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Sports Training Physiology

Module description

This module will provide you with an overview of physiological mechanisms that underpin training adaptions and subsequent sporting performance. You will gain an appreciation of the principles of training and an overview of how practitioners design training programmes to improve endurance, speed endurance, speed, power, flexibility, and agility performance for athletes and recreational participants. You will develop knowledge of the different fitness demands of various sports as well as an understanding of lab and field-testing methods used to assess sporting performance. There are no pre- or co-requisites for this module and the module is suitable for non-specialist students who have studied related topics. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module seeks to provide you with the theoretical foundations of exercise physiology in relation to training for endurance, speed endurance, speed and flexibility. You will cover the theoretical aspects of training programme design and complement this with practical laboratory sessions to assess and analyse the physiological response to different types of training.

As a result of completing this module you will develop the following graduate skills:

• Application of knowledge
• Team working
• Oral and written communication
• Ethical awareness
• Data analysis and management skills
• Ability to apply discipline knowledge
• Practical physiological laboratory skills

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Evaluate training-induced physiological adaptations
• 2. Evaluate different training methodologies
• 3. Identify individual-, sport- or activity-specific training requirements

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Learn and demonstrate a range of important physiological skills
• 5. Apply knowledge across a range of different perspectives and concepts and apply it to practical considerations in exercise and sports

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Take responsibility for own learning and development of the key skills of time management and an ability to share responsibility and perform set tasks, using appropriate technology and information resources

Syllabus plan

As part of the module you will cover the following topics:

• Module introduction
• Basics of exercise training
• Aerobic training
• Speed training
• Speed endurance training
• Flexibility training
• Resistance training
• Plyometric training
• Field testing
• Planning of training, periodisation, and tapering

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to sit a further examination or submit a further short case study as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• American College of Sports Medicine (2013). ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
• Baechle, T. R. & Earle, R. W. (2008). Essentials of strength training and conditioning (3^rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• Gamble, P (2012). Strength and conditioning for team sports: Sport specific physical preparation for high performance (2^nd ed.). Oxon, UK: Routledge.
• Hoffman, J. (2014). Physiological aspects of sport training and performance (2^nd ed.). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
• Kenney, W. L., Wilmore, J. & Costill, D., L. (2011). Physiology of sport and exercise (5^th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
• McArdle, WD, Katch, FI, and Katch, VL. (2006) Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 6th Revised edition. 

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=8772 – readings, lecture notes, web-links and follow-up exercises will be posted on the module’s ELE site.
• The United Kingdom Strength and Conditioning Association: http://www.uksca.org.uk/uksca/
• The National Strength and Conditioning Association: http://www.nsca.com/Home/
• American College of Sports Medicine: http://www.acsm.org/
• The Royal Society of Medicine, sport and exercise medicine section: https://www.rsm.ac.uk/sections/sections-and-networks-list/sport-exercise-medicine-section.aspx?gclid=CMahg_Pv4sACFY_MtAodUC0Atg
• British Association of Sports Medicine: http://www.basem.co.uk/
• British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences: http://www.bases.org.uk/
• The Physiology Society: http://www.physoc.org/

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• European Journal of Applied Physiology
• Exercise Science Reviews
• International Journal of Sports Medicine
• Journal of Sport Sciences
• Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
• Sports Medicine

Key words search

Sport science, sports training, sports testing, physiology, activity profile, physiolocical demands, aerobic, anaerobic, speed, intensity