Chapter 4: Preventing Injuries Through Fitness Training

1. Chapter 4: Preventing Injuries Through Fitness Training

2. Fitness is critical for performance and injury prevention • Improper conditioning is a major cause in sports related injuries • Areas of concern: • Flexibility • Muscular strength, endurance, power • Cardiorespiratory endurance • Coaches need to develop programs that focus on injury prevention and performance enhancement

4. Periodization in Training and Conditioning • Traditional seasons no longer exist for serious athletes • Periodization • Achieve peak performance • Decrease injuries and overtraining • Program that spans various seasons • Modify program relative to athlete’s needs

5. Year Round Training Cycle • Complete training cycle • Seasonal approach based on preseason, in-season, and off-season • Changes in intensity, volume, specificity of training occur in order to achieve peak levels of fitness for competition • Broken into periods or phases (lasting weeks or months)

6. Periods or Phases • Transition period: • Follows last competition (early off-season) • Unstructured (escape rigors of training) • Preparatory period: • Off-season • Hypertropy/endurance phase (Low intensity with high volume) • Allows for development of endurance base • Lasts several weeks to 2 months

7. Preparatory period (continued) • Strength Phase • Intensity and volume increase to moderate levels • Power Phase (High intensity/ pre-season) • Volume is decreased to allow adequate recovery • Competition period: • May last a < week or several months for seasonal sports • High intensity, low volume, skill training sessions • May incorporate weekly training cycles (1-7 days) • Designed to ensure peak on days of competition

8. Cross Training • Training for a sport with substitutions of alternative activities (carryover value) • Useful in transition and preparatory periods • Variety to training regimen • Should be discontinued prior to preseason as it is not sport-specific

9. Warm-up/Cool-down Motivation Overload and SAID principle Consistency/ routine Progression Intensity Specificity Individuality Relaxation/ Minimize Stress Safety Principles of Conditioning and Training

10. Warm-up • Precaution against unnecessary musculoskeletal injury and soreness • May enhance certain aspects of performance • Prepares body physiologically for physical work • Stimulates cardiorespiratory system, enhancing circulation and blood flow to muscles • Increases metabolic processes, core temperature, and muscle elasticity

11. General • Activities which bring a general warming to the body(break a sweat) • Not related to sport Specific • Specific to sport • Stretching, jogging, running, throwing, catching Should last 10-15 minutes resulting in effects that will last 45 minutes

12. Cool-down • Essential component of workout • Bring body back to resting state • 5-10 minutes in duration • Often ignored • Decreased muscle soreness following training if time used to stretch after workout

13. Why is it important to have good flexibility? • Ability to move a joint(s) smoothly through a full range of motion (ROM) • Decreased ROM results in: • Decreased performance capabilities • Uncoordinated/awkward movements • Predisposes athlete to injury • Good flexibility is essential for successful physical performance • Recommended by athletic trainers to prevent injury

14. Factors That Limit Flexibility • Bony structures • Tissue approximation • Excessive fat • Muscle and tendon lengths • Connective tissue • Scarring and contractures • Skin

15. Range of Motion(ROM) • Active range of motion = dynamic flexibility • Ability to move a joint with little resistance • Passive range of motion = static flexibility • Motion of joint to end points without muscle contraction • Must be able to move through unrestricted range • Must have elasticity for additional stretch encountered during activity

16. Agonist vs. Antagonist Muscles • Joints are capable of multiple movements • Example: • Quadriceps will extend knee with contraction • Hamstrings will stretch during extension • Quads (muscle producing movement) referred to as agonist • Muscle undergoing stretch referred to as antagonist • Agonist and antagonist work together to produce smooth coordinated movements

17. Stretching Techniques Ballistic • Bouncing movement in which repetitive contractions of agonist work to stretch antagonist muscle • While effective in improving flexibility, caution should be exercised • Possible soreness (soccer example)

18. Static stretching • Passively stretching • 20-30 second hold = optimal • Go to point of pain and back off and hold for 30 seconds (3 to 4 times) • Controlled, less chance of injury • Not dynamic • Should precede ballistic stretching

19. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation • Contract-relax • Hold-relax • Ten second push, ten second relax • Best technique to improve flexibility • Technique that involves combination of alternating contractions and relaxation of both agonist and antagonists

21. Assessment of Flexibility • Various devices have been designed to accommodate joint sizes and complexities of movement • Goniometer most widely used device • Can also utilize the following tests: • Trunk hip flexion test • Trunk extension test • Shoulder extension test

23. Is there a relationship between strength and flexibility? • Co-exist • Muscle bound = zero flexibility • Strength training will provide individual with ability to develop dynamic flexibility through full range of motion • Develop more powerful and coordinated movements

24. Flexibility, Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Power

25. Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance Strength: ability to generate force against resistance Muscular endurance: repetitive muscular contractions (increase strength = increase endurance) Power: the relationship between strength and time

26. Muscle Contractions • Isometric contraction • No length change occurs during contraction • Isotonic contraction • Concentric- shortening of muscle with contraction in an effort to overcome more resistance • Eccentric - lengthening of muscle with contraction because load is greater than force being produced • Both are considered dynamic movements

27. Factors that Determine Levels of Muscular Strength • Size of muscle: • Function of diameter and of muscle fibers • Hypertrophy vs. Atrophy • Number of muscle fibers • Neuromuscular efficiency • Initial gains are due to increased efficiency • More effectively engage specific motor units • Biomechanical factors • Bones and muscles = Levers and pulleys

28. Fast-Twitch vs. Slow-Twitch Muscle Fibers • Motor units with distinct metabolic and contractile capability Individual make-up • Muscles contain both types of fibers • Muscle functioning impacts ratios (postural vs. powerful movement) • Genetically determined • Slow twitch (Type I): • Generally major constituent of postural muscles • Fast twitch (Type II) • High force in short amount of time • Produce powerful movements

29. Levels of Physical Activity • Will influence increase/decrease in muscle strength • Also impacts cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility and increases in body fat • Overtraining • Psychological and physiological breakdown • Signs • Apathy, loss of appetite, staleness, declines in performance, weight loss, inability to sleep • Prevent through appropriate training protocol, proper diet, and rest

30. What physiological changes occur to cause increased strength? • Multiple theories of muscle hypertrophy • Primary explanation of muscle hypertrophy: • Increase in protein myofilament number and size • Continued need for additional research

31. Core Stabilization Training • Core refers to muscles that make up center of body • Low back, pelvis, hips, abdomen • Works to stabilize body enabling muscles of extremity to function optimally • Weak core is a fundamental problem of inefficient movements = injury • Program targets strength, neuromuscular control, power, and endurance of the core • Program will stress multiple planes and incorporate various resistance techniques

32. Techniques of Resistance Training • Progressive resistance exercise • Overload principle must be applied • Must work muscle at increasingly higher intensities to enhance strength over time • If intensity of training does not increase, but training continues, muscle strength will be sustained

33. Isometric Exercise • Contraction where muscle length remains unchanged • Muscle contraction that lasts 10 seconds and should be perform 5-10 times/daily • Pro: quick, effective, cheap, good for rehab • Con: only works at one point in ROM, produces spiking of blood pressure due to Valsalva maneuver

34. Concentric and eccentric training should be incorporated for greatest strength improvement • Concentric phase of lift should last 1-2 seconds; eccentric phase 2-4 seconds • Variations exist between free and machine weight lifting • Motion restrictions, levels of muscular control required, amount of weight that can be lifted • Equipment design, varying resistances

35. Progressive Resistance Exercise Techniques • Terminology associated with weight training • Repetitions • Repetition maximum • One repetition maximum • Set • Intensity • Recovery period • Frequency

36. When training should be able to perform 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions • Increases should occur in increments of 10% • 1 RM can be utilized to measure maximum amount of weight that can be lifted - must be very careful • Training of a particular muscle group should occur 3-4 times per week (not on successive days)

37. Muscular Endurance vs. Strength • Training for endurance enhances strength and vice versa • Training for strength should involve lower repetitions at heavier weight • Training for endurance requires lower weight at 12-15 repetitions

38. Open vs. Closed Kinetic Chain Exercises • Anatomical functional relationship for upper and lower extremities • OKC • When foot or hand are not in contact with the ground or supporting surface • CKC • Foot or hand are weight bearing • Widely used = more functional

39. Isokinetic Training • Muscle contraction at a constant velocity • Maximal and constant resistance throughout the full range of motion • Maximal effort = Maximal strength gains • Rehab • Never widely used in strength training • Losing popularity in rehabilitation settings

41. Circuit Training • Combination of exercise stations • 8 - 12 stations, 3 times through • Design for different training goals • Flexibility • Calisthenics • Aerobic exercise

42. Plyometric Exercise • Rapid stretch, eccentric contraction followed by a rapid concentric contraction to create a forceful explosive movement • Rate of stretch vs. magnitude • Jumps, bounds, medicine ball throws • Very technical training - skills must be learned with appropriate technique • Often develop muscle soreness as a result of extensive eccentric loading

43. Training for the Female Athlete • Critical for female athlete • Significant hypertrophy is related to testosterone present within body • Remarkable gains are experienced initially due to enhanced nervous system and muscle interaction (efficiency-not muscle bulk) • Following initial gains, plateau occurs, with females

44. Males tend to continue to increase strength with training • Critical difference is the ratio of strength to body fat • Females have reduced strength to body weight ratio due to higher percentage of body fat • Ratio can be enhanced through weight training and decrease in body fat percentage/increased lean weight

45. Cardiorespiratory Endurance • Perform whole body activities for extended period of time • Performance vs. fatigue vs. injury • Aerobic exercise • Low intensity exercise that can be sustained for a long period of time • Anaerobic exercise • Activity where intensity is so high that demand for oxygen is greater than body’s ability to deliver

46. System’s four components • Heart • Lungs • Blood vessels • Blood • Improvements in endurance are the results of improvements in these 4 components

47. Impact on Heart • Main pumping mechanism • Increase exercise = increased oxygen requirement = increase heart pumping • Heart able to adapt through increases in heart rate and stroke volume which will enhance overall cardiac output • Oxygenation of blood

48. What determines how efficiently the body is using oxygen? • Aerobic capacity = VO2max • More active = higher capacity • Average value = 45-60 ml O2/min/kg • Increases in intensity require higher levels of oxygen consumption • Inherit certain range of maximum aerobic capacity (genetics) • Dependent on activity levels • Also impacted by muscle fiber types

49. Maximum Aerobic Capacity • Most accurate techniques must be performed in a laboratory setting • Treadmill, bicycle ergometer • Monitor heart rate and gas exchange at particular workload • Generally utilize heart rate to estimate percentage of maximum aerobic capacity • Indirect method • Heart rate and aerobic capacity have linear relationship

50. Types of Training for Cardiorespiratory Endurance • Continuous • Mode (type of exercise) - must be aerobic in nature • Frequency (at least 3 times/week) • Duration (at least 20 minutes) • Intensity (monitor intensity as % of heart rate or perceived exertion) • Training heart rate – target heart rate Maximum HR = 220 - Age • Karvonen formula (60% HR Max) • Target HR=Resting HR+(.6 [Max HR – Resting HR)]