating

Speed & Agility:

Late teens to late 20s - baseball,

tennis, squash/racquetball, soccer, track and field

Power:

Early 20s to early 30s - shot put, rowing, rugby. ice hockey, football, volleyball

Strength:

Late 20s to mid-30s - power/weight lifting, judo, wresting and rock climbing

Endurance:

Late 20s to late 30s - cycling, basketball, distance running, swimming and cross-country

Mental Skill:

Early 30s to mid-40s - golf, yoga, tai chi, bowling and downhill skiing

2. Physiological Characteristics

1. Muscle fibre arrangement

- Slow twitch: slow contractions and low fatiguability allows the muscles contract for an extended period of time. Suitable for long distance running

- Fast twitch: very quick contractions and high fatiguability means powerful and fast contractions. Suitable for sprints and high explosive movements like shot putt

2. Body composition

- certain body types are suited to particular sports

- Ectomorphs:

Low body fat and a smaller build. Optimum physic for sports like long-distance running, hurdles and high jump.

- Mesomorphs:

Body type is those who have a medium frame and bone structure. With a considerable level of lean muscle mass, they suited to sports that require high force and speed.

- Endomorphs:

Body type is naturally predisposed to have a higher body fat ratio, and are suited to sports that require high power and strength Eg. Hammer throw

3. Physiological Characteristics (mindset)

1. Motivation - more motivated means more liekly you are to succeed

2. Attention Span - longer you practice for the faster you gain the skill

3. Attitude - better attitude means you are more likely ro practice

Successful atheltes:

- Have a growth mindset

- Are able to control their anxiety

- Have high concentration levels

- Use positive self talk

- Have high determination, motivation and self confidence

- Are able to rebound after mistakes and themselves in spite of barriers/ challenges

- Put in high effort to improve and take on feedback and see it as a learning not criticism

4. Feedback

1. Providing information about the performance, technique, what they are doing well and error correction (feedback) is crucial for Learning and improvement to take place.

2. Too much feedback stops the learner from thinking for themselves - become dependent on the coach.

3. Not enough feedback creates confusion and slows learning.

4 Feedback should be quality and timely to develop independent learners.

5. It can be internal using your senses or external from coaches or the outcome of the task.

5. Prior experience/memory

1. Being able to recall past experiences speeds up the learning of new and more complex skills

2. e.g. Being able to hit a serve in tennis can be transferred across to an overhead in badminton (modifications are obviously required).

6. Practice

1. Amount:

- The more you practice the faster you learn and improve performance.

2. Type:

- Changes depending on your stage.

- Learners in the Cognitive stage require repetitive (blocked) practice.

- Learners above the Cognitive stage require challenging and varied (random) practice.

3. Distribution:

- Distributed practice is much better for learning a skill than massed practice.

Mechanisms involved in learning a skill - Output and Feedback (view following slides)

Structure

1. Input: information we receive about the skill

2. Processing: how the information is processed to make a decision

3. Output: how we respond to the decision made

4. Feedback: how we evaluate the information we receive about our performance

3. Output

- The neuromuscular system automatically carries out the movement response initiated and coordinated by the central nervous system

Reaction time

1. The time it takes to complete the information processing stage is known as reaction time

Reaction time:

- the time from detecting a cue and initiating a response to it

Movement time:

- total time it takes to complete the movement

Response time:

- the time taken from the onset of a cue to the end of the movement

Response Time = Reaction Time + Movement Time

Influences on reaction time

1. Age

- Fastest between 19 and 30 years of age but slows down after

2. Gender

- Males tend to have quicker reaction times but tends to slow down at a quicker rate

3. Intensity of the stimulus (or cue)

- Strong, large and bright cues are easier to detect

4. Number of choices

- Hick's Law: Reaction time increases as the number of choices increases

5. Warning signals

- If present it reduces the reaction time e.g. "On your marks", "Set", ..."Go"

- If you know a cue is coming you can prepare, thus reducing your reaction time e.g. You know that if the bowler goes wide on the crease that they will bowl a bouncer

4. Feedback

Main roles is to

- Motivate

- Reinforce

- Change the performance

Types of feedback

1. Internal Feedback (intrinsic):

- feedback given to the person by themselves. They use their senses to gain this information/feedback (auditory, touch, visual)

2. External feedback (augmented):

- usually given by a coach or teammates during a game allowing them to get feedback from what they can't visually see. It involves knowledge of performance and results.

3. Knowledge of Performance

- your wrist was not firm when you volleyed the ball. Your elbow was not straight when shooting

4. Knowledge of Results:

- feedback is given to an athlete depending on the result of their performance e.g you missed to the left

Types of practice (distribution)

1. Massed:

- longer and less frequent

- fatigue more likely to occur and normally used by non-professional teams

2. Distributed:

- shorter and more frequent

- more rest in between tasks which allows for more feedback and often used by professional teams

- more variety

Types of practice (variability)

1. Blocked:

- completing the same skill continually without changing to a different task.

- advantageous for novice or people learning a new skill but poor transfer of the skill from practice to game

2. Random:

- varied sequencing of different mirror skills in the same training session e.g forehand, backhand and serve

- greater transfer of skill from practice to game

Recovery

1. Aims to restore the performer to their pre-exercise or competition levels in the shortest possible time.

2. If the recovery process is improved, training adaptations will occur quicker and training intensities will be able to be maintained, or increased where appropriate.

3. Insufficient recovery will delay the removal of fatiguing factors and adaptations and potentially causing overuse injuries

Active recovery

1. An active recovery is recommended when there is a build up of by-products in the muscle

Active recovery helps because:

1. It creates a 'muscle pump' where muscles press on blood vessels surrounding the active or working area to increases the rate of oxygen supply and waste removal via the circulatory system.

2. It prevents venous pooling. This is where the blood tends to remain or 'pool' around muscles

3. It maintains oxygen levels higher which speeds up removal of the lactic acid.

Passive recovery

1. Complete rest as recovery is used after short auration (less than 30sec) high intensity activities.

2. Helps restore phosphocreatine stores which is used for high intensity activities

Hydrotherapy

- Recovery using water. Different recovery methods using water are:

1. Contrast water therapy (alternate hot and cold)

2. Cryotherapy (cold)

3. Pool & beach sessions

Contrast water therapy

- Involves subjecting the body to alternate periods of hot and cold water

This technique will:

1. Increase removal of wastes from working muscles

2. Increase supply of oxygen and fuels to working muscles

3. Decrease inflammation and swelling (oedema)

4. Increase circulation and perceived recovery

This method should be avoided if performers have:

1. Recent bruising or other injuries

2. Open wounds

3. A history of heart disease

4. A Virus

Cryotherapy

1. The use of cold to cool the body.

2. Ice packs are often used for localised soft tissue injuries to minimise swelling and pain

3. Cold water immersion uses the same principles & involves part or whole body "dunking" in ice baths

This recovery technique:

1. Decreases acute inflammation and blood flow

2 Decreases core and tissue temperatures

3. Reduces muscle spasms and perception of pain

4. Lessens the impact of dehydration

Pool/beach sessions

1. Immersion in water results in compression of muscles

2. Salt water (beach) is denser than pool water and has greater compressive effects

Water Compression assists recovery by:

1. Reducing muscle swelling and the impact of DOMS

2. Increasing blood flow

Compression garments

1. Increase blood flow and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscles

2. Increase perceived recovery rates

3. Facilitate quicker removal of waste products

4. Reduce venous pooling

5. Reduce muscle swelling and the severity of DOMS

Rest and Sleep

1. Rest contributes to cell repair and the overall recovery process.

2. Sleep allows total physiological and psychological rest bringing about many benefits.

Lack of sleep may cause:

1. Decreased focus and slower information processing rates

2. Impaired functioning of the immune system and reduced memory

3. Difficulty controlling emotions & increased irritability and feelings of fatigue

Massage

1. Increases blood flow & supply of oxygen and nutrients to muscles

2. Increases removal of waste products

3. Increased sense of well-being and joint range of motion

4. Decreased perception of fatigue and anxiety

5. Decreased muscle stiffness/tension/swelling

6. Reduced impacts of DOMS

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

For a substance to be prohibited by WADA, it must meet 2 of the following 3 conditions:

1. Has the potential or does enhance performance

2. Potential or represents an actual risk to the athletes health

3. Violates the spirit of the sport

Protein (legal)

Benefits:

1. Repairs muscle

2. Increased protein synthesis and energy availability

3. Enhanced resistance training response

Daily target = 1.2-1.6 g protein x per kg body mass

Potential harms:

1. Some powders can be harmful or banned

2. Overconsumption can have effects on metabolism and gut comfort

3. High protein diet can strain kidneys/liver causing loss of calcium thus increasing the risk of osteoporosis

Creatine (legal)

- created through food intake of poultry, red meat and fish.

Benefits:

1. Increased muscular strength and mass

2. Increased peak power output and muscle creatine content

3. Enhances performance with repeated sprints/high intensity in endurance events

Side effects:

1. Not long term

2. Potential Weight gain

3. Headaches, dehydration, cramps

Altitude Training (legal)

1. Exercising at altitude leads to increased ventilation, increased heart rate, decreased stroke volume, and reduced plasma volume.

Benefits:

1. Improve the amount of oxygen their bodies can take in, transport; thereby increasing the ability of blood to transport oxygen to working muscles and tissues.

2. 'Live high train low' eliminates reduced training ability.

Potential harms:

Unaffordable or inaccessible

Hypoxic Training (legal)

1. Hypoxic training is a variation to altitude training, and both are low oxygen environments.

2. Hypoxic training at sea level uses hypoxic chambers, houses or tents.

Benefits:

1. An alternative to altitude training which increases accessibility for those who cannot afford natural altitude training which helps create an even playing field.

2. Fair, safe and cost effective compared to travelling to high altitude

Potential harms:

1. There is no physiological difference between altitude in a tent or in the mountains - it is the same oxygen level

Anabolic steroids (illegal)

Benefits:

1. Increase bulk, strength, power, speed, endurance and levels of aggression

2. Allows athletes to train harder and recover faster

Side effects for males:

1. Breast enlargement

2. Reduced sperm count

3. Testicular atrophy and erectile dysfunction

4. Hair loss

5. Prostate problems

Side effects for females:

1. Facial hair growth

2. Deeper voice

3. Disturbance to menstrual cycle

4. Decreased breast size

Overall risks include:

1. Stroke/cancer

2. Death

3. Increase depression/aggression

4. Drug dependence

5. Heart/liver disease

6. Prostate cancer

Human Growth Hormones (HGH) - illegal

Benefits:

1. Mask anabolic agents

2. Euphoric feeling

3. Increase in muscle/bone development

4. Anti-inflammatory

Risk:

1. High blood pressure and sugar levels

2. Diabetes

3. Joint and muscle pain

4. Fluid retention leading to swelling in arms and legs

5. Cancer

Erythropoietin (EPO) - illegal

EPO:

1. is a natural polypeptide hormone (proteins)

2. produced in the kidneys

3. regulates the body's production of red blood cells.

Functions:

1. Increases RBC production, which increases the amount of oxygen supplied to the muscles.

2. Athletes illegally inject EPO to encourage their bodies to produce higher amounts of RBC

Benefits:

1. Increases the amount of oxygen supplied to the muscles, thereby improving endurance.

Potential harms:

1. Increase risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes

2. Increase risk of contracting blood-borne viruses (e.g. Hepatitis B).

Blood doping -illegal

1. Several units of blood (- 500 mL each) are removed and the RBC are harvested, stored (6 weeks max) and later infused into the veins.

2. Blood doping boosts the number of RBC in the body, increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles.

3. Improves VO2 max and endurance capacity

4. Fuels an athlete's muscles by producing larger amounts of aerobic ATP

Potential harms:

1. Increase risk of contracting blood-borne viruses e.g. hepatitis B

2. Increase risk of stroke, hypertension and body rejection

3. Increase infection/transmission of diseases

4. Increase risk of heart attack

5. Autoimmune diseases

Beta Blockers - illegal

1. Help blood vessels dilate to improve blood flow, allowing the heart to beat more slowly and less forcefully, leading to lower blood pressure.

2. Sports athletes that take beta blockers include archery, gymnastics, shooting and golf.

Perceived benefits:

1. Reduce tremor and slow the heart rate.

2. Sometimes taken to reduce performance anxiety, and have an arousal-reducing effect.

Potential harms:

1. Hypotension, hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) and cardiac failure/arrest.

2. Can lead to dangerously low blood

pressure.