Feedback is the response you get to your performance and there are two kinds. The first being Knowledge of Performance (KP), this tells you how well or badly you performed. You can obtain KP from many sources. These sources include coaches, teachers, teammates and friends. In my program I can get feedback from friends when I play squash and in some of the sessions, this feedback can tell me how much effort I am putting in and thus how much I need to improve. KP can also be obtained through proprioception, this is called internal feedback. This comes from me during a training session only I know how much effort I have really put in and how much more I can put in so I will record my internal feedback so I can study any improvements.
The second kind of feedback is Knowledge of Results (KR), this tells you whether you got the result you wanted. I will be using this when recording results of my weekly tests I can then look at the results and work out what needs improving. The four main principals that I will use for my feedback to be beneficial are:1. Feedback is essential for improvement (both KP & KR) 2. It should be given as soon as possible after the performance. (Otherwise you forget) 3. It should be clear to the point, so you know what to do next time.
4. You must have enough time to think it over before the next attempt. Targets: For my program I am going to set myself 3 targets that I will try to achieve throughout my program. As the program progress I must make sure that all these targets are being met and if I feel they are not being worked towards accordingly I will make changes to the program so that they are. The three targets are as follows: 1. To improve all tests that will be done weekly to show improvement in both stamina and strength.
2. To enjoy the program, by doing this I must make sure that the programme does not become boring. 3. To improve my general fitness, and feel in myself that when playing I am a fitter competitor. Fitness tests: By using testes of fitness I can observe how my fitness improves throughout the program, this is very important as I need to know whether the program is working or not and these tests will help me adjust it accordingly. I will perform these tests once a week to find these results and thus my progress. I also perform them before the program and after this will give a clear indication of how I am getting on.
Stamina Test: To see if my stamina is being improved I am going to use two tests. The first test I am going to use is the cooper 12 minute run but I will only carry out this test before my programme and then once after the programme has finished. This will show how much I would have improved over the six weeks. The Cooper 12 minute run is a very simple test all we have to do is see how far we can run around a marked area in 12 minutes, the distance we run is then recorded.
The other test I will use is the Harvard step test. I will carry this test out once a week to see if I am making a gradual improvement. I will also do it at the start and end of the programme. To do this test our resting pulse rate is taken before the test begins. We then step on and off a 45cm high bench at the rate of 30 times a minute for a period of five minutes. We must start with the same foot each time and we must also fully extend our leg at the top of each step. At the end of the five minutes our speed of recovery is recorded. This is done by taking our pulse for 30 seconds at three different time intervals: one minute after the end: two minutes after the end of the exercise and three minutes after the end of the exercise.
The greater our aerobic capacity, the lower our pulse rate will be at the end of exercise. Also it will return to normal more quickly. I will work out my fitness score using the following formula: Strength: To test the improvement of my strength I will use two tests as I am going to be mainly focusing on my upper body strength I will use both the press up test and the one rep max test. The press up test is basically the amount of press-ups that I can do in one minute. The one rep max test is the amount of weight I can lift in one bench press, the weight must be lifted twice to qualify as the maximum weight I can lift.