A warm up should make the body ready for exercise; we warm up before we take part in activities or any sports. Warming up is important as it allows the heart to pump more blood around the body; therefore more red blood cells are pumping around the body. Red blood cells transport oxygen, which means there is more oxygen travelling to the muscles, which produces more energy. Warming up prevents the risk of injury and muscle soreness; also it has other physiological benefits. Increased temperatures within the muscles enable greater extensibility and elasticity of muscle fibres, which leads to increased speed, and force of contraction. Warm ups also makes us more alert and increases efficient movement at the joints. Another reason we warm up (in terms of football) is to get us mentally prepared for the task ahead.
A warm up can be a gentle jog on the treadmill followed by stretching to loosen up the muscles and joints so that they can be more efficient during exercise. Another good way of warming up is by using the rowing machine as it works your quadriceps and hamstrings. A warm up should last roughly 10 minutes: a 5-minute jog followed by stretching for approximately 5- minutes. Cool Down Cooling down is just as important as warming up as this is when your body releases lactic acid that has built up in your muscles.
You could start of a cool down with a gentle jog followed by stretching. This will delay the soreness; also stretching when the muscles are warm will loosen them, which will decrease the risk of injury. The cool down should eventually result in the improvement of flexibility. The stretches that I will do will have to focus on the muscles that I have worked on in the gym as well as others. The reason I will have to focus my stretching on the muscles that I have been working on is because those muscles will be tense and maybe even sore. Cooling down is usually the last stage of physical activity during exercise.
Outline of warm up and cool down Warm up My warm up will consist of a five-minute jog on the treadmill followed by a range of different upper and lower body stretching: Cool down My cool down will consist of a light jog followed by stretching especially for the lower body. General training safety issues Whilst training there are always safety issues that should be followed in order to avoid accidents or injuries. There are many safety issues when training; one of the first things considered is whether or not the participant has warmed up. This is important in weight training, as you have to stretch for those muscles that you are going to work, this is to reduce the risk of injury. Another factor that must be considered when training is whether or not you are using the equipment in the appropriate and correct manner as it could be dangerous to use equipment incorrectly.
When using weights or lifting weights you must always bend your knees otherwise you could injure your back. I may also run the risk of permanently injuring your back if you slip a disk in your vertebral column. Cooling down is also a very important safety issue as you reduce muscle soreness and the build up of lactic acid, which can lead to injuries. Specific training issues/techniques Leg extensions Using this piece of equipment poses the threat of injury if it isn’t used correctly.
The user must either know how to use it or get a teacher of staff to advise you on how to use it. When using this machine you should make sure that you are sitting correctly, with your back comfortably on the back support so that you do not cause injury to your back. Make sure that you set the weights correct to your level and do not exceed how much you can handle, as this can be dangerous. You must sit correctly with your legs hip distance apart and hold the handles provided at the side of the machine. And finally make sure that your feet are placed in the correct place when taking part on this machine.
Leg curls When using this machine make sure that you set the weights to a manageable level so that you do not over exert yourself and cause injury. Also make sure that you lay down correctly and that you are comfortable. Finally make sure your foot is placed correctly under the padded bar, this is important so that you can support the weights. Peck deck When using the peck deck you must use it correctly, your elbows must be touching the edge of the padding. You must also change the weight suitable to how much you can manage. To get the most out of the peck deck you have to bring the arms together until they meet and then slowly release for a successful repetition, make sure that you only do as much as you can handle.
Treadmill The treadmill is an important part of my P.E.P., as I will be using it a lot, maybe even more than the other equipment. The treadmill will help me improve my aerobic fitness, which is something I am looking to improve for my game. I plan to start my circuit of with a slow pace on the treadmill then increase the intensity gradually so that I do not injure myself. This decreases the chance of injury because it gives my body time to adapt to the change in speed and intensity. Fort the first three sessions I will start of easy and then increase the level each session after that. To make sure that I do not injure myself whilst on the treadmill I will not increase the speed to beyond what I can manage.
Rowing machine When on the rowing machine you must not row for too long, especially if you have back problems as it can cause injury to your back. Another way in which to avoid injury is to place your feet in the foot holders securely. Also you need to put the weight at a manageable setting for you, and when your pulling the rope back keep your back as straight as possible whilst making sure that you do not lock your knees.
Personal Factors There are different factors that affect the way we train in the gym such as: Gender Men and women are both physically different, men tend to be stronger than women, so this is a factor to consider during training. Men have stronger muscles, which means during training men are more capable of doing some things better than women and vice versa. The physical make up of men gives them the advantage over women during explosive events such as weight lifting. Men have a better metabolism than a woman, which means they can process energy faster, so in events such as running men are usually faster. The physical make up of women are not usually associated with events like weight lifting, they can train themselves to be suited to sports like gymnastics which require slim and small athletes, which can be achieved through the correct dieting and training.
Age When you are younger you are faster and more flexible than an older person. This is because you’re body and muscles take longer and more energy to work. Also for boys during puberty they start to build more muscle mass so they are becoming stronger as they get older. But after a certain age we become weaker, and more prone to getting injured. We should only start working out after a certain age as body can only adapt to exercise after a certain age, as you are likely to hurt yourself if you start before that age.
Injury A fitness programme is designed to keep people fit and healthy, this can also show how fit someone is. But a person’s fitness can differ if they are injured as it can limit what they can and can’t do. It is important to follow safety regulations when working out to decrease the chances of injuries or accidents. I do not suffer from any major injuries so I will not be too limited to what I can and can’t do in the gym.
Weight Your weight can affect the way you train; this is as people have different weights so they may decide to do different types of training. Each individual can handle different workloads some more than others and their weight could be one of the reasons why. Suitability/Purpose of Exercises Training Methods The training methods that I have chosen will those that will be suited to my chosen sport of football. By doing this programme I am hoping to strengthen weaknesses of certain aspects of my game. By doing this I will gain more skills and become a better and more complete player for my sport. It will benefit me during a game situation, where I can put all the aspects that I have improved into practise, where it actually matters.
In the gym I am mainly trying to improve my lower body strength, and my aerobic fitness as I need to improve on my endurance because I get tired and out of breath quite quickly. Working on my aerobic fitness should help improve my endurance, which will make me a better player. I am using the leg extensions so that I can sustain more power when I strike the ball. The leg extensors will work my quadriceps, which in turn will improve my shooting, as most of the power behind striking a ball comes from the quadriceps.This will be beneficial to my game, as it will make me better at shooting. Doing this will contribute to building up my lower body strength which is what I am partly trying to focus this programme on. Working on the leg extensors will not only help improve my shooting but will also make my legs stronger for running around the field faster, this will make my body physically stronger. The reason I need to have strong legs in football is because I need to be able to run up and down the field quite quickly, for example when I am dribbling with the ball past my opponents.
I am using the treadmill to improve my aerobic fitness; this will allow me to have better endurance during a football match. I can adjust the intensity of the treadmill by changing the speed and incline of the machine. For my programme I am starting off at a low intensity for my body to adapt to it and then I will gradually increase the intensity in order for my aerobic fitness to improve. I want my fitness to improve quite quickly so I will be changing the intensity at every session; I am using the treadmill at least three times each session so I should be quite comfortable on the treadmill. Using this machine will help me in a game situation, as I will be able to run around for longer without getting tired, as football requires running around for long periods of time, endurance.
I am also to using the rowing machine, which will work both my upper and lower body, which is what I want as I won’t be working on my upper body too much. The rowing machine will work my quadriceps, gastrocnemius, latissimus dorsi, shoulders and my back. The reason I want to also work my upper body strength is because I want to be able to maintain balance during a game when there will be people trying to barge me off the ball. As I am working on both aerobic fitness and mainly lower body strength I will also be using the exercise bike, this will help my leg strength and endurance depending on the mode that I choose. This will help with my lower body strength, as I will be pedalling for about ten minutes, which requires aerobic energy. This will help me improve my endurance just as will the treadmill in a similar way.