Training for Health, Fitness and Sport - Essay Example

Introduction Training is a consistent progression of exercises meant for improving the health status of an individual orincreasing performance in sports. There are two main goals of exercises carried out during trainings. These are the health related fitness trainings and the sport related fitness trainings. Health related fitness trainings are meant to prevent individuals from developing diseases associated with lack of physical activities. These trainings are also meant to enhance better growth and development of the body to facilitate a high level of functional capacity for the body organs. Health related fitness is very important because it helps in preventing diseases such as stroke, heart attack and cancer. Sport related fitness is meant to optimise performance in sports. These trainings are enhanced to ensure the body is sufficiently active to cater for the demands of the sport. An example of a game that requires its players to have strong physical fitness is rugby. This is because the game involves intense activities. Rugby comprises of fifteen players who are divided into two groups in the field. A group of seven remain at the back side of the field and are called the carriers. To enhance better performance in the team, the players should have attained the required fitness. This fitness will help them endure hardships such as tackles and continuous running across the field. The discussion in this paper concerns the components of fitness that are of particular importance to a performer in rugby, and the tests that would be appropriate to measure the performer’s fitness in these components. In the discussion, the major components of fitness that are relevant to rugby players are first identified, followed by the relevant tests to identify their presence and finally the benefits that result. Components of fitness in rugby players There are several elements of basic body fitness required for rugby players to ensure high level performance in the game. To withstand the tackles from their opponents and have the ability to run throughout the game’s duration, rugby players should be physically fit. A performer in rugby game needs to have many components of fitness such as aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance, agility, flexibility, power, balance speed and coordination. For the purpose of this assignment the few that are of particular importance are aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance and flexibility because they enhance players’ effectiveness in the field leading to better performance. In addition, the discussed fitness would also reduce their chances of acquiring injuries and ensure quick recovery in case they get injuries (Spade & Valentine 2010). Aerobic endurance Aerobic endurance is the engagement of an individual in the sport or any other exercise in the presence of oxygen. In these exercises, the lungs and heart are involved in carrying out the activities of supplying the body with the sufficient oxygen that will meet the body demand of energy production (Winter & Sciences 2006). Oxygen is necessary in the breakdown of glucose in order to release energy. This energy is important in enhancing activities in various body organs. In addition, the energy also helps in making adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), a substance that helps in other body activities such as assisting in the contraction of muscles. As a result the body release carbon dioxide and sweat as the waste product. Aerobic endurance is therefore important for fitness in rugby because the game is associated with a lot of activities that require frequent supply of oxygen in the body. In aerobic endurance, the body normally works at a rate that requires a significant supply of oxygen to meet the demands in the body cells. During training, rugby players should exercise in the presence of plenty of oxygen to facilitate their performance during the game (Hickey 2006). There are several activities that need to be enhanced in the training in order to facilitate aerobic endurance fitness. The first method is running where the player is supposed to run on either the ground or on a treadmill. Treadmill is much recommended because it helps the player run at a constant speed for a given period of time. It is encouraged for the player to run at a speed that they feel comfortable to them because the main focus of this exercise is not to determine how fast they can run but it’s to see how long they can run (M 2004). The exercise can also be done on an exercise bike. The runner is supposed to use the bike for duration of about 20 minutes every day. The player should to increase the resistant of the bike as they try to maintain the speed of their riding. All these methods are meant to increase the aerobic endurance fitness to the player in order to facilitate their performance in the games (Shephard & Åstrand 2008). This kind of fitness provides an individual with aerobic power, or having the capability to produce an adequate amount of energy in the presence of the oxygen available in the air. It also helps individuals to tolerate the accumulation of lactic acid in their muscles. The accumulation of lactic acid in muscles lowers the performance of an individual because it interferes with the contraction and the relaxation of muscles. This aspect of fitness should therefore be observed in rugby players because it enhances the production of adequate energy that allows an individual to continue working even though lactic acid has built up in his or her muscles (Shephard & Åstrand 2008). Anaerobic endurance Anaerobic endurance is the engagement of an individual in exercises or any other activities in the absence of oxygen. This is a situation in which the demand for oxygen in the muscles to release energy exceeds its supply from the lungs. The body therefore utilizes the reserved energy from the muscle cells. During this condition the body maximize effort leading to higher demand for energy and oxygen supply that exceed to their supply. In the process lactic acid accumulate in the muscles as the waste products. This state is referred to as the oxygen dept because the body muscles starve from oxygen supply. The body then run out of energy leading to reduced activities. The normal activities can be resumed by paying the oxygen dept and removing lactic acid in the muscles. Rugby players should hold their training in areas with little oxygen to enhance this component of fitness because the game is explosive in nature and requires continuous production of energy. Anaerobic activity lasts for a short duration during which the player gets insufficient oxygen to produce energy. During the process of anaerobic endurance, lactic acid accumulates at a very high rate and could lead to fatigue in the muscles. Anaerobic endurance is therefore a very important component of fitness in rugby players. This is because it enhances the capability of the player to actively engage in the game to facilitate better performance (Barker 2004). There are several activities that can be undertaken on order to facilitate the anaerobic endurance fitness. Use of a plank is one of the effective methods that are used to build this kind of endurance. The players are recommended to raise the plank from their elbow to their knees. The player is supposed to put their hands together and raise their knees as they balance their body. These method helps in tightening the abdominal muscles to ensure less oxygen is used by the body to produce energy to serve the working muscles (Coulson & Archer 2009). Another method that can be used to build anaerobic endurance is the bicycle crunch in which the players lie down on their back while bending their knees at an angle of 90 degrees. They are then supposed to bring their right and left leg to the chest consecutively while they ensure their abdominal muscles remain tight. The activities should be repeated for several times to ensure that less oxygen is supplied into the muscles throughout the activities (Lambert 2009). Rowing is another effective method that is used to develop anaerobic endurance by strengthening muscles on the back of the players. The exercises can be done by either using the rowing machine or the free-weight method. Free method is much recommended because the back muscles are stressed from various angles. Anaerobic endurance is also important because it enables the player to continuously engage in the game even with lactic acid accumulation in his or her muscles. It also helps to reduce fatigue in the muscles, which results from shortage of oxygen in the body (Barker 2004). Muscular endurance Muscular endurance is the ability of the body to express force over a long period. This ensures the muscles are able to contract and relax for an extended period. Through this type of endurance the body is able to exert greater force within a limited time and still sustain the effort for a long period of time. This type of fitness is very important in sport activities in which very powerful are made and repeated over and over again without rest. Muscular endurance is a component of fitness that enables players to engage repeatedly in activities that require a lot of energy (Renström & Commission 1994). This is therefore important in rugby because the game demands a player’s muscular endurance that can last throughout the duration of the game. This component of fitness is also important because it enables players to extensively meet the physical demands of the game which include tackling, scrumming and running. Rugby players should therefore ensure proper muscular fitness that will overcome fatigue in order to enhance effective performance in the game (Verney 2006). Muscular endurance can be developed through engaging in various trainings such as the circuit resistance method of training. This is where the players move around different circle set ups. Each circle has got different trainings that are performed at high repetitions but at varying moderate resistance. Several exercise stations are used and the exerciser should repeat the circuit at least two times. These training are meant to ensure the muscles are able to resist fatigue while the player is involved in carrying out a particular activity over a long period of time (Corcoran 2009). Flexibility Flexibility is a fitness component that allows easy movement of the body especially around the joints. It enhances easy and effective movement of muscles in the body through slight stretching. This type of fitness is achieved either through active flexibility or static flexibility. Active flexibility is the range of movements that an individual can achieve around a joint. This helps an individual release more force after stretching his or her muscles to a particular length. This is very important for the rugby players because it helps them stretch their muscles in reaching for the ball or when throwing it to their co-players. On the other hand, static flexibility is the ability of the muscles to stretch at a particular length through slight movement of the body. This prevents the players from getting minor injuries that could result from the imbalance of force exerted by two opposing muscles. This fitness is also vital because it assists players to run and kick the ball to their partners. It is therefore important for rugby players to have flexibility fitness as it will help them perform well (Lambert 2009). There are some activities that can be used enhance and develop the body flexibility in a player.The most effective method is stretching the muscles and holding them in an elogated position for a long duration of time. The muscle ends should be stressed away from each other andat tehe asame time retain a constant breathing pattern. These exercise will facilitate easier movement of joints with a slight stretch (HENE 2011). Test for fitness in rugby players Measuring aerobic endurance This fitness is measured through the VO2 max test. During the test, an individual is meant to carry out exercises on a treadmill. The amount of oxygen inhaled by the individual is calculated. The carbon dioxide exhaled is also collected and measured. People who have aerobic fitness will reach their VO2 max when the level of oxygen intake is at its maximum and their heart beat is very high. A respiration rate ratio of 1.5 indicates that the player is aerobically fit. This method is best used to identify the rugby players with aerobic endurance because it is accurate and easy to carry it out (Gore & Commission 200). Measuring anaerobioc endurance The test iis done on an anaorobic sprint test. These test is used to identify the averange power in relation to fatigue index. The test involve a six sprint that covers a total of 35 minutes. Time taken by the player in each sprint is taken and recorded by two timers to enhace accuracy. The test is repeated from the opposite side of the field and the tine recorded too.The body weighy of the player is also recorded in order to calculatte the maximum and minimum power output as compared to the fatigue index (Barker, BTEC National Sport Student Book 2003). Measuring muscular endurance There are two tests that could be used to measure muscular endurance. These are the static and the dynamic muscular endurance tests. Static endurance is measured by the players’ leaning against the wall on their backs with their knees bent at a right angle. They are meant to hold that position as long as they can. This is meant to indicate whether the player is in a position to hold his or her muscles while contracted for a long time. Dynamic endurance test is done through press-ups. The two tests are meant to identify muscular endurance, which is important in rugby. This method is best for testing muscular endurance because only fit players will manage to withstand the test (Bompa & Claro 2008). Measuring flexibility Flexibility is normally measured using a device known as goniometer. It has the shape of the protractor and is used to measure the flexibility of various joints in the body. It measures the ability of the body muscles to move around a certain range. This is the best method to be used for rugby players because it is accurate and gives the best results concerning the capability of muscle flexibility in an individual (Renström & Commission 1994). Conclusion Training exercises are fundamental activities in an individual’s body. This is because they promote proper, effective and optimal functioning of the body organs. There are several goals that are associated with training, including encouraging proper health, proper body fitness and improving the physiological skills in sports for better performance. Training is vital in sport and especially in rugby. This is because it gives players the proper fitness components to deliver optimal skills as the game demands. Rugby requires regular training in order for players to acquire the fitness required. From the discussion, it is clear that these components can be tested in the laboratory or in the field to determine the fitness components to ensure that the players in a team are fit for the game. References Barker, R. (2003). BTEC National Sport Student Book. London : Heinemann. Barker, R. (2004). BTEC national sport: sports development and fitness options. London: Heinemann. Bompa, T., & Claro, F. (2008). Periodization in Rugby. Washington: Meyer & Meyer Verlag. Corcoran, G. (2009). Fitness testing and training. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from Components of fitness: fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/13/9781850085157.pdf Coulson, M., & Archer, D. (2009). Practical Fitness Testing: Analysis in Exercise and Sport. London: A&C Black. Gore, C. J., & Commission, A. S. (200). Physiological tests for elite athletes. Illinois: Human Kinetics. HENE, N. M. (2011, February ). PHYSICAL FITNESS OF ELITE WOMENS RUGBY UNION PLAYERS OVER A. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science: http://etd.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/modules/etd/docs/etd_gen8Srv25Nme4_4661_1305016338.pdf Hickey, J. (2006). Understanding Rugby League. London: Coachwise 1st4sport. Lambert, M. I. (2009). ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL CONDITIONING IN RUGBY. Retrieved March 1, 2012, from http://www.sarugby.co.za/boksmart/pdf/BokSmart%20-%20Aspects%20of%20physical%20conditioning%20for%20rugby.pdf M, R. Y. (2004). Reliability of the 400-M Usual-Pace Walk Test as an Assessment of Mobility. 393-397. Renström, P., & Commission, I. M. (1994). Clinical practice of sports injury prevention and care. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. Shephard, R., & Åstrand, P.-O. (2008). Endurance in Sport: Olympic Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine. New York : John Wiley & Sons. Spade, J. Z., & Valentine, C. G. (2010). The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. California: Pine Forge Press. Verney, P. (2006). The weekend athletes fitness guide. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Winter, E. M., & Sciences, B. A. (2006). Sport and exercise physiology testing guidelines: the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences guide. New york: Taylor & Francis. Read More