Performance Enhancement

1. Performance Enhancement Terms & General Conditioning Principles

2. Cardiovascular Endurance • The body’s ability, over a sustained period of time during physical activity, to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove wastes.

3. Muscular Endurance • Ability of a muscle or muscle group to sustain repeated contractions.

4. Power • Ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movement composed of strength and speed.

5. Speed • Quickness of movement of a limb or whole body

6. Strength • Extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance

7. Adaptation • Body’s ability to react to the training loads imposed by increasing its ability to cope with demands • Purpose of training – systematically stress the body so it improves its capacity • If stress is not sufficient to overload the body, then no adaptation will occurs.

8. Overload • A greater than normal stress or load on the body is required for training adaptations to take place.

9. Specificity • Sports training should be relevant and appropriate to the sport the athlete is training for. • Examples: • A football player needs to train speed, strength, and power. • A cyclist should train muscle endurance and cardiovascular endurance

10. Reversibility • Gradual loss of training effect when intensity and duration is reduced.

11. Periodization • Varying a training program at regular time intervals to achieve optimal gains in performance. • Used to bring an athlete to “peak performance” • 3 phases • Pre-season • In-season • Post-season

12. Pre-season (preparatory) Phase • High volume / low intensity • Focus on technique • Power & strength workouts introduced during 2nd half of this phase.

13. In-season (competitive) Phase • Low volume / high intensity • Focus on technique • Bring athlete to “peak performance”

14. Post-season (transition) Phase • Active rest – low volume / low intensity • Physiological and psychological break • Recreational activity