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Exercise
Physiology 
| Exercise
physiology is an aspect of the support service offered to
SINI athletes. This component of sport science is essentially
concerned with the assessment of how the body responds to
single or repeated bouts of exercise. Physiological monitoring
provides the foundation upon which decisions are made in relation
to training and provides a means of evaluating the effectiveness
of a training programme. Physiological assessments can involve
heart rate monitoring, expired-air collection, lactate profiling,
and/or blood biochemistry analysis. Moreover, a range of sport-specific
protocols have been developed, allowing exercise physiologists
to perform a variety of physiological appraisals in a sport
specific context. |
What
is the purpose of physiological monitoring?
Assist the coach in prescribing individual training programmes
Pinpoint correct training levels and intensities
Determine fitness in a controlled environment
Monitor fitness changes
Identify specific strengths, weaknesses and/or positional differences
Deter overtraining
Help maximise the sports potential of each individual player/athlete
Investigate new forms of training
Investigate new ergogenic aids
Investigate time course of adaptations
The process of physiological monitoring
A
well-structured training and competition programme will have clearly
defined goals.
The initial consultation involves a needs-analysis, and often
requires the athlete to complete a performance profile. Once the
assessment objectives are agreed, the aims of each test are clarified.
The results from the physiological assessment are communicated
and presented in a manner that is easily interpreted by both the
athlete and coach. Physiological monitoring is ongoing with testing
scheduled during critical phases of the training cycle. This allows
training programs to be re-evaluated.
The
sports physiology staff can provide advice, assessment, and support
in the following areas:
1.
Body composition
2. Flexibility
3. Anaerobic
power output
4. Aerobic power
output
5. Anaerobic
threshold |
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. |
Muscular
endurance
Muscular strength
Assessment of strength imbalance
Blood analysis
Specialist field testing |
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