I have chosen to base my personal exercise plan on netball because it is a sport that I have participated in since primary school and that I enjoy and understand. The positions I usually play are goal attack and centre, both of which require a lot of explosive movement; chasing the ball, quick reactions; responding to throw or receive, muscular endurance; continuous high standard of play in terms of movement throughout the game, cardiovascular fitness; to supply adequate amounts of oxygen to the working muscles and muscular strength; to allow long or powerful throws, e.g. shoulder passes, to be effective.
I am going to try and improve my cardiovascular fitness because I find myself feeling tired and worn out around ten minutes before a match finishes. I am going to use interval training daily because it will mimic the requirements of a game. Using a treadmill, after a warm up, I will use a speed of 12.5 k/h to run for 30 seconds, as this is a comfortable run for me when I am at the gym. Then I will slow the machine to 5.6k/h as this will show the walking speed. I will alter and increase the times and speeds in which I exercise and rest as this will add to my overload and increase my fitness. I will also use continuous training daily to increase my stamina, this alongside my interval training should allow me to increase my speed and stamina and therefore benefit my game
Targets. I aim to increase the amount of time I am able to comfortably run from 3 minutes to five minutes over the next four weeks To use interval training and aim to use this method for an hour with longer breaks of 1minute 30 seconds every fifteen minutes without feeling as tired. My Current Fitness Level My current fitness level is achieved by using the gym for an hour and a half each day, where I do (app.) 45 minutes of cardiovascular training on treadmills, bikes, cross trainers and rowing machines; followed by (app) 30 minutes of weights and a (app) 15 minute warm down on a tread mill again. I also spend approximately 1 hour 30 minutes in physical education lesson each week which focuses on different sports and skills. I am going to do a cooper run in order to show that I have achieved my goals.
My re-test level was better; there is a visible improvement in my resting heart rate, and recovery rate. I have also achieved my main goal which is to reduce the fatigue I feel at the end of a game. I have no managed to bring this down to between 1 and 2 minutes. I have achieved these things because I have applied the principles of training to my personal exercise plan and have stuck to my plan. My heart has become a bigger, stronger muscle, allowing it to pump blood more efficiently around my body. This in turn aids my game because it allows enough oxygen to get to my muscles to provide the energy needed to play netball. The muscles in my legs and arms can withstand more exercise as I have increased my muscular endurance through working my muscles and, where these muscles have torn and reformed, they have become bigger which will allow me to move faster as more oxygen and energy can be sent to and used there at a time.
These changes will affect my fitness level in netball as I am now able to travel around the court faster and become less fatigued during my game which allows me to focus more on the sport. For example, sprinting to the end of the court; I am now able to, in practices, run faster than a team mate who used to be able to reach the end of the court faster. This would give me an advantage over opponents because I could reach the ball faster if it was dropped or passed down court. To develop my personal exercise plan more, I could increase the time and speed at which I run in the gym and keep increasing this in order to progress in my fitness.