Sports Psychology and Exercise Physiology Notes

Mental Skills Strategies

  • Mental skills strategies are used pre-performance, during performance, and to manage stress, motivation, concentration, self-confidence, and arousal levels.
    • Imagery
    • Self-talk
    • Pre-performance routines
    • Relaxation
    • Goal setting
  • Group cohesion
    • Social cohesion
    • Task cohesion

Strategies to Improve Group Cohesion

  • Use of leadership
  • Communication
  • Goal setting (individual and team)
  • Teambuilding
  • Roles and expectations

Factors Affecting Group Cohesion

  • Social loafing: The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group compared to when they are working alone.
  • Leadership
  • Team dynamics

Relationship Between Energy Demands and Nutritional Requirements

  • Fats
  • Proteins
  • Carbohydrates
  • Glycaemic index (low and high)

Hydration

  • Hydration pre-, during, and post- competitive sporting activity.

Considerations for Performing in Varying Environmental Conditions

  • (heat/humidity, cold, altitude)
    • Temperature regulation mechanisms (radiation, convection, conduction, evaporation)
    • Physiological changes in these environments
    • Acclimatisation processes and the adaptations gained
    • Strategies to manage performance in these environments

Principles of Training

  • Peaking
  • Tapering
  • Recovery (including strategies)
  • Maintenance
  • Overtraining (signs and symptoms)

Components of Periodisation

  • Micro cycle
  • Meso cycle
  • Macro cycle
  • Pre-season (preparation)
  • In-season (competition)
  • Off-season (transition)

Physiological Risks and Benefits Associated with the Use of Performance Enhancers

  • Protein powders
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Caffeine
  • Creatine
  • EPO
  • Blood doping

Imagery

  • Definition: Imagery is the recreation of the performance, in the mind, of a skill or group of skills, a previous positive experience or the picture of new events to prepare an individual mentally for performance.
  • Who/what skills it suits:
    • More effective for experienced players than unexperienced.
    • More effective for closed skills which have fixed cues than open skills which have changing cues
  • Can help performers:
    • Learn skills – rehearse and correct technique
    • Rehearse game plans, performances and strategies
    • Set goals (individual & team; process & outcome)
    • Control arousal & stress – excite, control, relax
    • Gain & maintain self-confidence

Self-Talk

  • Definition: Involves talking or thinking to yourself prior to or during performance.
  • 2 types and an example of each:
    • Positive self-talk: Can be motivational -“I can do this” or instructional – “ complete the follow through” The aim is to enhance self-esteem, motivation, attentional focus and performance
    • Negative self-talk: Self-critical or demeaning – “I can’t do this –she’s too good for me”. Creates anxiety and self-doubt and has a negative impact on performance.

Pre-Performance Routines

  • Definition: A performance routine is a ritual a performer follows in the preparation, or during, the execution of a task.
  • How it contributes to performance: Performance routines assist with the focus, concentration and arousal level of the performer. Routines decrease the chances of the performer being affected by internal or external distractors
  • 3 times it can be used:
    1. Pre – performance: Immediately before performance e.g. kick at goal.
    2. In – play: During breaks in performance in games e.g. between games in tennis some tennis players keep cue cards in their bag and quickly scan them between games while others prefer to use the time to re – focus their thoughts .
    3. Post – performance: Takes place after skill has been performed and prepares performer for next shot/save etc. Assists with refocusing after performance e.g. a spiker in volleyball misses a simple shot, a post- performance routine helps put this error into the past and concentrate on the next shot.

Relaxation

  • Why it is required: High levels of stress and tension have a negative impact on a performer – stress can affect a performer both physically (coordination affected) and mentally (poor decision making / missing cues).
  • 5 methods used to promote it:
    1. Meditation: Helps to control stress and arousal levels. It helps to lower blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate.
    2. Progressive muscle relaxation: Reduces tension in the performer by sequentially contracting and relaxing muscle groups.
    3. Floatation tanks: create an environment of minimal stimulation by reproducing weightlessness and removing sight and sound to reduce stress.
    4. Music: can be used to alter arousal levels and can have a calming and relaxing effect on the performer. The type of music used varies between individuals.
    5. Breathing techniques: can be used to promote relaxation often in conjunction with focusing on relaxing tense muscles.

Goal Setting

  • Definition: Goal setting involves the process of identifying what you want to achieve and planning the steps that will need to be taken to achieve it.
  • How it contributes to performance: Improves performance by focusing athlete’s attention on short and long term improvement.
  • 2 types of goals:
    1. Outcome goals: Focuses on the outcome of performance e.g. making the finals, winning a particular game.
    2. Performance goals: Personal targets that an athlete sets for himself to achieve during the performance eg complete a round of golf with only 3 bogeys , kick 3 goals in a game of soccer

Group Cohesion

  • Definition: Group cohesion is a term used to describe the extent to which a group stays together and united in the pursuit of the common goals and objectives.
  • 2 main types:
    1. Task Cohesion: how committed are the team members to achieving their predetermined goal.
    2. Social cohesion: the degree to which team members enjoy being together.

Factors Affecting Group Cohesion

  • Team Dynamics
    • Personality clashes between team members
    • Unclear / conflicting roles among team members
    • Frequent changes to the group
    • Disagreement on group objectives
    • Lack of communication
  • Lack of Leadership
    • Power struggle between players
  • Social loafing
    • The tendency for individuals to exert less effort when working in a group compared to when they are working alone

Strategies To Improve Group Cohesion

  1. Effective Communication
  2. Use of Leadership within the group/ Clearly defining roles
    • Develop pride with sub-groups
    • Create / Develop a team contract
      • Written contracts which states group expectations, individual responsibilities, lines of communication within the team, methods of discipline.
  3. Goal Setting (Individual and Team)
  4. Team Building
  5. Roles and Expectations
    • Develop rules / code of conduct
    • Establish rules of expected behaviour which will help the team achieve goals and objectives.

Heat

  • 12 Physiological responses:

    1. Increase in core body temperature
    2. Increase in heart rate due to reduced blood volume/stroke volume
    3. Increased cardiac output due to body needs to increase the blood supply to the muscles and skin
    4. OR decrease cardiac output due to stroke volume decrease- body cant keep up with demand for blood
    5. Decrease stroke volume due to reduction in blood volume through loss of sweat
    6. Increase in blood pressure- due to increased blood viscosity
    7. Increased peripheral blood flow due to blood being redirected to the skin- dissipate heat through convection
    8. Vasodilation of blood- due to blood being diverted to skin through convection
    9. Decrease blood/plasma volume
    10. Increase blood viscosity
    11. DOUBLE HEAT LOAD- exists when the cardiovascular demands of exercise and those of thermoregulation compete for the limited blood supply. A situation where the body is forced to deal with 2 forms of heat (metabolic heat and environmental heat)
    12. CARDIAC DRIFT- Increase in heart rate but the decrease in stroke volume.

  • Hydration strategies:

    • Pre-event:
      • Adequate hydration is crucial prior to exercise in the heat.
      • The amount of water intake required to achieve adequate hydration will vary considerably between individuals.
    • During event:
      • Drinking during exercise (400–800400–800 mL per hour) will decrease the risk of dehydration.
      • For short duration events, aim to drink 100–200100–200 mL per 15 minutes.
      • Drinking plain water is adequate for exercise < 1 hour in duration.
      • For exercise > 1 hour, combining carbohydrate with fluid is beneficial.

  • Other strategies for coping with exercise in the heat:

    1. Wear thin, light coloured cotton clothing. The less clothing the better to allow increased skin exposure (for evaporative cooling)
    2. Pre- Cooling Strategies: Lower the core body temp prior to exercise, ingesting slushies, wearing ice vests
    3. Cooling Strategies during event: This lowers the core body temperature allowing for the athlete to continue playing for longer. Wearing ice vests, sitting in the shade

  • Adaptations gained following successful acclimatisation:

    • Increased sweat rate- optimises evaporative cooling
    • Early onset of sweating (lower sweat threshold)- delays subsequent rise in body temperature
    • Effective distribution of sweat (i.e. more on limbs and periphery, not trunk) which enhances surface area for evaporative cooling
    • More dilute sweat (less Na, Cl lost) preserves essential electrolytes
    • Decrease core temperature- means that you are further away from limiting temperature
    • Increase plasma volume- increases cardiac output, which minimises the implications of competition for blood flow. Allows more effective evaporative cooling and oxygen delivery to the muscles
    • Lower vasodilation thresholds- increase skin blood flow address heat loss mechanisms earlier, delaying subsequent rise in temperature

Humidity

  • Definition: the proportion of water in ambient air.
  • How it affects heat loss:
    • Reduces the effectiveness of evaporation as a mechanism of heat loss from the body. If the relative humidity is high (i.e. the ambient air is already carrying a high proportion of water), there is nowhere for the sweat on the skin to evaporate to.
  • How is it measured: On the Heat Index
  • Effect on perceived temperature: Increase
  • Physiological responses: Shown on table

Cold

  • How it affects heat loss: Increases heat loss through radiation, conduction and convection
  • Physiological responses:
    • Shivering – causes body to increase heat production, helping maintain body temperature.
    • Piloerection (or ‘goosebumps’) helps to ‘trap air’ at the skin surface and assist in maintaining body heat
    • Vasoconstriction
  • Impacts on performance:
    • Excessive shivering may lead to early glycogen depletion
    • Reduced sensation at distal parts of the body (hand and feet) can impair fine motor control in some sports
  • Strategies:
    • Acclimatise 7-10 days prior to competition. Mainly allows the chance for experimentation clothing/warm up as it is easier to exercise and adapt to cold weather.

Altitude

  • Impacts on performance:
    • The lack of oxygen at altitude impairs the maximal rate of oxygen consumption (and therefore aerobic exercise performance).
    • Performance in repeated sprint exercise is also impaired due to the lower oxygen availability to replenish creatine phosphate stores and remove lactic acid.
    • Performance in one-off sprint or power events may be enhanced at altitude due to lower air resistance and drag Acute/chronic physiological adaptations: and strategies
  • Acute physiological adaptations: These are adaptions that occur within the first 24 hours when being in the environment.
    • Decrease of O2 in blood (hypoxemia)
    • Increase in respiratory rate (breathing/ventilation)
    • Increase tidal volume
    • Increased heart rate
    • Giddiness / nausea / headache / sleepiness / altitude sickness
    • Increase in blood pressure
    • Decrease stroke / plasma volume
    • Decrease VO2 max
  • Chronic physiological adaptations: After three weeks of training an athlete will develop chronic adaptions. This will start to occur after an athlete has spent over 72hours in the environment.
    • Increased capillarisation – increased ability to supply oxygen, increased blood to the muscles
    • Increased haemoglobin volume and concentration – increases amount of oxygen carried by the blood
    • Increased red blood cells– more red blood cells to carry oxygen
    • Decrease blood viscosity – more nutrients and oxygen in the body’s blood
    • Increased aerobic enzymes – improves body’s use of oxygen to produce energy/ATP faster
    • Increased mitochondria – allows higher intensity aerobic respiration
    • Increased myoglobin – allows more oxygen to be stored in muscles
  • Strategies:
    • Live High / Train Low Strategy:
      • Live (sleep) at altitude or in altitude hypoxia tents to simulate 2000m altitude environment but then return to sea level for training sessions.
      • This allows the athlete to obtain long term advantages such as increased red blood cells and haemoglobin, enhancing aerobic endurance through greater oxygen carrying capacity.
      • Athletes cannot train at altitude for long periods as benefits do not allow for same intensity of training as at sea level. Long term training at high altitude leads to impaired Vo2 max and reduced aerobic performance.
      • By training at low altitude (sea level) allows for high quality training sessions to be completed at maximal intensity, simulating completion/ game intensity.
      • Other strategies Live low / Train high and Live low / train low not as effective

Protein Powders

  • Benefits:
    • Increase the performer’s muscle size (muscle hypertrophy) and strength through the increased intake of protein which aids in muscle repair and development.
    • Protein powders decrease muscle catabolism using protein as a fuel source
    • Protein powders improve the rate of recovery from training sessions
    • Increase muscle mass only occurs if the athlete is doing a resistance training program.
  • Risks: Increase risk of osteoporosis, Increase risk of colon cancers, impairs kidney function, liver damage, weight gain.

Anabolic Steroids

  • Benefits: Increase the performer’s muscle hypertrophy (muscle size) leading to greater strength and power, especially in ATP/PC energy system sporting events, such as 100m sprint.
    • Physiological benefits include:
      • Increased muscle bulk, increased power and strength
      • Improved recovery rates, allowing athletes to train harder for longer in training session which leads to greater physiological adaptions
      • Improved rate of tissue repair
  • Risks:
    • Short Term (learn 3 of these): Reduced Sperm count, High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) , Enlarged prostate, Difficulty urinating, Acne.
    • Long Term (learn 4 of these): Increased risk of Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Baldness, Acne, Depression, Increased aggression, shrinking of the testicles, females - body hair, infertility.

Caffeine

  • Benefits:
    • Stimulates the body by raising Heart Rate, increases alertness through activation of the Central Nervous System, masks fatigue and perceived effort, Increases metabolism
    • Promotes the utilisation of fats (at lower heart rate threshold), hence sparing glycogen in endurance events
  • Risks:
    • Increased heart rate (blood pressure) creates increased muscular tremors, over-arousal, interferes with sleep and recovery, diuretic, dehydration, impaired heat regulation

Creatine

  • Benefits:
    • Improve their exercise performance.
    • Help their recovery after intense exercise.
    • Increase their muscle mass.
    • Prevent severe muscle injuries or reduce the severity of muscle injuries.
    • Help athletes tolerate more intense activity.
    • Reduce dehydration and cramping.
  • Risks:
    • Weight gain.
    • Muscle strains and pulls.
    • Stomach upset.
    • Diarrhoea.
    • Dizziness.
    • High blood pressure.
    • Liver dysfunction.

EPO (Erythropoietin or hormonal blood boosting)

  • Benefits:
    • Increased red blood cell and oxygen carrying capacity and Vo2 Max
  • Risks:
    • Blood clotting, stroke, hypertension, heart failure

Blood Doping

  • Benefits:
    • Increased Vo2 Max
  • Risks:
    • Transfer of blood-born diseases (hepatitis B, AIDS) blood clotting, stroke, hypertension, heart failure