sport science
Somatotypes
Somatotypes refer to the structure or build of a person.
They are characterized by the extent to which they exhibit characteristics of:
Ectomorph
Endomorph
Mesomorph
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Body Fat Percentage
Measuring body fat percentage is an easy method of discovering correct body weight and composition.
Subcutaneous fat is a layer of fat beneath the skin.
The percentage of total body fat can be measured by taking the 'skinfold' at selected points on the body with a pair of callipers.
This test only requires four measurements.
A similar alternative method is the Yuhasz skinfold test which requires six measurements.
Body Types
Ectomorphs
Long and lean, with little body fat, and little muscle.
Have a hard time gaining weight.
Examples: Fashion models and basketball players
Mesomorphs
Athletic, solid, and strong.
Not overweight and not underweight.
Endomorphs
Have lots of body fat, lots of muscle
Gain weight easily.
Ideal Body Weight
The most accurate assessment of your ideal weight takes into account the composition of your body.
How much of your weight is lean body mass (muscle and bone)
How much is body fat.
For optimum health, body fat should be:
No more than 20% of total body weight for men
No more than 30% for women
Body Mass Index (BMI)
An alternative way of gauging your weight is to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
To determine your BMI divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.
The formula is: BMI = \frac{Weight (kg)}{Height (m)^2}
The normal acceptable range of this measurement is:
20.1 to 25.0 for men
18.7 to 23.8 for women.
The only exceptions are athletes and body builders, whose extra muscle may tip their BMI over the normal range.
Vikram et al. (2003) in his study showed that Asian Indians have excess cardiovascular risk at BMI values considered "normal" and therefore the definitions of "normal" ranges of BMI need to be revised for Asian Indians.
Assessment of your BMI score provided by NHS Direct (2011):
Less than 18.5: you are underweight for your height.
18.5 to 24.9: you are an ideal weight for your height
25 to 29.9: you are over the ideal weight for your height
30 to 39.9: you are obese
Over 39.9: you are very obese
Skinfold Measurements
Objective: To monitor the athlete’s level of body fat.
Required Resources:
Skinfold callipers
Assistant
Measure left side of the patient
Measurements must be taken on the left side
Pinch skin 1mm and hold for 4seconds
Take reading 3 times and use the average of the 3 readings
Measurement Sites:
Triceps
Chest/Pectoral
Midaxillary
Subscapular
Suprailiac
Abdominal
Thigh/Quadriceps
Biceps
Medial Calf
How to conduct the test
Measurements should be made on the right side of the body
Caliper should be placed 1-2 cm away from the thumb and finger
perpendicular to the skin fold
halfway between the crest and the base of the fold
Release the caliper lever so its spring tension is exerted on the skinfold
Maintained pinch while reading caliper
Read dial on caliper
Between 1 to 2 seconds after lever has been released
Nearest 0.5 mm
ACSM: nearest mm
Rotate through measurement sites
allows time for skin and underlying fat to regain normal thickness
Different guidelines
Take duplicate measures at each site:
ExRx.net (traditional method)
If second measurement is not the same (mode) take third.
If no 2 measurements are the same, take middle one (median)
ACSM (Guidelines)
If within 1 or 2 mm take average
If not within 1 or 2 mm take 3rd measurement.
If still no match, then take average of 2 closest measurements.
NSCA (Guidelines)
2 or 3 measurements
4th measurement if more that 3 millimeter difference between readings
Average each site
Body Planes
There are three planes commonly used; sagittal, coronal and transverse.
Sagittal plane – a vertical line which divides the body into a left section and a right section.
Coronal plane – a vertical line which divides the body into a front (anterior) section and back (posterior) section.
Transverse plane – a horizontal line which divides the body into an upper (superior) section and a lower (inferior) section.
Types of Injuries
Injury: Physical damage or disruption to bodily function or structure, typically caused by participation in sports or physical activities.
Chronic vs Acute:
Chronic: Injury that occurs over time or Overuse
Acute: Injuries that happen suddenly/ On the spot
Rest and Recovery
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness,(DOMS) is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise.
It typically peaks 24 to 72 hours after the activity and is often associated with eccentric exercise (muscle lengthening).
While normal and often a sign of effective training, DOMS can be managed with rest, ice, and stretching.
Rest can be defined as a combination of sleep and time spent not training
Recovery can be defined as actions and techniques implemented to maximize your body's repair
Signs that you need a rest day.
If you notice any of the following signs, it might be time to take a break:
Sore muscles. While it’s normal to feel sore after exercise, persistent soreness is a red flag. It means your muscles haven’t recovered from past workouts.
Fatigue. Pay attention to extreme exhaustion. If you feel spent, let your body rest.
Pain. Muscle or joint pain that doesn’t go away might be a sign of an overuse injury.
Emotional changes. When you’re physically burnt out, hormones like serotonin and cortisol become imbalanced. This can cause changes like irritability, crankiness, and mood swings.
Sleeping issues. High levels of cortisol and adrenaline can make it hard to get quality sleep.
Reduced performance. If your normal routine feels difficult, or if you stop seeing progress, take a rest day.
Benefits of rest and recovery
Recovery is one of the most important habits a high-performing athlete can instill to reduce their fatigue and enhance performance.
Allows time for recovery
Prevents muscle fatigue
Reduces risk of injury
Improves performance
Supports healthy sleep
reducing lactic acid buildup in muscles
eliminating toxins
keeping muscles flexible
reducing soreness
increasing blood flow
helping you maintain your exercise routine
Types of recovery
The RICE Method - Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
Rest: Immobilization prevents further injury and gives the body time to recover.
Ice: Cold reduces pain by numbing the affected area.
Compression: Pressure keeps swelling under control.
Elevation: Keeping the injured body part above the heart reduces swelling and the associated pain and discomfort.
Rapid Reboot Compression Boots
This device is the more affordable option when it comes to a compression recovery device.
The Rapid Reboot System is a portable compression boot system that helps flush out tired muscles by using squeeze & release technology.
With its multiple chamber boots, the system will flush out built up lactic acid from any body part.
Active recovery
One of the best ways to heal quickly is through active recovery.
It is the body’s way of recovering post-workout by continuing your workout movements for a few additional minutes, at a much lower intensity.
For example, you just ran a kilometer (km).
Instead of completely stopping running after your km is complete and heading to the locker room or your car, you choose to jog a few minutes longer, at a much slower pace.
Active recovery has the following benefits:
It allows your body to slowly release the built-up lactic acid and minimize post-exercise stiffness.
It promotes blood flow to your joints and muscles, reducing inflammation.
By continuing to keep your heart rate at a steadier rate, it helps your body improve endurance.
Examples of low-intense workouts include:
Walking
Casual swim
Cycling
Yoga
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release (SMR) technique.
It can help relieve muscle tightness, soreness, and inflammation, and increase your joint range of motion.
Foam rolling can be an effective tool to add to your warm-up or cooldown, before and after exercise.
And the benefits of foam rolling may vary from person to person.
Foam rolling releases muscle knots, relieves inflammation, and improves overall comfort.
It can also increase your range of motion, flexibility, and mobility while boosting circulation and lymphatic flow.
Refueling (Nutrition)
Promoting a healthy diet allows you to give your body the proper nutrition to keep on going.
Every meal needs to have:
2 source of carbs (Rice, Oatmeal, Potatoes, Pasta)
3 Protein (Eggs, Meat, Tofu, Milk),
4 source of Vegetables/Fruit.
If you are looking to bulk up, then add some dairy to your diet, if you are looking to cut down, then reduce dairy intake.
Meal prepping can be a quick, cost-efficient way to make sure you're refueling properly with less time wasted.
Meditation / Yoga
Minimizing stress through meditation and yoga is a phenomenal way to improve brain health and well-being.
Get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life and calm your mind for just 5-10 minutes a day.
Some of our favorite techniques are mindful walks and yoga.
A mindful walk is an easy way to help bring back your focus and retain energy.
Its very easy too!
All you need to do is walk and be aware of your surroundings.
Pay attention to the smells, the wind on your face, the noises in the background.
Just stay present and you will feel a lot better.
Stretching
Proper stretching is the key to maintain a happy and healthy body.
We're not going to tell you to stretch for 30 minutes after every workout, but you have to make an effort to stretch for at least 10-15 minutes.
Your body with thank you later.
Stretching is an important recovery technique to implement both pre and post-workout.
Through stretching, your body naturally lengthens it's muscles, improving circulation and blood flow and eliminating soreness and lessening chance of injury.
Plus, who doesn't like to show off their flexibility to their friends?
Sleep
For both athletes and non-athletes, sleep is essential for overall health and wellbeing.
Everyone needs sleep in order to feel restored and function their best the next day.
Other physical benefits include:
Allowing your heart to rest and cells and tissue to repair. This can help your body recover after physical exertion. Also, as you progress through the stages of sleep, the changes in your heart rate and breathing throughout the night promote cardiovascular health
Preventing illness or helping you recover from illness. During sleep, your body produces cytokines, which are hormones that help the immune system fight off infections.
All of these restorative effects are important for athletes’ recovery and performance.
How Sleep Helps an Athlete’s Mental State
Sleep helps everyone to retain and consolidate memories.
When athletes practice or learn new skills, sleep helps form memories, and contributes to improved performance in the future.
Without sleep, the pathways in the brain that allow you to learn and make memories can’t be formed or maintained.
Sleep is also essential for cognitive processing.
Loss of sleep is associated with a decline in cognitive function.
This can have adverse effects on athletes whose sports require a high level of cognitive function, such as decision making and adapting to new situations.
Also, just as exercise can help improve or maintain mental health, sleep is important for maintaining athlete’s mental health.
Quality sleep is associated with improving overall mood.
Healthy sleep prevents irritability and decreases the risk of developments such as depression
A Lack of Sleep Affects an Athlete’s Performance
Poor quality and quantity of sleep lead to several negative effects in any person.
Mentally, sleep deprivation reduces the ability to react quickly and think clearly.
People who are sleep deprived are more likely to make poor decisions and take risks.
A lack of sleep also increases irritability and risk for anxiety and depression.
Physically, a lack of sleep increases the risk for many medical concerns, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and stroke.
While quality sleep has positive effects specifically on athletic performance, a lack of sleep is detrimental to performance.
A great number of concerns can arise when athletes do not receive adequate sleep:
Inhibited ability. In a study of male team-sport athletes who were sleep-deprived, average and total sprint times decreased.
Decreased accuracy. After sleep deprivation, male and female tennis players had decreased serve accuracy of up to 53% when compared to performance after normal sleep.
Quicker exhaustion. In a study of male runners and volleyball players, both groups of athletes exhausted faster after sleep deprivation.
Decreased reaction time. A lack of sleep adversely affected reaction time in a studied group of male collegiate athletes.
Difficulty learning and decision making. Executive functions are impacted by a lack of sleep. Choices such as passing the ball or taking it to the net yourself can be more difficult or made too late.
Risk for injury. Research of middle and high school athletes revealed that a chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased rates of injury.
Risk for illness or immunosuppression. Poor sleep habits are associated with lower resistance to illness, such as the common cold.
Rest
The worst feeling as an athlete is the feeling of being burnt out.
Preventing burnout can be achieved fairly easily - it's called taking days off.
Yes, we are athletes, but we are also humans that sometimes just need a break.
Everybody reacts differently to physical and mental stresses.
You need to listen to your body in what it needs.
If you need to take a couple days off from training because you are physically or mentally fried, then do it.
You'll be thankful
Resistant training
Resistance training is any exercise that causes the muscles to contract against an external resistance with the expectation of increases in strength, power, hypertrophy, and/or endurance.
The external resistance can be dumbbells, exercise tubing, your own body weight, bricks, bottles of water, or any other object that causes the muscles to contract.
Resistance training increases muscle strength by making your muscles work against a weight or force.
Different forms of resistance training include using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands and your own body weight.
A beginner needs to train two or three times per week to gain the maximum benefit.
Complete the adult pre-exercise screening tool and consult with professionals, such as your doctor, exercise physiologist, physiotherapist or registered exercise professional, before you start a new fitness program.
Rest each muscle group for at least 48 hours to maximise gains in strength and size.
Varying your workouts can help you push past a training plateau.
Basic principles of resistance training
Program – your overall fitness program is composed of various exercise types such as aerobic training, flexibility training, strength training and balance exercises.
Weight – different weights or other types of resistance, for example a 3 kg hand weight or fixed weight, body weight or rubber band will be used for different exercises during your strength training session.
Exercise – a particular movement, for example a calf-raise, is designed to strengthen a particular muscle or group of muscles.
Repetitions or reps – refers to the number of times you continuously repeat each exercise in a set.
Set – is a group of repetitions performed without resting, for example, two sets of squats by 15 reps would mean you do 15 squats then rest muscles before doing another 15 squats.
Rest – you need to rest between sets. Rest periods vary depending on the intensity of exercise being undertaken.
Variety – switching around your workout routine, such as regularly introducing new exercises, challenges your muscles and forces them to adapt and strengthen.
Progressive overload principle – to continue to gain benefits, strength training activities need to be done to the point where it’s hard for you to do another repetition. The aim is to use an appropriate weight or resistant force that will challenge you, while maintaining good technique. Also, regular adjustments to the training variables, such as frequency, duration, exercises for each muscle group, number of exercises for each muscle group, sets and repetitions, help to make sure you progress and improve.
Recovery – muscle needs time to repair and adapt after a workout. A good rule of thumb is to rest the muscle group for up to 48 hours before working the same muscle group again.
Examples of resistance training
Free weights – classic strength training tools such as dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells.
Medicine balls or sand bags – weighted balls or bags.
Weight machines – devices that have adjustable seats with handles attached either to weights or hydraulics.
Resistance bands – like giant rubber bands – these provide resistance when stretched. They are portable and can be adapted to most workouts. The bands provide continuous resistance throughout a movement.
Suspension equipment – a training tool that uses gravity and the user's body weight to complete various exercises.
Your own body weight – can be used for squats, push-ups and chin-ups. Using your own body weight is convenient, especially when travelling or at work.
Health benefits of resistance training
Improved muscle strength and tone – to protect your joints from injury.
Maintaining flexibility and balance, which can help you remain independent as you age.
Weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio – as you gain muscle, your body burns more kilojoules when at rest.
May help reduce or prevent cognitive decline in older people.
Greater stamina – as you grow stronger, you won’t get tired as easily.
Prevention or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity.
Pain management.
Improved mobility and balance.
Improved posture.
Decreased risk of injury.
Increased bone density and strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis.
Improved sense of wellbeing – resistance training may boost your self- confidence, improve your body image and your mood.
Improved sleep and avoidance of insomnia.
Increased self-esteem.
Enhanced performance of everyday tasks.
Starting resistance training
Eight to ten exercises that work the major muscle groups of the body and are performed two to three times per week.
Beginning with one set of each exercise, comprising as few as eight repetitions (reps), no more than twice per week.
Your aim is to gradually increase to two to three sets for each exercise – comprising eight to 12 reps, every second or third day. Once you can comfortably complete 12 reps of an exercise, you should look at progressing further.
Warming up before resistance training
Warm up your body before starting your strength training exercises
Start with light aerobic exercise (such as walking, cycling or rowing) for around five minutes in addition to a few dynamic stretches
Dynamic stretching involves slow controlled movements through the full range of motion.
Cool-down after resistance training
Cooling down is a fairly easy exercise, done after a intense activities, to allow the body to gradually transition to a resting or near-resting state.
Depending on the intensity of the exercise, cooling down after a workout method such as intense weight lifting, can involve a slow jog or walk.
Static stretching is recommended.