Science of training

young athletes

Dr. Christine Brooks

University of Florida
USA Track and Field
Coaching Science Education Coordinator
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© Christine M. Brooks
Please use this manual for your own learning and do not
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Thanks very much

i
Topic index

Chapter Topic Page #

1 Introduction to high performance coaching 3
2 Motor performance abilities 18
3 Growth and maturation 30
4 Critical training periods 45
5 Long term athlete development 58
6 Factors affecting the athlete’s potential 70
7 Body structure important for performance 86
8 The athlete’s energy supply 99
9 Energy system power and diet 114
10 Aerobic capacity 124
11 Strength 139
12 Physiology of strength 150
13 Anaerobic capacity 166
14 Coordination 176
15 Flexibility 193
16 Quiz answers 204

ii
Introduction to high
performance coaching

Topics

1
1. Overview of the sports participation market

2. Why kids play sports

3. How we gain knowledge

4. The performance components

5. The competitive performance

6. Key points

7. Chapter 1 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Introduction to
high performance
coaching
What You Will Learn:
When you have completed this chapter you will be
able to:
1. Discuss reasons why kids play sports
2. Describe the multidimensional nature of coaching
3. Explain how we gain sports science knowledge
4. Discuss how the athlete’s physical work capacity
and skill proficiency (exploitation capabilities)
interact to produce a sports performance
Introduction
! Athletes enjoy enormous prestige. This has always been
the case since the very first Olympic Games back in 776 BC.
Some early athletes became legendary for their endurance,
commitment and determination. Theagenes of Thasos was one
of the first celebrities of the ancient sporting world. He became
famous at 9 year-old when
stole a bronze statue of a god,
who was probably a famous
athlete, and carried it home.
Theagenes escaped death for
this sacrilegious act by agree-
ing to carry the heavy statue
back to its rightful place in the
town square. He became fa-
mous for this extraordinary
show of strength at such a
young age. Grateful to be alive, Theagenes began training re-
lentlessly hoping one day to redeem his bad behavior by becom-
ing an Olympic champion. He achieved his dreams at the 75th
Olympiad, 480 BC and went on to win over 1,400 contests in
many different sports making him one of the greatest athletes of
all time.
4
! This is a really neat story because it frames the purpose plain how we gain sports science knowledge, and discuss how
of this course of introducing some important science notions the athlete’s physical work capacity and skill proficiency (ex-
about long-term athlete development, beginning in early child- ploitation capabilities) interact to produce a sports perform-
hood, and extending all the way through to the elite level. Not ance.
all kids will become Olympic athletes, but they can all experi-
ence the joy of exploring how strong they can become, how
fast they can run, how far they can throw, or how long they can Sports Participation Market
run just as Theagenes did centuries ago. Millions of kids
around the world will venture on this journey.
! The exact number of kids who join sports teams is not
! Here is a quick knowledge check for you. Did you know known. Surveys of 6 - 17 year-old US kids suggest anywhere
that 70% of kids drop out of sports before they graduate from between 54 - to - 59%. That's around 21.5 million kids, and a
high school? Research shows that a trained coach, who under- $5 billion/yr youth sports industry.
stands coaching science, not only has the confidence and re-
! For many kids, participating in sports is one of many child-
spect of parents and athletes, but also has a much lower drop
hood experiences. For some it becomes really serious stuff.
out rate. Do you know why kids join sports teams in the first
Swimmer, Michael Phelps, for example, was only 15 years old
place, what the coaching ‘best practice’ looks like, and what
when he competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and 15-
kids hate about coaches and the environments they often cre-
year-old gymnast, Rebecca Tunney, competed for Great Brit-
ate? You need this information to become an amazing coach.
ain in 2012 London Games. One of the most talked about ath-
Do you know why specific types of training programs become
letes in 2014 was 13-year-old female Little League baseball
recognized as ‘best coaching-practice’, and why the physical
player, Mo’ne Davis. She pitched a shut out game in the Little
capacity of the athlete is useless without concurrent develop-
League World series that year and credited for draw five mil-
ment of the appropriate movement skills? You also need this
lion viewers and a 3.1 rating for ESPN. Her pitching skills and
information to become an amazing coach.
life story inspired a Disney movie, “Throw like Mo” and she
! In this chapter we will discuss reasons why kids play was the first Little League player to make the cover of Sports
sports, describe the multidimensional nature of coaching, ex- Illustrated.

5
! However, there is a ‘dark side’ to youth sports as well. Figure 1. Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) survey per-
Four million school-age children in the US are injured while play- formed, for the Aspen Institute 2013. The survey included children 6 - 12
years of age.
ing sports every year. The reason can partly be attributed to
stressing a body that has immature balance and coordination
beyond its capacity. Coaches and parents are often oblivious to
the damage overuse can cause to an open physis (a segment
of bone responsible for lengthening) when rapid bone growth
outpaces the growth of muscles and tendons, and maturing car-
tilage. As the training becomes more intense the risk of injury
and permanent damage increases. A young athlete’s career
can end before it has begun.!

! Injury is not the only issue with youth sports. An estimated

70% of the 21.5 million kids participating in sports drop out be-
fore their high school graduation. Even the younger children
are being affected. Between 2008 and 2013 there were 2.6 mil-
lion fewer 6 - 12 year old kids participating the six traditional
sports (Figure 1). Track and field was down almost 14%, foot-
ball down almost 29% and softball 31%. This is not good news
for the sport organizations. Nor is it good news for the nations
health care system that must solve the medical problems in-
curred by an increasingly sedentary society. with the goal of establishing safe guidelines for training youth.
! Youth who are participating in these six surveyed sports In 2007 the IOC Medical Commission collaborated with the In-
and other sports are doing so at higher training intensities and ternational Federation of Sports Medicine to examine current
competitive demands than ever before. In response to this research about specific physiological characteristics, respon-
there has been an increase in Pediatric sports science research siveness to training, and possible health hazards. A summary

6
was published in a document entitled ‘The Young Athlete”. As
we venture into the science of motor skills and performance ca-
pacities of the child and adolescent current knowledge pre-
sented in this document will be bought into the discussion.
! Pediatric sports science is proving useful for four broad
reasons:
It provides us with insights into the interaction between
growth, maturation and the development of motor skills.
This potentially allows us to more accurately identify and
develop elite talent.
It informs decisions about the optimal methods for train-
ing children of varying ability levels according to their
phase of growth and maturation so that injury and burn-
out is avoided.
It provides possible strategies for how sports can be
used to combat childhood obesity, thereby helping re-
duce future national health care costs. For their own self-
interest, sports organizations need to join the childhood
obesity battle because a high percentage of overweight
kids will affect the pool of available who can be nurtured
into elite athletes.
It brings to light methods for improving the retention rate
of children entering into a sport system. It is believed that
retaining children in a sports program will help ensure op-
timal health during adulthood, in addition to providing an
adequate pool of participants with the potential to com-
pete in the international sports arena.
! In other words, the coach and parent who understands pe-
diatric sport science is potentially at the heart of not only the na-
tion’s international sporting success, but can also have a posi-
tive impact on the future health of the nation’s citizens.
Why Kids Play Sports
! Kids play sport for a variety of reasons ranging from fun, to
be with their friends or, to improve their sports skills. Some
dream of competing on a college, or professional sports team.
Around 460,000 athletes in the US are currently living out this
childhood dream. A small number of these are good enough to
reach the pinnacle of amateur sports - the Olympic Games.
Three time swimming Olympic Gold medalist, Tracy Caulkins
competed for the University of Florida. Another UF athlete,
Frank Shorter, was the first American to win an Olympic mara-
thon Gold medal. Tracy and Frank, and the other 460,000 var-
sity athletes around the country, began their careers in youth
7
Figure 2. Reasons for not participating in sports ! It takes around 10 years of dedication and practice for an
athlete to reach their genetic potential in sports. Along this 10
year journey the coach fills many different roles including
teacher, mentor, motivator, and provider of that all important ef-
fective training environment. According to focus group research
undertaken by Sports Coach UK, an enjoyable training environ-
ment is one in which the coach:

Makes learning the skills and playing the sport fun

Has a clear picture of age-appropriate progression of skills,
provides the correct amount of age-appropriate physical
training to enhance strength, speed, endurance, etc., and
knows what the performance of kids in various stages of
growth and learning looks like.
Uses game-like play to enhance fun and learning.
and high school sports. Youth sports programs are the starting
point for the future elite athlete. Develops a positive coach-athlete relationship where the
athlete’s input is highly valued.
! Of the 70% who dropped out before high school gradua-
Fosters the athlete’s sense of competence and confidence.
tion, just over one quarter had injuries and health problems,
!
and 15% felt they were not good enough (Figure 2). Over 70%
! It is not uncommon for a parent, teacher, or other individ-
dropped out for reasons related to the coach, teammates, or be-
ual to sign on as a coach without fully understanding these nu-
cause they hated training environment. A good relationship with
ances of the overall coaching task. Their knowledge about how
the coach and teammates, and an enjoyable environment is
the body functions and adapts to training, and how the brain
clearly critical to the retention of athletes. There were other rea-
learns motor skills, is fuzzy at best. Like every other career (as
sons as well, such as wanting to do other things, to focus on
coaching is to some), or hobby (as it is to others), coaching re-
grades, or their family was worried about injuries.

8
quires solid education in the relevant components of an optimal Figure 3. How we gain knowledge
sport performance according to the athlete’s biological age and
experience.
! What coaching is NOT is
yelling and screaming. It is NOT
something you sign up for, and
then simply 'do' without relevant
coaching education. You can
ruin many young lives very
quickly with this approach!

In this manual you will learn the relevant sport science funda-
mentals that will allow you to positively, rather than negatively,
impact many young lives. You will not be just an average coach.
You will learn how to become an amazing coach.
the competition and skills. You usually need to join your national
sport organization to qualify for these introductory seminars.

How We Gain Knowledge
! The goals and rules governing the sport’s competition is
the foundation upon which all other knowledge sits (Figure 3).
All sport organizations have beginning coaching seminars
where you can learn about the rules and philosophy governing
! Once you have a sound base of knowledge about the
rules governing the sport and its competition, the next phase is
to examine the motor performance abilities and skills the ath-
letes must develop. Usually these motor performance abilities
involve some combination of strength, endurance, speed, coor-
dination and flexibility that together, form the athlete’s physical
work capacity. Different sports will emphasize one or more mo-
tor performance abilities and, therefore the make up of the
9
physical work capacities of the athletes in each sport are
slightly different. Playing basketball requires a very different ra-
tio of the five motor performance abilities than that needed for
sprinting 100 meters, or for playing volleyball.
! Together, the physical work capacities, and the skills re-
quired by the sport, will reflect the athlete’s performance that is
analogous to the roof being held in place by supporting struc-
tures. In the case of an athlete’s performance the supporting
structure is depicted as a central pillar constructed from three
age-specific prevailing beliefs:
1. Beliefs about the type of training that best enhance the
athlete’s physical work capacity for the sport.
2. Beliefs about sound teaching pedagogy so optimal learn-
ing can occur.
3. Beliefs about the most proficient strategies for perform-
ing the skills, tactics and technique of the sport.
! Insight into how to build the central supporting pillar from
these supporting beliefs comes from two sources:
(a) Input from coaches, athletes and scientists
(b) Knowledge provided by several science disciplines
! Coaches and athletes, on the one hand, are constantly ex-
perimenting with the best technique to use for optimal perform-
ance of a skill, and the type of training that effectively develops
endurance, speed, strength, coordination and flexibility in ex-
actly the right proportion. Sports scientists weigh in with their re-
search findings, agreeing or disagreeing with current coaching
practices, and offer additional insights. Out of these two ‘re-
search and development’ arms we arrive at a set of theories
about an age-appropriate training program design, the best way
to teach skills, how to modify training according to the athlete’s
age, and the relevant technical and tactical knowledge the ath-
lete needs to compete successfully.
! The science disciplines of physiology, training theory,
growth and maturation, motor learning, biomechanics and psy-
chology, among other sciences, provide insights into the ath-
lete’s biological and mental functioning throughout growth and
maturation. This knowledge provides the understanding we
need to design age-appropriate training.
The Performance Components
! The two performance components important for youth de-
velopment include physical work capacity and exploitation capa-
bility (Figure 4). While these two components interact to form
the athlete’s overall level of performance, they are separate
components of this performance.
10
 Figure 4. Each sport consists of two components: Physical work
capacity and exploitation capability
! Physical work capacity, encompassing the motor perform-
ance abilities of strength, speed, endurance, coordination and
flexibility, and exploitation capability (i.e. the ability to perform
the skills, technique, and tactics of the sport) are analogous to a
plug and its receptor. The plug represents the athlete's physical
work capacity, and the receptor represents their current exploita-
tion capability. Looked at separately, the athlete’s physical work
capacity and exploitation capability don’t mean very much. Plug
them together, though, and a sport performance we recognize
as basketball, hockey, sprinting, or gymnastics emerges before
our very eyes!
! The physical work capacity of the athlete is their engine
that you must customize to meet the specific demands of the
sport. Different sports demand engines customized in a very
specific ways. Some sports require engines that produce a high
level of strength and speed, other sports demand endurance en-
gines, while yet other sport’s engines, such diving and gymnas-
tics, will be oriented toward flexibility and coordination. In all
cases, training programs are designed to encourage growth of
certain internal body structures so the relevant components of
the athlete's engine becomes better equipped for jumping high,
throwing further, running fast, running long, or twisting and turn-
ing, etc.
! The engine can only grow as big as the athlete’s genetic
ceiling allows. For this reason, the performance abilities of
speed, strength, endurance, coordination and flexibility have an
upper ceiling to their development. Reaching this upper ceiling
is frustratingly difficult to accomplish.
! The athlete’s level of skill, technique and tactics enables
them to ‘exploit’ their specially designed engine. They are able
to kick a ball more effectively, or clear a hurdle with greater
speed and efficiency. In essence, as the athlete becomes more
proficient in performing the skills, technique and tactics of the
sport, they are better able to ‘exploit’ their physical strength,
11
speed and endurance. Having great strength, or endurance, will
not improve the athlete’s overall sports performance unless
skills, technique and tactics are also concurrently enhanced.
Sometimes the athlete’s skill development does not keep pace
with their physical work capacity and vice versa. Sport perform-
ance requires an optimal interface between physical work ca-
pacity and exploitation capability.
! Developing exploitation capabilities by enhancing the ath-
lete’s skills, technique and tactics is a challenging aspect of
coaching. Not all athletes with an exceptional genetic engine
have the patience, or dedication, to hone their skills so they can
use their engine capacity effectively. An athlete might have a ge-
netic disposition to produce very high movement speed. How-
ever, applying that speed to performing a particular skill, let’s
say hurdling, requires an interface between pure movement
speed on the one end, and the specific skills of hurdling on the
other. These skills include clearing the starting blocks and
reaching the first hurdle in a certain number of strides, then
taking-off, clearing the hurdle, landing on the other side, negoti-
ating the limited space between the hurdle, and then repeating
this nine more times over 100m. The athlete must do all these
things with optimal speed. This is no easy task for the athlete’s
brain to accomplish!
! Growing athletes are a particular challenge. As the child
grows the body changes proportions. Because they are getting
bigger and stronger as they grow the child’s physical abilities
are naturally enhanced with growth. However, during the accel-
erated growth phase, coordination, and therefore performance,
can decline. During the rapid phases of growth injuries can eas-
ily occur due to mistimed signaling from the central nervous sys-
tem. Training harder, and introducing more complex skills is not
the solution in this case. Reducing training and focusing on
maintaining basic skills is the solution.
Competitive Performance
! Figure 5 illustrates how an athlete’s physical work capacity
(i.e. the combination of their strength, endurance, speed, coordi-
nation and flexibility), and their exploitation capabilities (i.e. their
level of skill and tactical knowledge) might look like through the
various phases of growth and maturity. The combination of
these two influences is reflected in the athlete’s competitive per-
formance. The notion that an athlete’s skill development is de-
signed to ‘exploit’ of their physical work capacity appears to
have been first discussed by Yuri Verkhoshansky in 1998.!
! The three curves illustrated in Figure 5 are a hypothetical
representation of how an athlete’s physical work capacity and
exploitation capabilities might change from age 5 years to elite
performer status. For most sports an athlete will not reach elite
status until around age 25 - 30 years. The athlete’s exploitation
12
 Figure 5. Hypothetical curves affecting an athlete’s performance ! By separating the development of physical work capacity
and exploitation capability, and thinking of them as two distinct
components of the athlete’s performance, provides a clearer in-
sight into a youngster’s readiness for a specific phase of train-
ing.

! Also shown on Figure 5 are the commonly recognized

long term athlete development phases. These phases are
based on maturational stage of the anatomical, neurological,
hormonal and musculoskeletal structures. They are repre-
sented in Figure 6 as seven developmental phases:

1) Active start (0 - 6 years) where the child learns basic

movements of running, kicking, throwing, etc.

2) FUNdamentals (6 - 9 years) where the child learns funda-

mental movement skills and builds upon overall motor
skills.

3) Learning to train (9 - 11 years) where the child is ready to

learn overall sports skills.

4) Training to train (11 - 16 years) is where the child is now

Adapted from Verkhoshansky (1998) and Galton, (1869).
capabilities are shown to develop more slowly than their physi-
cal work capacity does because of the complexities involved in
learning the skill, and the experiences the athlete must have for
optimal technical, tactical and mental functioning.
ready to expand an endurance base, develop speed, and
strength, and further consolidate sports skills.
5) Training to complete (16 - to - 23 years, but varies ac-
cording to the sport) is the time for optimizing physiological
work capacity and enhancing sport skills. It is during this
13
Figure 6. The Long Term Athlete Development model used by Ca- phase that the athlete learns how to compete regionally,
nadian Sport for Life. nationally and, if they have exceptional talent, internation-
ally.

6) Training to win (ages are sport specific) is where prepara-

tion is specific to national and international competition.

7) Active for life (any age) is the transition into lifelong

sports participation.

! We will return to the seven phases of an athlete’s long

term development, and discuss the physiological science in
more depth because there are important implications for balanc-
ing training load and competition throughout childhood and ado-
lescence based on phase of growth and maturation.

Key Points

1. Youth sports is a $5 billion/year industry comprising 21.5 mil-

lion children and adolescents. Trends suggest that fewer
children are entering the sports system, and approximately
70% drop out before graduating from high school. This will
affect the nation’s ability to field internationally competitive
sports teams, and place stress on a fagile health care sys-
tem that must deal with diseases associated with sedentary
behavior.

14
2. Pediatric sports science provides the information needed to
develop elite talent and for ensuring lifelong participation.
3. Qualified coaches are critical to effective development of
elite talent, and to a child’s life-long sports participation.
4. Coaches, athletes, sports scientists, in conjunction with in-
sights gleaned from the physiological, anatomical, psycho-
logical and human developmental sciences, among other
sciences, all contribute to our knowledge about how to de-
velop the sports performance of athletes to their genetic po-
tential and to ensure age-appropriate training throughout the
life-span.
5. A sport performance is composed of an athlete’s physical
work capacity (i.e. strength, speed, endurance, flexibility
and coordination), and their exploitation capabilities (i.e.
level of skill, technique and tactics). The makeup of physical
work capacity and exploitation capability is sport-specific.
6. Growth, maturation and training affect the athlete’s physical
work capacity and exploitation capability and, therefore af-
fects their overall sport performance.
Chapter 1 Quiz
1. In conjunction with making learning sports skills and playing sports
fun, which of the following is important to an enjoyable training environ-
ment for the athlete?
a) The coach avoids game-like play during practice
b) The coach has a clear idea of age-appropriate progression of
skills, and provides the correct age-appropriate physical training
c) The coach fosters a coach-dominated relationship so the athlete
does not question his/her instructions
d) The coach motivates athletes by reminding them their skills are
immature, and there is considerable work to do before they are as
good as others their age
2. Strength, speed, endurance, coordination and flexibility are character-
istics of
a) The athlete’s exploitation capabilities
b) Growth and maturation curves of a child
c) The athlete’s physical work capacity
d) Beliefs about sound teaching pedagogy
3. Each of the following are acceptable components contributing to pre-
vailing beliefs about teaching and training young athletes EXCEPT
a) Beliefs about the most appropriate method for enhancing an ath-
lete’s physical work capacity
b) Beliefs about the most appropriate teaching pedagogy
c) Beliefs about the most proficient methods for performing the skill
d) How the coach was taught when he/she was participating in
sports
15
4. In conjunction with providing insights into the interaction between
growth, maturation and the development of motor skills, which of the fol-
lowing is a reason why pediatric sports science is useful?
a) It informs decisions about optimal training methods for training chil-
dren
b) It provide possible strategies for how sports can be used to com-
bat childhood obesity
c) It helps highlight methods for improving retention rates
d) Pediatric science is useful for all the above reasons
5. The upper limit to the size of the athlete’s engine (i.e. the physical
work capacity of the athlete):
a) Is genetically based and for this reason can only ultimately grow
as big as the athlete’s genetic ceiling allows
b) Depends on how proficient the athlete’s skills become. A higher
proficiency causes the genetic ceiling to expand by changing the
activity of the genes
c) Depends on how fast the athlete grows.
d) Depends on the sport. Some sports expand the athlete’s genetic
ceiling.
Coming Up Next
! In the next chapter we examine the five motor perform-
ance abilities in more depth, discuss how they are molded to
meet the needs of specific sports, and examine the difference
between a skill and ability.
References
Columbus Dispatch. Children may be vulnerable in $5 billion youth-
sports industry. (2010). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/08/29/children-may-b
e-vulnerable-in-5-billion-youth-sports-industry.html
ESPN Poll: Parents’ Concern Grows Over Kids Participation In Sports.
(2014). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
http://espn.go.com/espnw/w-in-action/article/11675649/parents-concern-
grows-kids-participation-sports
Ford, P., De Ste Croix, M., Lloyd, R., Meyers, R., Moosavi, M., Oliver, J.,
… Williams, C. (2011). The long-term athlete development model: physio-
logical evidence and application. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(4), 389–
402.
Frank L. Smoll, R. E. S. (2010, April 21). Effects of Enhancing Coach–
Athlete Relationships on Youth Sport Attrition. Retrieved October 26,
2015, from
http://journals.humankinetics.com/tsp-back-issues/tspvolume6issue2june
/effects-of-enhancing-coach-athlete-relationships-on-youth-sport-attrition
Galton, F., Sir. 1869/1979. Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws
and Consequences (Originally published in 1869). Julian Friedman Pub-
lishers. London. Available online at:
galton.org/books/hereditary-genius/text/pdf/galton-1869-genius-v3.pdf
Identifying Excellent Coaching Practice along the Sporting Pathway |
sports coach UK. (2012). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
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http://www.sportscoachuk.org/resource/identifying-excellent-coaching-pr
actice-along-sporting-pathway

Monroe, K. W., Thrash, C., Sorrentino, A., & King, W. D. (2011). Most
common sports-related injuries in a pediatric emergency department.
Clinical Pediatrics, 50(1), 17–20.

Nettle, H., & Sprogis, E. (2011). Pediatric exercise: truth and/or conse-
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Sarbo, D., & Veliz, P. (2008). Go out and play: Youth sport in America.
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Sport for All Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game.
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-every-kid-game

Verkhoshansky, Y. (1998). Main features of a modern scientific sports

training theory. New Studies in Athletics, (13), 9–20.

17
Motor performance abilities

Topics

2
1. Introduction

2. Modeling motor performance abilities

3. Foundational motor performance abilities

4. Derived motor performance abilities

5. Motor abilities needs analysis

6. Key points

7. Chapter 2 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1
Overview of motor
performance
abilities
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this chapter you will be
able to:
1. Describe the difference between a motor ability
and a motor skill.
2. Identify the critical derivatives of the five
foundational motor performance abilities so the
athlete’s physical work capacity can be
customized to optimize a specific sport
performance.
3. Explain the significance of principle of allocation
theory to an athlete’s sport performance.
Introduction
! In the previous chapter you were introduced to the multidi-
mensional construct of physical work capacity, that in the case
of sports, is dominated by the five motor performance abilities
of endurance, strength, speed, coordination and flexibility. You
will sometimes see these motor performance abilities referred
to as 'biomotor abilities’. However, this is a concocted term with
no recognized scientific meaning. I encourage you to use the
term ‘motor performance abilities’ rather than ‘biomotor abilities’
because this is the accurate motor control terminology.
! How well an athlete performs a specific sports skill de-
pends on a unique inherited combination of five dominant motor
performances abilities. The unique ratio of these five abilities
needed for basketball is very different from that needed for run-
ning a marathon, or for high platform diving. An elite performer
in any specific sport has inherited the unique combination of
abilities that permits optimal performance of a skill.
! We also discussed a second multidimensional construct
called ‘exploitation capability’ that is made up of the athlete’s
learned skills, technique and tactics. Together the athlete's
physical work capacity and their exploitation capabilities deter-
mines their sports performance. In this chapter we will delve
deeper into the athlete’s physical work capacity and the compo-
19
nents you must consider when molding it to meet the demands
of your specific sport. Before we proceed, though, this is a good
time to distinguish between a skill and an ability. So far, I have
used both these terms without defining them.
! Abilities are mostly genetically predetermined characteris-
tics that affect the athlete’s movement performance and are diffi-
cult to change. They are the “cards” with which the athlete has
been dealt so to speak. The better the physical ability cards the
athlete has been dealt the higher the odds for developing into
an elite performer. However, while there is a genetic compo-
nent to the athlete's abilities, an athlete’s current sport perform-
ance is the product of genetic factors, as well as training and
learning.
! When watching a hurdler clear 10 hurdles at high speed
over 100 m there would be no question that this hurdler had ac-
quired a high level of a very specific movement proficiency to
rapidly maneuver over these barriers. An expert hurdler has not
only high speed, but has also put in thousands of hours practic-
ing the very specific skill of hurdling. Skills, therefore reflect
learned proficiency for performing a certain motor task. Abilities
are part of the athlete's capacity to become skillful when learn-
ing a novel sports movement. A hurdler uses inherited speed,
strength, coordination, endurance and flexibility to perform the
learned skill of hurdling as fast as possible for 100 or 400 m.
! Every athlete can learn to perform a sport’s skill. Some will
do so more quickly and more effectively than others depending
on the level of their inherited motor performance abilities. So, in
this regard the upper limit to the athlete’s physical work capac-
ity is inherited, while the upper limit to their exploitation capabili-
ties largely depends on the amount of time they practice the
movement units comprising the skill. An athlete can overcome a
lower inherited physical work capacity by performing the rele-
vant sports skills with absolute perfection while taking full advan-
tage of their genetics. The athlete's motor performance abilities
and exploitation capabilities, therefore, need to be examined
separately.
What You Will Learn
! In this chapter you will learn how to mix the five founda-
tional motor performance abilities together to design a very spe-
cific physical work capacity that meets the requirements for a
successful performance in different types of sports. We will be-
gin by examining the issues involved in designing the athlete's
physical work capacity, and why an elite sprinter cannot concur-
rently become an elite marathon runner. Then we will spend
quite a bit of time identifying the critical derivatives of the five
foundational motor performance abilities so the athlete’s physi-
20
cal work capacity can be customized for a specific sport per-
formance.
Designing Physical Work Capacity
! Mature athletes of various sports have a very different con-
figuration of their physical work capacities for at least two rea-
sons.
• First, their structural design and dominant motor performance
abilities differ due to their genetics.
• Second, their physiology and biochemistry differs due to
years of training that has been configured specifically to the
performance demands of their sport.
! Athletes who have inherited a relatively high level of all
five motor performance abilities, and have an average structural
design, are able to perform well at many different sports. We of-
ten refer to these as ‘all-round’ athletes. However, all athletes,
even the so-called ‘all-round’ athletes, are constrained by the
principle of allocation theory. This theory suggests that it is ex-
ceedingly difficult to concurrently develop all five motor perform-
ance abilities to their maximum level. Excellence in one motor
ability can only be attained at the expense of average perform-
ance in the other motor abilities. It is not possible, for example,
to excel in both speed and endurance. Good sprinters perform
relatively poorly over 1500 m, but do well where speed and
power are important, such as in the long jump, 400 m and 110
m hurdles.
! Team sport participants and decathletes/hepthathletes s
come close to meeting the ‘all-round’ criteria. However, even
among these athletes you will find slightly different inherited lev-
els of the five motor performance abilities, and all are con-
strained by the principle of allocation theory. The decathlon
(heptathlon), and most team sports, all require tradeoffs in the
development of motor performance abilities. Maximizing one
motor ability is usually a disadvantage to overall performance in
these situations.
! The other issue faced in optimizing specific types of sport
performances 1s that in their pure form, the five foundational
motor performance abilities are not particularly useful. An exam-
ple is an athlete's absolute strength that is hardly ever used be-
cause most sports skills are performed in less than 0.18 sec-
onds. It takes at least 0.3 - 0.4 seconds to produce a maximal
force. In most sports, therefore, it is the rate and timing of force
development that is important. For this reason, successfully per-
forming sports skills require thinking about the performance
needs of the sport, and how the five motor performance abilities
contribute to that performance.
21
 Figure 1. A two-category model for motor performance abilities
Adapted from: Lãmmie, L., et al. Journal of Exercise Science and
Fitness 8, 44–49 (2010).
! One strategy for thinking about the five foundational motor
performance abilities is offered by Klaus Bös from the Institute
of Sport and Sports Science, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Tech-
nology, Germany (Figure 1). He clustered them into two types
depending on whether they had a dominant energy system com-
ponent, or dominant information processing component. Endur-
ance and strength are largely energy system based. Speed re-
lies almost equally on an effective energy system and on infor-
mation processing, and coordination has a dominant informa-
tion processing component. Flexibility is a bit of an oddball. It is
an innate anatomical characteristic that permits effective energy
transfer between muscles and joints. Flexibility is therefore, in-
cluded as one of the important five foundational motor perform-
ance abilities for sport because of the impact it has on the effec-
tiveness of the other four motor abilities in producing a sports
performance.
! While we could argue endlessly about the nuances of us-
ing this categorization it is a useful starting point for the insight
needed to analyze the make up of the physical work capacity
relevant for a specific sport.
Foundational Motor Performance Abilities
! In this section we will define each of the five genetically
based foundational motor performance abilities in isolation from
each other.
!Endurance refers to the ability to perform work of a given
intensity over an extended time. Three different energy sys-
tems provide the athlete with endurance capacity. Two of
the energy systems permit the performance of very high
intensity work for a short time frame. One energy system
provides energy for low intensity work for long periods of
time. All three energy are critical to the athlete’s sport per-
formance potential and we will discuss them in consider-
able detail in chapter 8.
22
 !Strength refers to how much force the athlete can produce
without time constraints. An athlete’s innate capacity for
strength depends on the cross-sectional area of their mus-
cle, the type of fiber making up the muscle, the direction
and length of these fibers, and nervous system control.
!Speed is the capacity to move the body and its parts very
quickly. Speed of movement depends on the two high
speed energy systems and on the nervous system’s signal-
ing capacity.
!Coordination permits the athlete to synchronize two or
more body parts, and is the outcome of how well the ath-
lete's brain directs the muscles, joints and limbs to perform
the various movement units of a skill. When performing a
skill the body is reshaped within milliseconds. Even the act
of walking and running demands that the leg muscles con-
tract in different intensities, at different times, and in a spe-
cific sequence that reshapes the body thousands of times
to produce one stride.
! Coordination involves three brain processes that occur in
different parts of the brain. This makes coordination a complex
ability. These processes include:
1. Coordination involves three brain processes that occur
in different paths of the brain, and this makes coordina-
tion a really complex ability. And these processes in the
brain include sequence initiation, where movement units
involved in the skill are stimulated to begin.
2. Then in another part of the brain, the time structure of
the entire sequence is established. And the outcome of
this is a specific sequence rhythm needed for optimal
performance of the skill.
3. In yet another part of the brain, the sequence order
for the movement units is established. With practice, the
brain forms a picture of what it must accomplish in the
order for muscle firing, so the movement units occur in
the correct sequence.
! How the brain works to optimally meet the three different
tasks of sequence initiation, sequence rhythm and sequence or-
der has long puzzled motor control researchers. Some athlete's
are able to learn to initiate a sequence, develop the rhythm and
form a mental representation of the sequence order very
quickly. Some require a very long learning phase for these
three brain processes to work smoothly. Some athletes are able
to reproduce complex movements very precisely when there is
no time restriction. However, they cannot perform the move-
ments at the required speed. The age of the athlete is a factor.
Younger athletes have more difficulty when many movement
units are involved in a skill. Coordination improves as the nerv-
ous system matures. However, there is also a strong genetic in-
fluence in all neural processes explaining some of the differ-
23
ences among athletes in how quickly, and how effectively they There are:
will learn and perform a skill.
1. Three different variations of endurances: aerobic endur-
Flexibility is the ability to move joints effectively. Optimal ance, anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance.
flexibility is believed to permit effective use of the other
2. Three variations of speed-strength: Explosive power,
four motor performance abilities.
skill specific speed, and speed of response.
! Together, these five foundational motor performance abili-
ties establish an athlete's total potential physical work Figure 2. The derived sport-specific motor performance abilities
capacity. However,` the training task is not one of maximiz-
ing all five foundational motor performance abilities, but rather it
is to customize or to configure the athlete's physical work capac-
ity by developing these five abilities in the correct ratio.

Sport-specific Motor Performance Abilities

! The five foundational motor performance abilities are the

physical capacity ingredients available to the athlete. Now
these ingredients must be mixed together in the right propor-
tions to produce sport-specific motor performance abilities. In
this section we discuss how we mix the five foundational motor
performance abilities together to configure 10 sport-specific mo-
tor performance abilities that permits specific types of sport per-
formances (Figure 2) Adapted from: Lãmmie, L., et al. Journal of Exercise Science and
Fitness 8, 44–49 (2010).

24
 3. Two variations of coordination: Coordination under time
pressure and coordination under precision
4. Two variations of flexibility: Static and dynamic !
! Endurance variations: Endurance is the ability to resist
fatigue for long periods of time.
Aerobic endurance is the ability of the athlete’s body to
use oxygen to perform low-intensity activities for more
than a few minutes. In many sports, this can be a hour or
more.
Anaerobic endurance reflects the ability to perform very
high intensity efforts without relying on oxygen for 1 - 2
minutes. A certain level of muscular strength is necessary
in these anaerobic efforts.
Muscular endurance is a the ability of a muscle group to
perform many repetitions against a given resistance, or
sustain the action of a muscle group against a given resis-
tance, for an extended time.
! Speed-strength variations: Speed-strength is the speed
with which an athlete can move against a given resistance. Typi-
cally, the resistance is gravity, or a sport’s implement. It roughly
refers to different application of the concept of power, or
strength expressed under various levels of speed. There are
three important applications of speed-strength to sports.
! Explosive power combines maximal speed of movement
with maximal strength while performing movements lasting less
than 10 s. There are three main applications of explosive
power:
i) To produce very high force in less than 1 s (i.e. im-
pulse) such as occurs when rapidly changing direction,
or moving out of the starting blocks during a sprint
race.
ii) To overcome a resistance for 1 - 10 s such as occurs in
Olympic weight lifting, throwing and sprinting of 100m
or less.
iii) To move the body from rest to maximum speed within a
specific timeframe.
!Skill specific speed is the optimal speed (usually less than
maximum speed) with which a skill is most effectively ac-
complished. All jump approaches, for example, require 'op-
timal rhythm speed' rather than maximal speed. The same
is true for all the throwing movements.
!Speed of response or reaction strength is the speed with
which the athlete can transition between one state of mo-
25
 tion to another state of motion. In sports it typically reflects
the speed with which the athlete’s nervous system re-
sponds to a signal. Responding to a starters pistol (audi-
tory response time) to begin a sprint race, or reacting to an
opponent’s change in direction (visual response time), are
applications of speed of response or reaction strength.
Speed of response depends on how long it takes the brain
to interpret the meaning of the signal and send instructions
along the nerve pathways so the muscles are correctly
stimulated.
! Coordination variations: Coordination is the ability to pro-
duce smooth, efficient movement patterns often under uncer-
tain conditions. It involves the ability of the athlete’s nervous
system to communicate with the relevant muscles to synchro-
nize the network of movement units involved in performing a
skill. Movement unit network reliability depends on a well estab-
lished nervous system pathway and this takes many years of
practice. A certain amount of strength input is usually required.
! Coordination under time pressure include conditions un-
der which the athlete must complete a movement within a cer-
tain controlled or uncontrolled timeframe. This causes both
physical and nervous system fatigue resulting in a deterioration
of the athlete’s performance of the skill. For example, while drib-
bling a ball in soccer the player would prefer to do this using a
comfortable time rhythm. However, an opponent can quickly
force the player who is dribbling the ball to begin moving within
a more restricted space, and use muscles on both the left and
right side of the body depending on how the opponent behaves.
Further demands on the athlete’s coordination occurs while con-
trolling the implement and changing direction almost instantane-
ously. In other words, the constantly changing conditions requir-
ing quick nervous system adaptation. Training coordination un-
der time pressure, especially when environmental conditions
are uncertain, involves the use of both agility and mobility drills.
Agility is the ability to move quickly and easily. It requires
the ability to think and draw conclusions quickly in addition
to maintaining good balance under changing conditions
and speed. All agility training is designed to fine-tune body
awareness, reaction time and nervous system muscular
control. Most agility drills are based on very fast stop and
start actions that place considerable demand on the body.
Good muscular endurance is needed for the quality of
movement to be maintained.
Mobility permits the unrestricted dynamic movement of
joints so skills can be performed within the correct time-
frame. It reflects how the joints, tendons, ligaments, limbs
and the body moves while performing the types of move-
ments critical to performing a sports skill. It is, in essence,
the athlete’s ability to reach a desired position or posture
26
 while effectively performing sports skills. This requires
good core control to maintain the stability of some joints
while other joints move into a desired position. Mobility is
similar to dynamic flexibility but it has a specific movement
purpose so a skill can be effectively accomplished. Lack of
hip mobility is a common problem among athletes.
! Coordination under precision requires precisely optimizing
body control in time and space using strength to maintain cer-
tain positions for a period of time. This is seen in gymnastics
and diving. Coordination under precision occurs when the limbs
must be moved precisely to maximize the successful outcome
of the skill.
! Flexibility variations: The word, flexibility, is derived from
the Latin ‘flexibilis’ meaning ‘to bend without breaking’.
The static component involves moving slowly into a stretch
position so as to avoid activating the stretch reflex.
The dynamic component involves moving a muscle quickly
into a stretched position using high amplitudes of motion.
Dynamic flexibility works within the confines of sensors
within the muscle that monitor the tension and length of the
muscle and also within the confines of the sensors that
measure unsafe stresses on the tendon.
! Together the sensors form the stretch-reflex mechanism.
The goal of flexibility is to train a delay, or minimize activation of
the stretch reflex, thus permitting higher amplitudes of motion.
Key Points
! In this chapter we discussed how to customize an athlete’s
physical work capacity according to the performance needs of
the sport. The key points we discussed were:
1. The athlete’s physical work capacity is configured from the
five foundational motor performance abilities of endurance,
speed, strength, coordination and flexibility that are analo-
gous to ingredients used to cook a meal or bake a cake. All
sports use these five basic ingredients but they are mixed
together in different proportions. For example, producing a
power sport athlete might call for 3 cups of strength, 1 cup
of speed, a pinch of flexibility, and 1/2 cup of coordination.
After years of growing and harvesting the basic ingredients,
slowly mixing and simmering them over low heat them for
several years a power athlete emerges from the pot.
2. All athletes are constrained in the configuration of their
physical work capacity according to the principle of alloca-
tion theory. This theory states that excellence in one motor
task can only be accomplished at the expense of all other
27
 motor task. This explains why sprinters cannot excel in a) Speed
b) Coordination
both aerobic endurance and anaerobic endurance. All
c) Endurance
sports require motor ability tradeoffs. d) Coordination under precision

3. By mixing two or more of the five foundational motor per-
formance abilities together a sport-specific motor abilities is
derived. There are three derivations of endurances and
three speed derivations, two derivations of coordination
and two derivations of flexibility.
4. A key coaching task is to analyze the optimal physical work
capacity profile necessary to successfully perform a spe-
cific sport and then configuring the athlete's physical work
capacity to match this profile. To accomplish this one or
more derived sport-specific motor performance abilities
must be precisely honed.
Chapter 2 Quiz
3. Explosive power combines maximal speed of movement with maximal
strength while performing movements lasting less than 10 s. The follow-
ing a main applications of explosive power EXCEPT:
a) To produce very high force in less than 1 s
b) To overcome resistance for 1- 10 s
c) To move the body from rest to maximum speed within a specific
timeframe
d) To produce high levels of energy using the aerobic energy system
4. Flexibility can have both a static and dynamic component
a) True
b) False
5. Each of the following is an example of endurance EXCEPT:
a) Aerobic endurance
b) Skill specific endurance
c) Anaerobic endurance
d) Muscular endurance

1. This theory suggests that it is difficult to concurrently develop the five

motor performance abilities to their maximum level.
Coming Up Next
a) Theory of allocation
b) Theory of construction ! Going hand-in-hand with an understanding of how to cus-
c) Theory of genetic potential
d) Theory of movement construction tomize motor performance abilities is the athlete’s growth and
2. The following has a significant information-processing component ex- maturation. As the athlete grows and matures so do the motor
cept performance abilities. Next we will review the essential patterns

28
of growth and maturation and explain why you usually cannot Lämmle, L., Tittlbach, S., Oberger, J., Worth, A., & Bös, K. (2010). A
assess the innate talent of a young athlete for a specific sport Two-level Model of Motor Performance Ability. Journal of Exercise Sci-
ence & Fitness, 8(1), 41–49.
until they have almost fully matured into the adult stage.
Myer, G. D., Faigenbaum, A. D., Ford, K. R., Best, T. M., Bergeron, M. F.,
& Hewett, T. E. (2011). When to initiate integrative neuromuscular train-
ing to reduce sports-related injuries and enhance health in youth? Cur-
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Schmidt, R., & Lee, T. (2011). Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral
Emphasis (5th edition). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Bompa, T. (2009). Periodization-5th Edition: Theory and Methodology of
Training (5 edition). Champaign, IL.: Human Kinetics. Sinclair, D., & Dangerfield, P. (1998). Human Growth after Birth (6 edi-
tion). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
Bortoletto, M., Cook, A., & Cunnington, R. (2011). Motor timing and the
preparation for sequential actions. Brain and Cognition, 75(2), 196–204. Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, R. H., Marubini, E., & Resele, L. F. (1976).
The adolescent growth spurt of boys and girls of the Harpenden growth
Costa, A. M., Breitenfeld, L., Silva, A. J., Pereira, A., Izquierdo, M., &
study. Annals of Human Biology, 3(2), 109–126.
Marques, M. C. (2012). Genetic inheritance effects on endurance and
muscle strength: an update. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 42(6), Van Damme, R., Wilson, R. S., Vanhooydonck, B., & Aerts, P. (2002).
449–458. Performance constraints in decathletes. Nature, 415(6873), 755–756.
Denny, MW. (2008). Limits to running speed in dogs, horses and hu-
mans. Journal of Experimental Biology, 211(24), 3836–3849.
Diedrichsen, J., Shadmehr, R., & Ivry, R. B. (2010). The coordination of
movement: optimal feedback control and beyond. Trends in Cognitive
Sciences, 14(1), 31–39.
Fleishman, EA and Bartlett, CJ. (1969). Human Abilities. Annual Review
of Psychology, 20(1), 349–380.
Jenkins, J. (2010). Flexibility for Runners. Clinics in Sports Medicine,
29(3), 365–77.
Kostek, M., Hubal, M., & Pescatello, L. (2007). Genetic Roles in Muscle
Strength. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, 11(2), 18–23.

29
Growth & maturation

Topics

3
1. Introduction

2. Important growth and maturation patterns

3. Useful markers

4. Early maturing versus late maturing athletes

5. Key points

6. Chapter 3 Quiz

7. Coming up next
Section 1

Growth & Introduction

Maturation ! Elite athletes have spent at least 10 years configuring a relevant

sport-specific physical work capacity from endurance, strength,
speed, coordination and flexibility. The physical work capacity curve
shown in Figure 1 is a depiction the shape it might take through
childhood and into the elite adult phase. The shape is based on what
is known about how an athlete’s strength, endurance and speed
What You Will Learn develops throughout the growth and maturation phases. The training
goal is to take the athlete from an initial level of limited physical work
When you have completed this chapter you will be capacity at age 6 through to their genetic ceiling for a sport-specific
able to: physical work capacity.

1. Explain the growth patterns of boys and girls

Figure 1. Competitive performance is the outcome of an athlete’s
2. List key puberty markers physical work capacity and exploitation capabilities

3. Discuss why the late maturing child potentially

has the most innate talent

31
 ! There have been efforts to determine what a sport specific work
capacity of successful elite performers looks like. In the case of
volleyball it has been assessed as consisting of 45% strength and
power, 15% coordination, 15% action/reaction speed, 15% flexibility,
and 10% endurance (Figure 2).
What You Will Learn
! In this chapter we focus on growth and maturation patterns
affecting the development of an athlete’s sport-specific physical work
capacity, and the formation of appropriate sport-specific skills,
technique and tactics. Specifically we examine the growth patterns of
Figure 2. Most important sport performance abilities the sport in vol-
leyball
boys and girls, the key puberty markers, and discuss why the late
maturing child potentially has the most innate talent and could end up
being a world champion. We will also examine nervous system
maturation.
Exploitation Capabilities
! The athlete's exploitation capability, through which the
development of the athlete’s speed, strength and endurance is
expressed, is also estimated in Figure 1 for demonstration purposes.
We know that an athlete’s motor skill competency improves with age
and maturation, although how the curve develops over time, and how
its shape compares with the sport-specific physical capacity curve, is
not known. It makes some intuitive sense that an athlete’s physical
work capacity is a precursor to their skill, technique and tactical
development. However, this may not always be the case.
! For example, when assessing the accuracy of a tennis serve
there is a relationship between the athlete's performance and their
coordination abilities. An explanation for this relationship is that
repetition of the motor skills enhance the ability of the nervous system
to refine sequence initiation, sequence rhythm and sequence order of
the various movement units comprising a serve. However, a maturing
nervous system may permit improved motor control and learning,
thereby making it a chicken and egg problem. In essence, it is not
32
clear what comes first. Coordination abilities have a strong genetic enlarge to deal with the higher oxygen demands of the growing
base and are highly related to the quality of sports skills. muscles.

! The potential affect of training before the end of full maturation is ! Girls have a progressive height increase until around 14
not clear. When comparing successful soccer players with less years. Boys reach maximum height at 17-18 years (Figure 3).
successful counterparts, successful soccer players acquire better The typical female is slightly shorter than the typical male until
dribbling skills by age 14, develop their endurance capacity faster puberty. Girls enter puberty 2 years earlier than boys providing
from age 15, and have higher tactical skills at age 17. It remains them with a brief height advantage. However, adult males are,
uncertain if this is the result of genetics, accelerated growth and
maturation, or is due to preferential treatment during training.
Figure 3. Height and weight charts for males and Females
Successful 14 year old athletes follow different developmental curves.
For this reason, a common developmental pathway for developing
optimal performance does not exist. The pathway to the expertise is
different for all athletes especially during childhood when there is
considerable anatomical and physiological change due to growth and
maturation.

Growth

! Growth and maturation are two different biological proc-

esses.

! Growth refers to changes in body size such as height,

weight, and fat-to-muscle ratio. External growth reflects the mul-
tiple simultaneous internal changes within the athlete’s body.
As legs and arms gradually lengthen, the heart and lungs will
33
on average, 12 cm taller than adult females for two reasons. ! The curves in Figure 4 reflect the speed with which the
First, boys grow for two additional years before entering pu- child grows.During the first two years after birth there is very
berty, and second, boys grow faster than girls during puberty. rapid growth. Then the speed of growth gradually slows until
age 9 for girls and 11 for boys. This is the pubescent phase. Pu-
! Height is 80% inherited with the remaining 20% being influ-
berty accompanies a period of accelerated growth in both
enced by environmental factors such as nutrition. The influence
height and weight and is referred to as the “growth spurt” or
of height on performance is sport specific. It is a prerequisite
“peak height velocity” (Figure 4). On average, girls enter into
for success in volleyball and basketball, but a disadvantage for
the growth spurt around 9 years of age, and boys enter around
endurance running. Some talent identification programs, such
11 years of age with the most rapid phase of growth lasting for
as the UK’s Tall and Talented program, target exceptionally tall
men and woman between the ages of 15 - 22 years for sports
where height provides an advantage, such as rowing, basket- Figure 4. Peak height velocity chart for boys and girls
ball and volleyball.

! Normal weight is associated with height, although obesity

can change this relationship. Even though females reach maxi-
mum height by age 14 or so, their weight continues to increase
slightly after that. This added weight is usually fat.

Maturation!

! Maturation describes the child’s progress toward sexual

maturity. An increase in hormones, such as testosterone and
growth hormone, stimulate internal structural growth thereby en-
hancing physiological capacity and exploitation capabilities.
Muscle mass is particularly affected by hormones.
34
2-3 years. About 2 years after peak height velocity, the rate of
growth slows and finally stops. Maximum peak height velocity
(MPHV) occurs at a mean of 13.5 years in boys, and 11.5 years
in girls.
! Here are some useful markers for assessing the puberty
status of an athlete.
The start of breast development precedes peak height ve-
locity by about 1 year, and indicates the stimulus for the
growth spurt has begun for girls.
In females, menstruation begins around 1 year after peak
height velocity indicating completion of most of the
growth spurt.
In boys, changes in the penis precede maximum peak
height velocity by about 1 year. This stage indicates the
growth spurt has begun for boys.
The adult voice for boys appears about 1 year after the
maximum peak height velocity. It indicates the growth
spurt phase is ending.
! Before completion of the growth spurt most of the increase
in physical work capacity and exploitation capabilities for both
boys and girls s due to growth and maturation. A training effect
is possible, but this is thought to be predominantly due to im-
provements in the nervous system that enhances coordination
of muscle fiber firing and sequencing.
! Progress towards the genetic ceiling slows when the influ-
ence of growth and maturation is removed. After puberty, contin-
ued increase in physical work capacity and exploitation capabil-
ity is due to training. After the athlete’s adaptation capacity is
close to its genetic ceiling, adult elite athletes can continue to
improve their performance by focussing on enhancing of exploi-
tation capabilities.
Early Maturing Versus Late Maturing Athletes
! The timing of each athlete’s biological maturity varies even
though chronological age is the same. Figure 5 illustrates three
girls who are 12 years of age, and three boys who are 14 years
of age. However, they have different biological ages, which re-
flects sexual maturity. Athletes who are the same chronological
age can be up to 5 biological years apart. Some will not have
begun puberty, some will be in mid-puberty, and some will be
post-puberty. Children who enter sexual maturity early are re-
ferred to as ‘early maturers’. Those who have a delayed sexual
maturity are called ‘late maturers’.
! The superior performance of early maturing children is
due, in large part, to their physical size, and not necessarily be-
35
Figure 5. Differences in biological maturity for girls with a chrono-
logical age of 12 years, and boys with a chronological age of 14
years.
cause they have superior talent. Late maturing children can be
taller as adults than those maturing early because they are in
the growth phase longer before the onset of puberty. Figure 6
illustrates an example of this phenomenon. The early maturer
has reached his adult height at 10 years old. The late maturer
Figure 6. Example of an early versus late maturing athlete
36
has the height of a 10-year-old at 13 years. However, by 18 the Figure 7. Testosterone and estrogen levels with maturation
late maturer is 20 cm taller than the early maturer.

! Puberty brings the additional advantage of testosterone to

boys, that in turn, influences muscle development and reduces
body fat. Between 12-t-14 years testosterone increases dramati-
cally for the average boy (Figure 7). An early maturing boy will
have this hormonal influence sooner than late maturers provid-
ing an additional temporary performance advantage to the early
maturer.

! Estrogen begins increasing in girls around 10 years old

and rises rapidly between 12 - 14 years. It plateaus between 14
– 16 years. Estrogen increases adipose tissue deposits, and
this can have both a positive and negative effect on a girl’s per-
formance. A bigger mass can provide an advantage in strength
sports. However, the additional fat mass can lower speed and
power performance.

! The critical point is that a young athlete’s sport perform-

ance before puberty is often a deceiving indication of their over-
all potential once they are fully matured. Jean Jacques Rous-
seau, an 18th century German philosopher and writer who in-
spired the leaders of the French Revolution, said, 'Nature never
deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.' This is so true of ers on the team. Neglecting these children due to their lower
youth sport. Early maturing children often receive more coach- level of performance capacity before puberty may permanently
ing attention because they perform at a higher level on the negate their ability to reach their exceptional genetic potential
team. The true talent, however, usually lies within the late matur- and an elite athlete will be forever lost.
37
Other Maturational Issues
! Nervous system maturation: Coordination affects the qual-
ity and stability of sport skill acquisition, and is largely deter-
mined by neurological maturation of the child. By 8 years of age
the brain of children is 90-95% fully developed (Figure 8). After
age of 12, neurological system development slows. Between 7
and 12 years rapid nervous system growth creates favorable
conditions for acquisition of difficult coordination movements,
such as maneuvering the ball between the legs, the lay-up in
basketball, and the spike in volleyball.
Figure 8. Brain development compared with physical growth
! Kinesthetic senses, permitting detection of body orienta-
tion in space, improve by almost 75% between 10 and 11 years
of age. By 7-9 years kinesthetic differentiation and reaction
speed is largely developed, between 9 - 11 years reaction time,
rhythmic abilities and balance are almost fully developed, and
between 7 - 11 years fine motor skill, accuracy and rhythmic per-
ception are fairly mature (Figure 9). Training appears to en-
hance kinesthetic senses. When 7 - 9 years children undergo
training, by the time they are 11 years old they reportedly have
Figure 9. Kinesthetic senses of differentiation, rhythm and
movement accuracy are largely developed by 11 years of age
38
the skill proficiency of 15 - 16 year olds. Puberty has a negative
influence on coordination.
! Postural control during the performance of sport skills re-
quires well-developed vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive sys-
tems. These three systems are structurally present at birth and
continue to mature (Figure 10). Proprioception allows the ath-
lete to sense how their limbs and body is oriented in space and
has largely matured by approximately 3 to 4 years of age. Pro-
prioception functional maturation continues until 7-8 years when
Figure 10. Maturation of the proprioceptive, vestibular and visual
systems
it stabilizes. Further improvement occurs between 10 - 13 years
coinciding with the growth spurt. Movement accuracy relies on
good proprioception.
! Static and dynamic balance depends on the vestibular sys-
tem that is located in the inner ear. While this system is structur-
ally well developed at birth, it is not functionally mature until 15
-16 years (Figure 10). The vestibular system coordinates eye
and head movements, helps maintain normal muscle tone, af-
fects balance and equilibrium, and helps coordinate both sides
of the body allowing important skills such as catching and kick-
ing a ball.
! Visual input is important to postural control, especially
when the support surface is unstable. It also permits tracking
ability. Before age 9 visual tracking acuity is immature making it
difficult to accurately track long kicks, or to kick a ball off the
ground. Beginning at approximately age 10 the visual tracking
acuity achieves an adult pattern, although development may
continue until 15 - 16 years.
! In essence, nervous system development is a bit of a
mixed bag. It is largely structurally fully developed by age 12,
and theoretically a child’s coordination skills are fully developed
at this age. However, the vestibular, visual and proprioceptive
systems are not functionally mature until around 15 - 16 years.
This, therefore, affects the coordination capabilities of the matur-
ing child and will not stabilize until around 16 years.
39
! Thermoregulation. Compared with the mature athlete
younger children generate more heat per kilogram of body
mass when exercising. For this reason the child’s thermoregula-
tory apparatus is under greater stress. Children have a higher
density of active sweat glands, but each gland produces 2.5
times less sweat than it does for the older athlete. Sweating
also begins at a higher core temperature in children.
! Given these differences here are some key points about a
child’s thermoregulation to consider when training children:
1. Compared with the mature athlete, children cannot sustain
activity when environmental temperature exceeds 40 °C.
Children also have a lower tolerance for swimming in cool
water.
beats/minute), stroke volume (amount of blood pumped from
the heart each beat), cardiac output (amount of blood pumped
out of the heart/min) and blood pressure (Figure 11). Heart rate
times stroke volume equals cardiac output.
! The heart and total blood volume of a child is smaller than
that of the mature athlete resulting in a lower stroke volume at
all levels of exercise. To compensate for this, the child’s heart is
30 to 40 beats/min faster at any given level of exercise than the
mature athlete. Maximal heart rates in children under 10 yrs of
age can exceed 210 beats per minute compared with approxi-
mately 195 beats per minute for the average 20 year old ath-
Figure 11. Important variables of the cardiovascular system

2. Children are slow to acclimatize to hot climates.

3. Hypohydrated children are at risk of heatstroke and other

heat illnesses during hot weather. Encourage water re-
placement every 15 to 20 mins.

4. Children wearing protective sports clothing are at risk of

heat related illness.

! Cardiovascular response. Differences between the mature

athlete and children are largely due to a child's smaller body
size. The important variables include heart rate (number of
40
lete. Maximal HR declines with age, and is independent of gen- Figure 12. Breathing rate declines with age in both boys and
der, or level of training. girls

! Maximal cardiac output (amount of blood pumped/min) of

healthy children reaches 3-4 times its resting value. The mature
athlete can reach 7 times resting value. Most of the increase in
cardiac output is due to HR in all athletes independent of age.
In very young children blood pressure is lower than in mature
athletes at all levels of exercise. The lower blood pressure re-
lates to the lower cardiac output and is considered neither bene-
ficial nor detrimental. Children have a greater blood flow to ac-
tive muscle than older athletes because they have less periph-
eral resistance. This helps to effectively move oxygen to exer-
cising muscles despite a lower cardiac output.

! Ventilation responses: Maximal breathing capacity is a
function of the total lung volume. Patterns of breathing re-
sponses to exercise are similar in children and the mature ath-
lete. That is, the higher the exercise intensity the faster the
breathing rate and deeper the breath. Volume of air taken in per
breath is less in child due to their smaller lungs and gradually
increases as the child grows.
! Breathing rate is higher in children both at rest and during
exercise compared with the mature athlete even when body
weight is considered (Figure 12). Per kg of body weight the
breathing rate of a 6 year old is 50% higher than that of a 17
year old. In essence, breathing in children entails a higher en-
ergy cost. While exercising a 6-year-old child can only move
around 30 – 40 L/min of air compared with 100 to 120 L/min for
an untrained adult who has a lower breathing rate. Highly
trained athletes can exceed 200L/min during exercise.
! Ventilatory apparatus: Ventilatory apparatus is less effi-
cient in children compared with a mature athlete (Figure 12).
The ventilatory equivalent is the ratio of air breathed to oxygen
extracted, and is an index of efficiency of oxygen uptake in the
lungs. Oxygen extraction improves gradually until 18 years of
age and then plateaus (Figure 13). Lower oxygen extraction
could be due to shorter time air is in the lungs for oxygen diffu-
sion to occur due to the higher respiration rate. Lung compli-
41

Figure 13. The efficiency of the ventilatory apparatus im-
proves with age.
ance is less and airway resistance is greater in children. These
begin to approach adult values in later childhood. An older ath-
lete is more fatigue resistant and has stronger respiratory mus-
cles and therefore breathing requires less energy.
Key Points
Here are the key points covered in this chapter:
Growth refers to structural changes and maturation refers
to progress towards sexual maturity.
An athlete cannot reach an optimal sport performance
through growth and maturation alone. Training acts to in-
crease an athlete’s performance towards its genetic poten-
tial. Most of the impact of training occurs beginning mid-
way through the growth spurt and on into adulthood.
During puberty a growth spurt occurs. Girls enter the
growth spurt around 9 years of age, and boys around 11
years of age.
Early maturers have an advantage due to their size and
not necessarily to their talent. The best talent may lie
within the late maturers. The increase in testosterone and
estrogen due to maturation can have both a positive and
negative effect on athletic performance.
The neurological system is largely fully developed by 12
years of age. However, supporting structures of the proprio-
ceptive, visual and vestibular system are not fully matured
until 15 - 16 years of age. This affects coordination abilities
and therefore exploitation capability development.
As thermoregulation, cardiovascular and respiratory sys-
tems mature they provide a positive impact on sport per-
formance.
42
Chapter 3 Quiz b) Typically, the rate of growth slows about 2 years after the onset of
peak height velocity
c) Boys and girls enter the phase of peak height velocity at the same
1. Which of the following statements reflects biological characteristic of chronological age
growth? d) Breast (girls) and penis (boys) changes precede peak height veloc-
a) Progress toward sexual maturity ity by around 1 year
b) Changes in body size such as height, weight, and fat-to-muscle
ratio
2. Your female athlete is showing evidence of breast development. You
immediately know that she is . . .
a) Close to her growth spurt Coming Up Next
b) Already through her growth spurt
c) Probably going to decrease her fat mass over the next few years
d) About to have an influx of testosterone ! Between birth and maturity the child’s body is in a constant
state of flux as it transitions through organized and progressive
3. There is no difference between biological and chronological age.
growth phases according to a predetermined genetic program.
a) True
b) False A child's motor abilities will accelerate at times, and at other
times stabilize or even regress. To understand significance of
4. Each of the following statements is true for early maturers EXCEPT: growth and maturation to training we need to discuss the con-
a) Early maturers enter the growth spurt earlier than late maturers
cept of critical periods and sensitive periods. We do this in the
b) The superior performance of early maturers is highly influenced by
their size and maturation next chapter.
c) Early maturers are more likely to become elite athletes than late
maturers
d) The true talent may lie within your late maturing athletes and not
with your early maturers References
5. Each of the following statements is true about peak height velocity EX-
CEPT
Bar-Or, O., & Rowland, T. (2004). Pediatric Exercise Medicine. Human
a) Girls enter the growth spurt around 9 years of age and boys Kinetics.
around 11 years of age
Hebestreit, H., & Bar-Or, O. (2005). Differences between children and
adults for exercise testing and exercise prescription. In Exercise Testing
43
and Exercise Prescription for Special Cases: Theoretical Basis and Clini-
cal Application (3rd ed., pp. 68 – 84). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Jordan D Charles, A. B. (2009). The evolution of speed, size and shape

in modern athletics. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 212(Pt 15),
2419–25.

Malina, R., & Beunen, G. (2008). Growth and Maturation: Methods of

Monitoring. In The Young Athlete (pp. 430–442). Blackwell Publishing
Ltd.

Malina, R. M., Bouchard, C., & Bar-Or, O. (2004). Growth, Maturation,

and Physical Activity. Human Kinetics.

Šimonek, J. (2014). Coordination Abilities in Volleyball. Walter de Gruyter

GmbH & Co KG.

Sinclair, D. (1969). Human Growth After Birth. Oxford University Press.

Steindl, R., Kunz, K., Schrott-Fischer, A., & Scholtz, A. (2006). Effect of
age and sex on maturation of sensory systems and balance control. De-
velopmental Medicine & Child Neurology, null(06), 477–482.

Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, R. H., & Takaishi, M. (1966). Standards from

birth to maturity for height, weight, height velocity, and weight velocity:
British children, 1965. I. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 41(219), 454–
471.

Tucker, R., & Collins, M. (2012). What makes champions? A review of

the relative contribution of genes and training to sporting success. British
Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(8), 555–561.

44
Critical training periods

Topics

4
1. Natural acceleration and regression of abilities

2. Critical and sensitive periods

3. Windows for Motor Development

4. Training application

5. Key points

6. Chapter 4 Quiz

7. Coming up next
Section 1

Critical training Natural Acceleration And Regression Of Abilities

periods ! In the previous module we examined the growth and matu-

rational issues faced by the developing athlete. Now it is time to
apply what we have learned about growth and maturation to se-
lecting the appropriate training. We have assumed there is a
smooth progressive improvement of physical work capacity and
exploitation capability with growth and maturation (Figure 1).
What You Will Learn However, a close up view of the curves between age 6-to-15
years shows periodic rapid improvement in the child’s physical
When you have completed this chapter you will be
Figure 1. Hypothetical curves affecting an athlete’s performance
able to:

1. Discuss the reason for acceleration and

regression of motor performance abilities

2. Discuss the meaning of ontogeny and its

relevance to sports

3. Discuss the relevance of critical and sensitive

periods for the development of motor
performance abilities.

4. Explain timing of windows of opportunity for

development of the five foundation motor
performance abilities

46
 work capacity and exploitation capability, interspersed with peri-
ods of no improvement, and periods of decline (Figure 2). A
young athlete's inconsistent sports performance reflects these
ups and downs.
Figure 2. A child’s improvement over time has many ups and downs
What You Will Learn!
! In this chapter we discuss reasons for phases of perform-
ance inconsistencies. The focus is on how the so-called 'critical
periods' or 'windows of opportunity' of growth and maturation af-
fects the most appropriate training for maximizing the ability of
young athletes to reach their genetic ceiling as they progress
through puberty and into the mature athlete phase.
Ontogeny
! Understanding the evolving nature of the child’s physical
work capacity and exploitation capability, and therefore the qual-
ity of their sports performance, requires venturing into the field
of ontogeny. This branch of biology examines how an organism
slowly evolves from an embryo into an adult. Examining matura-
tion of the child from the perspective of ontogeny potentially pro-
vides better indicators for identifying future elite talent than
does the more common 'champion model' currently used. The
champion model assumes children are simply miniature adults,
and assesses their sports talent by measuring how closely they
resemble the physique and motor performance abilities of an
elite athlete.
! The ‘champion model’ uses external changes to predict fu-
ture internal changes. A 16 year old boy, for example, has
lungs and oxygen capacity almost three times larger than it was
when he was age 5. His heart is 2.7 times bigger. A girl has tri-
ple the grip strength at 16 years than she had at age 5. Her
muscle mass increases almost triples. A longer leg length al-
47
lows a 16 year old to run faster, and with fewer strides, resulting as a child matures. The stretch-shortening mechanism is funda-
in a lower oxygen requirement than a 5 year old. mental to running and jumping and is an important factor in leg
stiffness. Reactive strength was assessed using a hopping test
! However, the ‘champion model’ ignores the physiological
involving 5 maximal vertical hops on a contact mat capable of
evolvement of children into an adult, and how environmental
measuring contact time and flight time. The boys were in-
conditions can negatively affect optimization of genetics. On-
structed to maximize jump height and minimize ground contact
togeny provides these insights by explaining why body struc-
time. In equation form: Reactive strength = jump height (mm)/
tures do not evolve into the adult form at a uniform rate. It also
ground contact time (milliseconds))
explains why exposed to the correct environmental conditions
to ensure optimization of sports potential is important. ! The data are presented in Figure 3. The black dotted line
is the speed of growth of the child. The red dotted line repre-
! Figure 2 illustrates periods of unstable transitions consist-
sents the leg reactive strength index. This index indicates how
ing of progressions and regressions lodged between short peri-
quickly the stretch sensors in the muscle and tendon react to
ods of stability. This explains why a child's sports performance
maintain leg stiffness. The amount of knee bend upon landing
accelerates at times, at other times it stabilizes, and at other
reflects leg stiffness. A small knee bend is desirable because a
times it regresses. Coaching a child who is in a regression
stiff leg allows for faster speed and higher jumps.
phase can be frustrating for both you and the child if you don't
understand why these periods of regression might be occurring. ! Notice how reactive strength increases linearly between
age 9 until about age 10. Then, there is an accelerated in-
! Research on the leg stiffness (also referred to as ‘reactive
crease between age 10 and 11 followed by a decline between
strength’) of children illustrates when and possibly why accelera-
age 11 and 12 years. This decline occurs immediately before
tion and regression periods occur. Leg stiffness, or reactive
the growth spurt. During the growth spurt there is an increase in
strength, refers to the amount of knee bend during foot touch-
leg stiffness that continues until age 16 years. Endurance,
down while running or jumping. The less the bend the stiffer the
speed, and strength show a similar fluctuation between acceler-
leg, that in turn, relates to the stretch-shortening cycle.
ated improvement, followed by a decline, then followed by an
! The leg stiffness research used 7 - 17 year old boys as accelerated increase. The notion of critical and sensitive peri-
subjects to explore how the stretch-shortening cycle responds ods provide insight into what might be happening during the

48
Figure 3. Relationship between squat jump height and the degree
of leg stiffness between 7 and 16 years
Adapted from Lloyd et al. (2011)
phases of acceleration and regression of the child's sport per-
formance.
Critical And Sensitive Periods
! Contemporary child development theory suggests that neu-
ral circuits controlling organ systems such breathing, heart rate,
and reflexes are prewired. However, other neural circuits are
rudimentary, and their formation depends upon environmental
stimulation and experiences. If neural connections are not
stimulated, or are only weakly stimulated, they are “pruned
away.” Highly used neurons integrate into the circuitry of the
brain.
! Rudimentary circuits are wired and mature in slightly differ-
ent ways depending on an athlete’s environmental exposure.
Even the neural circuits of identical twins are wired differently
because their experiences are not identical. Two streams of re-
search help us understand how rudimentary circuits become
fully wired and integrated into brain functioning. One stream re-
lates to the influence of enriched environments, and the other
relates to the timing of exposure to these environments. This is
where the notion of critical and sensitive periods becomes im-
portant.
! The brain structures of animals raised in normal, deprived,
or enriched environmental settings provides insights into the in-
fluence of the environment on rudimentary nervous system path-
ways. Animals in enriched settings where they interacted with
toys, treadmills, and obstacle courses (Figure 4) had larger
brains with more synaptic connections than animals raised in
deprived environments. Extrapolation of this research to the
sports setting suggests that exposure to various forms of move-
ment experiences affects the development of a child’s motor co-
49
 Figure 4. Animals in enriched environments have larger brains
than those in deprived environments
ordination abilities, thereby determining long-term sports poten-
tial.
! Animal research suggests the existence of critical and sen-
sitive periods for exposure to enriched environments. ‘Critical
period’ refers to developmental stages where certain types of
movement exposure appear compulsory for optimal develop-
ment of a sports skill later on in life. Research on vision and lan-
guage has consistently demonstrated the importance of early
exposure to development of both vision and language. The ap-
parent existence of critical periods is the rationale for establish-
ing the government-sponsored Head Start program.
! Lack of varied movement exposures during a "critical pe-
riod" theoretically permanently affects the child’s ability to ever
perform sports skills effectively because the cortical areas allo-
cated to the motor programs do not develop correctly. Remedia-
tion cannot completely make up for this lack of development.
However, the research becomes fuzzy when it is applied to the
development of motor skills.
! While missing the appropriate stimulus during a critical pe-
riod can negatively affect future abilities, missing a sensitive pe-
riod merely delays development of the ability. In the case of mo-
tor abilities, missing a sensitive period makes it more difficult for
the child to learn the skill, and learning takes much longer. How-
ever, the skill can still be learned to a fairly proficient level.
! From the perspective of maximizing sport performance
what insights does this animal research on enriched environ-
ments, critical and sensitive periods have on our understanding
of motor skill development for sport? Does this suggest that a
child’s ability to reach their genetic ceiling for a sport will be per-
manently impaired? These remain largely unanswered ques-
tions and still debated.
! Long term athlete development in many countries is
founded on the idea of enriched environments, and the exis-
50
tence of critical and sensitive periods, although the distinction Figure 5. Windows of Plasticity for brain development allowing for im-
between critical and sensitive periods are rather muddled. proved motor control, skill, technical and tactical improvements
Long term athlete development researchers tend not to discuss
the possibility that missing a critical or sensitive period leads to
permanent damaged. The belief is that the hypothetical win-
dows of opportunity narrow, but do not completely close.

! With this background we will now discuss the windows for

motor ability development, and only refer to sensitive periods
ignoring the possibility of critical periods. Under this assump-
tion, the window of opportunity can close, but the skill can still
be learned, albeit at a slower and more difficult rate.

Motor Development Sensitivity Windows

! The research is fairly clear on a few things. Brain circuits

important for sports performance, for example, develop at differ-
ent times, and this affects the appropriate introduction of spe-
coordination resulting in smooth and balanced muscular activ-
cific forms of training. The general window of opportunity for
ity. Before age 5 different movement experiences have a strong
most gross motor skills is open between birth to around 5 years
relationship with early brain development and motor control.
(Figure 5). Movement experiences during this period lay down
the brain circuits dedicated to motor control. These circuits con- ! The window of opportunity for fine motor control typically
nect to the cerebellum that receives information from the sen- follows the peak in gross-motor development and is open until
sory systems, the spinal cord, and other parts of the brain, and around 9 years. Movement experiences during this time devel-
then regulates motor movements such as posture, balance, and ops the primary circuits needed for learning the type of sports

51
skills requiring a high degree of hand, foot and limb dexterity
and coordination.
! The general window of opportunity for attaining proficiency
of most motor abilities narrows around 10 years. The ability of
the child to easily learn the more complex motor skills after age
10 reflects experiences gained before age 10. Accelerated de-
velopment of motor performance abilities occur in two phases.
One phase occurs before puberty and is related to en-
hancements in neuromuscular efficiency due to the matur-
ing nervous system.
The second phase occurs during and after puberty when
hormone levels increase, muscle fiber-type develop, and
muscle mass increases.
! Pre-pubertal movement exposure while the body is slowly
evolving is analogous to putting the throttle for developing fu-
ture athletic potential half way down. Theoretically, during accel-
erated periods of growth, the addition of a wide variety of move-
ment exposures pushes the throttle closer to the floor thereby
further accelerating, and enhancing motor development beyond
what might occur naturally. That is, the more movement experi-
ences the child is exposed to during these accelerated phases
of growth the better.
! It is not possible to raise the athlete’s genetic ceiling
through these movement exposures during these prepubescent
acceleration windows. However, exposure during these sensitiv-
ity windows potentially optimizes, or perhaps even enhances
structural growth, and therefore motor performance abilities.
This potentially allows an athlete to more easily reach their ge-
netic potential after maturity. Enriched movement exposures
could also permit athletes to reach their genetic potential
sooner providing a fully developed athlete with a longer time for
maximal sport performance - i.e. 5 years instead of 3 years.
Whether this effect occurs is not known and requires additional
research
! Returning to the leg stiffness research, there are two possi-
ble explanations for why we see a period of decline in leg stiff-
ness and other motor performance abilities.
The body may have insufficient energy to concurrently
manage both sexual maturation and improvements in mo-
tor abilities.
The body needs to direct all resources to building struc-
tures for maturation. When the maturation structural build-
ing phase is completed resources are then redirected back
to improving structures necessary for the motor abilities so
they match the new maturation level of the body.
52
! In essence, motor abilities accelerate in order to “catch up” Figure 6. Windows of opportunity for selected motor performance
to the child's enhanced physical growth and sexual maturation. abilities
Aggressively enhancing motor abilities inside the appropriate
sensitivity window potentially stimulates an even higher growth
of the structures that will enhance the specific motor ability.!

Motor Performance Ability Sensitivity Windows

! The timing of naturally occurring accelerated growth

phases that reflect the 'windows of opportunity’ for selected mo-
tor performance abilities is illustrated in Figure 6. The height ve-
locity curve for girls is shown in pink and for boys it is in blue.
Boys and girls differ in the timing of their sensitivity windows be-
cause girls enter peak height velocity two years earlier than
boys.

! Current knowledge suggests the optimal timing for training

key motor performance abilities is as follows:

! Physical literacy is the child’s competence while perform-

ing fundamental movement skills such as walking, running,
jumping, throwing, moving through water and moving through
air. These are the fundamental precursors of sport skills such
as catching on the run, kicking while running, running and then
jumping over a low hurdle with a three step rhythm in between.
Physical literacy has a large sensitivity window from birth to 11
– 12 years of age while the brain is enlarging to adult size. The
accelerated brain development periods between 6-8 years, and
10-12 years, are potentially lucrative periods where fundamen-
tal motor skills appear most sensitive to training. It appears that
children must acquire mature fundamental movement patterns
53
by the time they are 10 - 12 years old if they desire to perform
at the elite level in sports as an adult.
! Coordination mechanisms improve between 0 - 7 years
old largely due to neurological development and enhanced mo-
tor unit recruitment potential.
! Endurance: Aerobic capacity grows significantly between
11-13 years for females, and 11-15 years for males. Training
during this sensitive period can potentially enhance aerobic ca-
pacity by adding an additional stimulation for growth-related
changes in the cardiovascular system, capillaries surrounding
the muscles, the energy production capacity of the muscle cell,
and aerobic enzymes.
! Strength: The optimal trainability window for a girl’s
strength is immediately after MPHV and coinciding with the on-
set of the menarche. For boys it is 12 to 18 months after MPHV.
Before the growth spurt improved strength is due to a better-
developed neuromuscular system and coordination resulting in
more synchronous recruitment of motor units. Recommenda-
tions for training strength of pre-pubescents is to focus on the
neuromuscular system by using body weight and Olympic lifting
technique using sticks. Stimulating muscle hypertrophy be-
comes a priority after puberty by using traditional strength train-
ing techniques.
! Speed: The first speed window for boys occurs between
the 7 and 9 years, and the second window occurs between 13
and 16 years. The first speed window for girls occurs between
the 6 and 8 years, and the second window occurs between the
11 and 13 years. The first window for speed improvement for
both genders corresponds to brain and nervous system growth.
This appears to be the optimal period to train neuromuscular
components of speed such as agility, quickness, and change of
direction.
! The second window corresponds to the following two phe-
nomena.
There is an increase in the muscle substrates and en-
zymes needed by the anaerobic energy systems.
Maturation of the muscle-tendon sensors that improves
leg stiffness and coordination.
! Coordination may decline during the early phase of the
growth spurt. If this occurs a reduced focus on motor skill devel-
opment will avoid training incorrect motor patterns. The highest
natural gains in speed occurs at, and around, maximum peak
height velocity suggesting full maturation of the muscle-tendon
sensors.
! Skill: The window for optimal skill training occurs between
5 - 11 years for girls, and at 6 - 12 years for boys. This corre-
54
sponds to expansion of brain growth toward its adult size. Ac-
cording to brain theory many different movement experiences
will stimulate neuron connections allowing for a greater motor
learning capacity.
! Flexibility: The optimal window of flexibility for both gen-
ders occurs between 6 and 10 years of age. Pay attention to
flexibility during the growth spurt to ensure adequate tendon
length while the skeleton is lengthening.
! Speed strength (power): The two windows of opportunity
for speed strength are 7-9 and 14-15 years for boys, and 6-8
and 12-13 years for girls. This is the appropriate time to train
power and acceleration skills.
Key Points
Windows of heightened plasticity during brain development
are called critical or sensitive periods. During a critical pe-
riod environmental input is required for proper brain circuit
development. If the circuit is left unstimulated, theory states
that brain function served by that circuit is permanently
compromised.
!A sensitive period is the phase when environmental
experiences have the greatest affect on brain circuitry.
These circuits can be shaped by appropriate experiences
outside the sensitive periods, but to a lesser degree than
occurs if the experiences are provided within the sensitive
period.
Failure to exploit the windows of opportunity with appropri-
ate training stimuli could negate the young athlete’s ability
to ultimately reach their genetic ceiling.
An athlete potentially has more difficulty reaching their ge-
netic ceiling by undertaking the wrong training during a spe-
cific sensitivity window.
Undertaking the correct training during the window of oppor-
tunity has two possible effects: a) it could maximize the ath-
lete’s genetic potential, or b) it may allow them to reach
their genetic ceiling at a younger age.
The sensitive periods appear to be hierarchical nature. Al-
tering movement experience timing potentially affects all
neural circuitry development.
Training when the body needs resources for growth and
maturation could permanently affects the natural biology of
the child’s body. The side-effects of performance-
enhancing drugs suggests that faster is not always better.
We must tread with care when trying to accelerate the mo-
tor performance abilities during sensitivity windows.
55
Chapter 4 Quiz c) While physical literacy is relevant to a child’s competence in per-
forming fundamental movement skills a low physical literacy does
not affect the ability of the child to develop mature sport skills later
1. Before puberty the first speed window of opportunity is the appropriate on during the adolescence phase.
time for:
a) Building strength 5. Windows of opportunity is a theory that suggests there are periods of
b) Removing the child from all speed activities a child’s natural growth where training may enhance this natural growth
c) Building coordination and neuromuscular development beyond what might otherwise occur in the absence of training.
d) Incorporating an intensive endurance program a) True
b) False
2. Improvement of a child's motor performance abilities is linear.
a) True
b) False

3. There appears to be two time periods when there is rapid develop-

Coming Up Next
ment of motor performance abilities. Where and for what reason does
one of these periods occur?
! Next we examine the 7-stage Long Term Athlete Develop-
a) Before puberty due to the influence of hormone related enhance-
ments ment (LTAD) model. This model has been adopted by national
b) Both phases occur during the growth spurt due to cognitive devel- sports governing bodies throughout the world as a guiding
opment
framework for sports training and competition sport from infancy
c) Before puberty because this is where the chronological age-
related enhancements of the nervous system occurs through to adulthood and into the senior years. There are four
d) Both phases occur at the start of sexual maturity depending on broad philosophical principles underlying the LTAD module: en-
childhood movement experiences
joyment, striving for improvement, appropriate training, and do-
4. Each of these statements pertains to physical literacy EXCEPT ing no harm.
Physical literacy is the level of competence a child has in performing fun-
damental movement skills such as walking, running, jumping etc.

a) Physical literacy includes fundamental movements comprising

sports skills.
b) The sensitivity window for physical literacy extends from birth to
12 years of age

56
References
Armstrong, N. (2009). Paediatric Exercise Science and Medicine (2 edi-
tion). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
Balyi, I (2004). Long-term athlete development: trainability in childhood
and adolescence – windows of opportunity-optimal trainability.
http://www.mainlandfootball.co.nz/fileadmin/user_upload2/Players/LTAD
_Canada.pdf
Bornstein, M. H. (1989). Sensitive periods in development: structural
characteristics and causal interpretations. Psychological Bulletin, 105(2),
179–197.
Caine, D., & Maffulli, J. (2005). Epidemiology of Children’s Individual
Sports injuries. In Epidemiology of pediatric sports injuries (Vol. 48).
Karger Publishers.
Chugani, H. T. (1998). A Critical Period of Brain Development: Studies of
Cerebral Glucose Utilization with PET. Preventive Medicine, 27(2), 184–
188.
Colombo, J. (1982). The critical period concept: Research, methodology,
and theoretical issues. Psychological Bulletin, 91(2), 260–275.
Hensch, T. K. (2004). Critical Period Regulation. Annual Review of Neuro-
science, 27, 549–79.
Hensch, T. K. (2005). Critical period plasticity in local cortical circuits. Na-
ture Reviews Neuroscience, 6(11), 877+.
Lloyd, R. S., Oliver, J. L., Hughes, M. G., & Williams, C. A. (2011). The
Influence of Chronological Age on Periods of Accelerated Adaptation of
Stretch-Shortening Cycle Performance in Pre and Postpubescent Boys:
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(7), 1889–1897.
Malina, R., Bouchard, C., & Bar-Or, O. (2004). Growth, Maturation, and
Physical Activity. Human Kinetics.
Rowland, T. (2004). Children’s Exercise Physiology. 2nd Edition. Human
Kinetics
Sinclair, D., & Dangerfield, P. (1998). Human Growth after Birth (6 edi-
tion). Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
Superlak, E. (2008). The Structure of Ontogenetic Dispositions in Young
Volleyball Players - European Cadet Volleyball Champions. Human
Movement, 9(2), 128–133.
Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, R. H., & Takaishi, M. (1966). Standards from
birth to maturity for height, weight, height velocity, and weight velocity:
British children, 1965. I. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 41(219), 454–
471.
Viru, A., Loko, J., Volver, A., Laaneots, L., & Karelson, K. (1998). Age pe-
riods of accelerated improvement of muscle strength, power, speed and
endurance in the age interval 6-18 years. Biology of Sport, 15(4), 211–
227.
Viru, A., Loko, J., Harro, M., & Volver, A. (1999). Critical Periods in the
Development of Performance Capacity During Childhood and Adoles-
cence. European Journal of Physical Education, 4, 75–119.
57
Long term athlete development

Topics

5
1. Principles of Long Term Athlete development

2. Physical literacy

3. Recommended objectives and activities

4. Key points

5. Chapter 5 Quiz

6. Coming up next

!
Section 1

Long term athlete Introduction

development ! The popular 7-stage Long Term Athlete Development

(LTAD) model (Figure 1) is rooted in the windows of opportunity
research discussed in the previous chapter. Sports organiza-
tions throughout the world use the LTAD model as a guide for
their talent development programs. The ‘Active for Life” path-

What You Will Learn: Figure 1. Long term athlete development model

When you have completed this chapter you will be

able to:

1. Describe the Long Term Athlete Development

model, its underlying philosophies, strengths and
weaknesses.

2. Discuss the meaning of physical literacy and it’s

potential impact on sports participation.

3. Explain the type of training most appropriate for

each of the LTAD stages.

59
ways provides an avenue for those lacking the talent to pursue to pursue. The appropriate training for each of these pathways
the elite pathway to remain active in recreational sports. is also addressed.!

! The LTAD model begins with a common foundation of

physical literacy that must be accomplished before 12 years of
age (pathways #1, 2, and 3 on Figure 1). Sport clubs and spe- Underlying Philosophical Principles
cialized sport schools provide an avenue for addressing physi-
cal literacy needs of children. After age 12 years a child enters ! The coaching principles of enjoyment, striving for improve-
the excellence pathway (pathway #4) comprising of specialized ment, appropriate training, and doing no harm form the founda-
training. The goal of talented children following this pathway will tion of the LTAD model.
be to advance their skills sufficiently so they quality for youth na-
! The Principle of enjoyment embraces Mihály Csíkszent-
tional competition. Talented youth may then move onto the elite
mihályi’s notion of ‘FLOW’. According to Csíkszentmihályi,
pathway (pathway #6) that can culminate with college and na-
FLOW is an ultimate happiness associated with undertaking
tional team competition, and potentially international competi-
challenges within the scope of an individual’s abilities. Encom-
tion. There are multiple ‘active for life’ routes available when an
passing the notion of FLOW into the LTAD model ensures train-
individual is no longer interested, or able to pursue high-level
ing does not cause athletes to become over anxious on one
competition, but desires to remain physically active for fun,
end of the scale, or totally bored on the other end.
health, and social reasons.
! Figure 2 illustrates the delicate balance between the chal-
lenge of a task and FLOW. An easy task, located in the blue
What You Will Learn zone, and a hard task located in the red zone, takes the athlete
out of FLOW. An easy task eventually causes the athlete to be-
come bored making the task unenjoyable. A hard task raises
! In this chapter philosophies underlying the LTAD model
anxiety, and the athlete may decide to walk away from the chal-
are examined. Also discussed is the definition of physical liter-
lenge rather than continue to face it.
acy, and detail about the pathways a young athlete can choose

60
 Figure 2. The coaching goal is to keep the athlete in a state of
FLOW.
! The yellow portion on Figure 2 represents the FLOW
zone. When athletes are in the yellow zone, such as they might
be at point A, they are in FLOW. Athletes who keep practicing
an easy task will slowly move to B1 that is located in the early
boredom zone. If they keep training in this zone they will be-
come increasingly bored. To avoid this, it will be necessary to
increase the challenge slightly so they move back into FLOW.
That is, the task becomes sufficiently challenging to become in-
teresting again. The athlete returns to a ‘happy place’.
! If the skill is slightly hard, as it might be at B3, the athlete
will take a slightly longer time to return to FLOW. Anxiety will
rise. If the skill is well above an athlete’s current level of skill at-
tainment or ability, such as is illustrated at B4, attendance will
become inconsistent and dropping out becomes an increasing
risk. Being in FLOW means the athlete feels sufficiently chal-
lenged, yet not overwhelmed to the point of feeling incompe-
tent. How quickly an athlete becomes anxious or bored will be
different for each athlete.
! Learning requires athletes are slightly aroused and have
an ongoing belief about their ability to ultimately accomplish the
skill. The coaching goal is to train athletes in small, manageable
learning steps so they remain in the zone of FLOW.
! Principle of striving for improvement involves enticing
young athletes to constantly strive for the upper limits of their
genetic potential while keeping them in FLOW. If they are out of
‘FLOW’ it is theoretically impossible to motivate ongoing prac-
tice and striving, and therefore progress toward full genetic po-
tential will be blunted. The components of the skill, and the train-
ing challenge, requires variety so the child maintains emotional
connection to the purpose behind their training.
! Principle of appropriate training goes hand-in-hand with
the child’s growth and maturation. There is rapid growth during
infancy, steady growth throughout pre-puberty, rapid growth
again during the early phases of puberty, followed by slower
growth during the final stage of puberty. The nervous, hormo-
nal and musculoskeletal systems develop at various rates dur-
ing each of these phases and this affects the child’s physical
61
and mental capacity to train and learn skills. The LTAD model
attempts to match structural growth and maturation to the appro-
priate motor skill complexity and intensity of physical training.
! Principle of doing no harm embraces the ideals of the Hip-
pocratic oath of ‘first, to do no harm’. The mental and physical
health of the athlete supersedes all other training goals.
! The LTAD model is controversial because research is un-
able to prove, or negotiate the notions underlying it. As well,
sensitivity periods and windows of opportunity are based on ani-
mal research. However, the framework is useful because it
guides training and competition plans suitable for the athlete’s
stage of development. The LTAD model also reinforces the four
coaching principles of enjoyment, striving for improvement, ap-
propriate training, and doing no harm to the athlete.
! The ‘long term” component of the Long Term Athlete Devel-
opment model also reflects the training timespan for body struc-
tural adaptation.
Physical Literacy!
! In 2001 Margaret Whitehead wrote a paper entitled “The
concept of Physical Literacy”. Her first sentence was: “The in-
tention of this paper is to open a debate on the concept of Physi-
cal Literacy”. And, that she did. Her philosophical paper
sparked considerable academic discussion. From Whitehead’s
perspective physical literacy not only incorporated physical com-
petence, but also being able to ‘perceive intelligently and re-
spond appropriately.’ Over time the definition of physical literacy
became “the motivation, confidence, physical competence,
knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility
for engagement in physical activities for life”. As a definition,
this is quite a mouthful, but it wasn’t long before the implications
of physical literacy, and it relationship to developing sport talent
was being discussed. From the early formation of the LTAD
model, physical literacy was a foundational component.
! Ten countries have built physical literacy into their sport
policies and developmental programs. There has also been re-
cent discussion about how physical literacy can help fight obe-
sity. Children lacking well-rounded physical literacy tend to be
more sedentary than children who have good physical literacy.
! Many graphical adaptations of the LTAD model exist. The
depiction in Figure 1 is one example. Figure 3 illustrates the ap-
proach used by Canadian Sport for Life. Many sport organiza-
tions have developed their own LTAD model each including
three phases of physical literacy before puberty: Active start (0-
6 years), FUNdamentals (6 - 9 years), and Learn to Train (9 -
12 years). However, applying physical literacy to developing
elite sports talent has not been well researched. Physical liter-
62
 Figure 3. The Long Term Athlete Development model used by Ca-
nadian Sport for Life.
acy is simply operationalized as the child learning fundamental
movement skills, followed by fundamental sport skills and dem-
onstrating confidence and competence in a wide variety of
movements and environments.
! Despite over 10 years of promotion about the importance
of physical literacy, many children are still not getting the move-
ment exposures they need to become “competent and confi-
dent” when performing physical movements. This is affecting
the quality of the movement skills children bring with them when
they join sports teams. The problem sport organizations face
when implementing the LTAD model is how to ensure their base
of young talent is exposed to relevant physical literacy skills
that transfer to learning more complex sport skills.
! There is also the problem of deciding what specifically con-
tributes to ‘moving with confidence and competence’ so it is pos-
sible to train these characteristics. The notion of a ‘wide variety
of movement experiences in different environment’s’ approach
developed out of physical education pedagogy. This might be
quite suitable for children under 6 years of age. After that, what
specifically needs to be done to ensure the correct type of physi-
cal literacy upon which sports skills can be built? To address
this, there have been efforts to define ‘moving with competence
and confidence’ according to stability and balance, both of
which are neurologically based.
! Figure 4 is an adaption of how Larry Meadors has ana-
lyzed the type of physical literacy necessary for profecient base-
ball skills. According to Meadores, stability and balance are the
core components of physical literacy for the advanced baseball
transportation and object control skills. Therefore, a child’s
physical literacy should be assessed according to balance and
stability while moving and controlling objects. Stability training
63
Figure 4. Movement classes for physical literacy are stability
and balance control that are the foundation of competence and
confidence for movement transportation and object control.
teaches the athlete how to control the body and its parts while
moving. Balance training teaches the athlete how to adjust
body parts by making the necessary muscle and nervous sys-
tem adjustments. Proficiency of transportation movements such
as climbing, galloping, leaping, etc., demands both stability and
balance control, as do the object control skills of sending, receiv-
ing, traveling and striking objects (Figure 4).
! While the neuromuscular system underlying stability and
balance is completed before 12 years, the structural compo-
nents including the visual, vestibular and proprioceptive sys-
tems are not functionally mature until 16-to-17 years of age.
This is a key reason why the young athlete lacks full mechani-
cal efficiency until late adolescence. In essence, the focus on
developing physical literacy should not end at age 12 years as
the LTAD model suggests, but requires ongoing development
throughout adolescence.
! After analyzing the skill requirements for basketball, Can-
ada Basketball incorporates two classes of physical literacy pro-
ficiencies into their developmental program. One class involves
generic movements such as pushing, pulling, lunging squatting,
bending, twisting, and the three transportation modes of walk-
ing, jogging and sprinting. These movements are combined to
create basic basketball-specific movements of dodging, throw-
ing, catching and jumping. Players must be able to perform
these movements in the three body planes: frontal plane (di-
vides the body into front and back), the sagittal plane (divides
the body into right and left halves) and transverse plane (di-
vides the body into top and bottom). The second class of
basketball-specific physical literacy skills include the stance,
footwork, dribbling, passing and shooting that are also practiced
using the three planes of the body.
64
! In his paper entitled ‘Training for sports speed and agility’,
Paul Gamble suggests that collision avoidance, stumble recov-
ery after a collision, safe falling and sliding, fall recovery, and
landing from a leap after a collision, are also necessary physi-
cal literacy training for team sport athletes.
! It appears from these examples that ‘moving confidently
and competently’ is both multi-dimensional and sport-specific.
Sport organizations need to analyze the physical literacy compo-
nents underlying the skills of their sport and develop a relevant
sport-specific physical literacy plan for children between 6 - 12
years of age and beyond.
Recommended Training
! Following is a brief outline of suggested training for each
stage of the LTAD model.
! Physical literacy phases
! Active Start (0 - 6 years). The main objective of this phase
is to introduce a wide variety of movements and encourage the
child to explore different types of movement. There is no formal
coaching in this stage.
! FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9). Children in this stage
want to have FUN, be with friends, and to feel competent in
their movement. Unless they are participating in early-
specialization sport such as gymnastics, figure skating, or div-
ing, movement experiences in a variety of land, water, ice and
snow based sports is recommended. Children in this stage can
follow simple rules and learn how to make sound decisions dur-
ing games. Their neurological maturation permits training
speed, flexibility, skill and technique development (Figure 5).
! Learn to Train: (girls 8-11, boys 9-12). The Learn to Train
stage ends when the growth spurt begins. The child’s brain has
approached adults size and complexity making it possible for a
child to more precisely control their movement skills. Avoid for-
malized physical training by developing endurance and strength
through games, relays, and body weight exercises. Children
who are the same chronological age can be at different maturity
levels, so discourage comparison with each other.
! Excellence pathway!
! Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16). This phase begins
and ends with the growth spurt during which time rapid physical
changes occur. The growth spurt disrupts coordination and mo-
tor control, making it more difficult to learn new sport skills. It is
not uncommon for a brief regression in skills to occur during the
65
Figure 5. Summary of sensitivity periods based on age and peak • Athletes remain in different phases of maturity, so careful
height velocity not to overlook the late maturers.

• Begin teaching athletes how to manage the physical and

mental challenges of competition.

• Use competition during training in moderation, and under

realistic conditions will enhance development of technique,
tactics, and decision-making skills.

• Use practice matches, competitive games and drills to pro-

vide sufficient opportunity to enhance skills and physical
work capacity.

! Train to Compete: (females 15-21, males 16-23). In this

phase athletes typically focus on one sport. Their knowledge
about nutrition, sport psychology, recovery, regeneration, injury
prevention, and injury management becomes important. Formal
competition and major national and international events play a
more prominent role in the athlete’s development. Other coach-
ing considerations include:

early rapid growth phase. Towards the end of the stage formal-
ized development of strength and anaerobic energy system ca-
pacity can begin. Other coaching considerations include:
• Include flexibility exercises to help muscles, tendons and
ligaments adjust to the rapid growth of bones.
• Provide year-round, high intensity, individual event and
position-specific training.
• Provide the opportunity for athletes to practice their skills
under a variety of competitive conditions.

66
 • Tailor and refine individual-specific training, recovery pro-
grams, psychological preparation, and technical develop-
ment.
Elite pathway!
! Train to Win (females 18+, males 19+). Athletes have real-
ized their full genetic potential and now train to maximize and
maintain their competitive performance at the highest level.
Active for Life stage
! Some athletes in the Active for Life phase remain involved
in very high age-group competition, while others pursue sport
for fitness and health simply for personal satisfaction.
Key Points
Here are the key points from this chapter
The 7-stage long-term athlete development model (LTAD) is
a method for managing the correct developmental progres-
sion of an athlete’s training and skill throughout childhood
and into the adult stage when optimal performance typically
emerges and consolidates. The ultimate goal of the LTAD
model is to maximize the development of elite talent and to
encourage the remainder to become lifelong recreational
sports participants.
The LTAD model embraces are four implicit underlying
coaching principles: enjoyment, striving for improvement, ap-
propriate training and doing no harm
The foundation of the LTAD model is to ensure adequate
physical literacy before 12 years of age. Building on physical
literacy is the phase of excellence during which elite sports
performance is perfected.
The timing for training of motor performance abilities is
based on theoretical windows of opportunity coinciding with
brain maturation and periods of natural accelerated growth.
While the existence of these windows is controversial the
LTAD framework is useful because it forces a focus on the
‘long-term’ component of an athlete’s development where
mental and physical health is of prime concern.
67
Chapter 5 Quiz
5. Which of the following statements best reflects the principle of striving
for improvement?
1. Each of these is a principle underlying the Long Term Athlete Develop-
ment model EXCEPT: a) We should strive to ensure all children and adolescent experience
joy of sports by designing the concept of flow into training
a) Principle of enjoyment b) * We need to encourage an athlete to train and practice at a suffi-
b) Principle of striving for improvement cient level so they experience the emotional reward of achieve-
c) * Principle of coaching effectiveness ment
d) Principle of appropriate training c) It is important to match structural growth and maturation of the ath-
e) Principle of doing no harm lete to the appropriate complexity of the skill and training intensity

2. Which of the following reason(s) make the LTAD model controversial?

a) It is difficult to conduct research that reinforces or negates the con-

cepts it embraces
Coming Up Next
b) Much of the research has been done on animals
c) It is not particularly useful for guiding the athletes training through
growth and maturation
! In the next chapter we examine the impact of genotype,
d) * Both a and b are reasons that make the LTAD model controver-
sial phenotype, and specific sports training on an athlete’s sport per-
formance. We will also discuss how the body changes structur-
3. Each of the following is a stage of the LTAD model that incorporates
ally and physiologically in response to training, and why differ-
physical literacy EXCEPT
a) Active start ent types of adaptation occur.
b) * Train to train
c) Fundamentals
d) Learn to train
References
4. While controversial, it is believed that proficient attainment of funda-
mental movement patterns before puberty is important to attaining the
more advanced sports skills. Balyi, I., Way, R., Norris, S., Cardinal, C. & Higgs, C. (2005). Canadian
sport for life: Long‐term athlete development resource paper. Vancouver,
a) True
BC: Canadian Sport Centers.
b) False

68
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engage-
ment with Everyday Life (Reprint edition). New York: Basic Books.
Ford, P., De Ste Croix, M., Lloyd, R., Meyers, R., Moosavi, M., Oliver, J.,
… Williams, C. (2011). The Long-Term Athlete Development model:
Physiological evidence and application. Journal of Sports Sciences,
29(4), 389–402.
Gamble, P. (2008). Approaching Physical Preparation for Youth Team-
Sports Players. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30(1), 29 – 42.
McGill, S. (2004). Developing strength, power, and agility. In Ultimate
back fitness and performance (pp. 282 – 308). Wabuno, Canada.
Meadors, L. (n.d.). Practical Application for Long-Term Athletic Develop-
ment. Retrieved May 8, 2016, from
https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/practical-application-for-long-ter
m-athletic-development
Naughton, G., Farpour-Lambert, N. J., Carlson, J., Bradney, M., & Van
Praagh, E. (2000). Physiological issues surrounding the performance of
adolescent athletes. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 30(5), 309–325.
Physical Literacy in Coaching Education Materials: A Case Study of Can-
ada Basketball. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2016, from
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/case-studies/50170442/physical-litera
cy-coaching-education-materials-case-study-canada-basketball
Roetert, E. P., & MacDonald, L. C. (2015). Unpacking the physical liter-
acy concept for K-12 physical education: What should we expect the
learner to master? Journal of Sport and Health Science, 4(2), 108–112.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2015.03.002
Sullivan, P. J., Whitaker-Campbell, T., & MacKay, M. (2010). Physical Lit-
eracy in Coaching Education Materials: A Case Study of Canada Basket-
ball. Physical & Health Education Journal, 76(1), 32–35.
What is Physical Literacy? | PHE Canada. (2010, July 5). Retrieved May
8, 2016, from
http://www.phecanada.ca/programs/physical-literacy/what-physical-litera
cy
Whitehead 1, M. (2001). The Concept of Physical Literacy. European
Journal of Physical Education, 6(2), 127–138.
http://doi.org/10.1080/1740898010060205
Resource Documents.
Northern Ireland
http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/areas_of_learning/
physical_development/FMS_Intro_Booklet.pdf
Sport New Zealand
http://www.coach.ca/fundamental-movement-skills-s16736
New South Wales Department of Education and Training document. Get
skilled, get active.
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/pdhpe/asset
s/pdf/gsga/wholebooklet.pdf
69
Factors affecting an athlete’s
potential

Topics

6
1. Genotype versus phenotype

2. The sports performance ceiling effect

3. Building the athlete’s engine

4. Why the body’s systems adapt

5. The mysterious adaptive mechanism

6. Key points

7. Chapter 6 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1

Factors affecting On Becoming An Expert

an athlete’s ! How do elite sport performers attain such a high level of

expertise? In the early 1990s K. Anders Ericsson proposed that
exceptional performance is the culmination of years of intense

potential practice that selectively stimulates dormant genes within the in-
dividual’s DNA. He arrived at this conclusion after studying how
top violinists in Berlin became really good at playing the violin.
One commonality was a magic number of 10,000 hours, or
around 10 years of intense practice they had put into learning
how to play the violin. Those who were not considered to be ex-
What You Will Learn:
pert violinists had practiced less than 10,000 hours. Ericsson
theorized that the genes for becoming an expert performer in
When you have completed this chapter you will be any complex skill are inside all of us. It is simply a matter of
able to: stimulating those genes with sufficient hours of intense training.

1. Describe the difference between genotype and
phenotype and the effect of both on sport
performance.
2. The constraints imposed by the athlete’s
phenotype.
3. How training stimulates the body to adapt and
why unexpected adaptations can occur.
! Ericsson’s 10,000 hours of intense practice theory that
‘wakes up’ genes has been highly debated and challenged. In
Australia, 28% of the international athletes achieved elite status
within 4 years of specializing in a sport. Australian scientists
also claimed success in transferring talent from one sport to an-
other. Australian athletes from various sports who had excep-
tionally high speed and power, and possessed the ideal phy-
sique for Olympic skeleton racing, were trained for the Olympic
skeleton. After 14 months of training, the transferred athletes
outperformed more experienced skeleton competitors. It could

71
be argued that skeleton racing skills are easily learned making lates the body to adapt, and why unexpected adaptations can
speed, power and body shape the only physical assets re- occur is also discussed.
quired. In addition, the number of hours the Australian athletes
had practiced their previous sports was not reported. Michael
Jordan’s attempt to transfer his basketball skills to baseball illus- The Role Played By Genetics
trates how difficult it is to transfer skills from one sport to an-
other, at least over the short term.
! DNA, the Human Genome Project, chromosomes and epi-
! From experience we know that becoming good at a task genetics provide insights into how the athlete’s body is biologi-
requires practice. We also know individuals who have practiced cally molded to produce a specific type of athletic performance.
the skills of a sport for at least 10 years, and spent thousands
! DNA contains the genetic information for all of the body’s
of dollars on lessons, yet their ‘elite genes’ remain dormant.
cells. It is a spiraled ladder-like structure. The DNA molecule is,
They do not improve very much. This suggests other factors
in turn, packaged into threads called chromosomes (Figure 1).
are involved in attaining sports expertise. While scientists and
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (for a total of 46). Of
coaches generally agree that these other factors include the ath-
those, 1 pair is the sex chromosomes and determines whether
lete’s genes, the notion that we all have the expert genes lying
you are male or female, and other body characteristics. The
within us, as Ericsson suggests, is not currently supported. We
other 22 pairs determine the remainder of the body’s makeup. A
all have the potential to attain a reasonable level of skill with
gene is a distinct portion of DNA that contains the coded instruc-
many hours of intense practice, but not elite status.
tions for making everything the body needs, especially proteins.
Biological functions such as digestion, making energy and grow-
ing all rely on proteins. Humans have about 25,000 genes. !
What You Will Learn
! The human genome defines a complete copy of gene in-
structions. In 2003 the Human Genome Project identified all the
! In this chapter we tackle some of the issues of genes ver-
genes in human DNA. It is not possible to change DNA. How-
sus training, and examine how an athlete’s genotype and phe-
ever, it appears possible to activate bits of the DNA and inacti-
notype interact to affect sport performance. How training stimu-
vate other bits. The field of study identifying how this happens
72
Figure 1. DNA carries the athlete’s genetic information that are pack- ure 2 is reasonably similar. They are both very lean. However,
aged into 23 paris of chromosomes.
their physique is different from the 100 m female sprinter who
shows much more muscle definition. To understand why the dif-
ferences occur, and the interaction effects of genes versus train-
ing, we must delve genotype versus phenotype.

! Genotype refers to the genetic blueprint guiding how an

athlete’s body is built and functions. Phenotype describes the
athlete’s physical characteristics. It includes overall health, ten-
dency for certain diseases, behavioral characteristics and per-
sonality. The athlete’s ability to gain muscle mass easily, their

Figure 2. The athletic body

is known as "epigenetics" and provides some explanation for

how training turns genes on or off.

Genotype Versus Phenotype

! Each sport has a unique anthropometric requirement.

Gymnasts are short, basketball players are tall, rugby players
are medium and muscular, and so on. The physique of the two
5000 m runners at the starting line of the 2012 Olympics in Fig-

73
 Figure 3. How the genotype and environmental factors interact
anxiety level, likes and dislikes of certain sports, and how easily to produce a specific sport phenotype. The arrows indicate in-
they respond to training, are all components of the athlete’s phe- formation flow.
notype. Some aspects of phenotype are a direct result of geno-
type. Other aspects are due to the athlete’s environment and ex-
periences. Environmental factors such as diet, climate, illness
and stress all influence the athlete’s phenotype. In other words,
both genotype and environmental factors determines pheno-
type. The genetic blueprint determines how the body and brain
is built and works. Environmental influences modify the genetic
blueprint.

Phenotypic Plasticity

! The interaction between phenotype, genotype and environ-

ment is similar to the interaction between the hardware of a
desktop computer, the operating system, and applications
(Apps) (Figure 3). All athletes have the same hardware consist-
ing of the heart, lungs, muscles, bones, nerves, etc. However,
operation of these body parts can vary slightly from athlete to
athlete depending on the inherited operating system (i.e the ath-
lete’s genotype). Genotype works in the background to deter-
mine the size of the body parts, their structure, and how effi-
ciently they work. This is what contributes to the athlete’s ge-
netic ceiling to which we have frequently referred. The genes
athletes are born with, are the cards they are dealt.
! In the computer world applications (apps) allow personal-
ization of the computer for your specific needs. For example, if
you want to draw, you install a drawing app. If you want to write
a document, you install a writing app. The human body also has
‘apps’ that permits customization for specific tasks. These apps
include diet, training, facilities, and other environmental factors.
The correct selection of ‘apps’ permits design of the appropriate
sport phenotype that determines optimal performance in a spe-
cific sport.

74
! The athlete’s phenotype is ‘plastic’ in nature, and this per-
mits it to be molded to match that needed for optimal perform-
ance in a specific sport. Figure 4 illustrates the consequence of
purposeful molding of an athlete’s phenotype. The two individu-
als in the photo are identical twin brothers. One trained as a dis-
tance runner, and the other as a body builder. The training pro-
Figure 4. Identical twins of different body size and composition due
to different training
Photo from: Rennie, MJ. (2005).
gram undertaken by each twin customized their physical work
capacity and exploitation capabilities to meet the demands of
their sport.
! Factors influencing an athlete’s sport phenotype include
training effects, environmental effects, health, diet and stress.
The training effect on phenotypic plasticity reflects the
genotype-training-interaction effect. Training can enhance the
energy systems, muscle fibers, enzyme capacity of skeletal
muscle, and so on. While research is scant, genotype and phe-
notype is believed to contribute roughly 50% to the athlete’s per-
formance potential. The following is a general guideline for the
influence of the other factors (Figure 5):
Genotype contributes roughly 50%. This cannot be
change through training.
Environmental factors, diet, health, emotional stress and
other factors such as adequate access to necessary train-
ing facilities, appears to contribute roughly 30%
The specific effect of training, i.e. the genotype-training-
interaction effects, appears to contribute about 15%. The
remaining 5% is error.
! Environmental influences and genotype-training-
interactions are under the athlete’s direct control. The inherited
genotype (i.e. the operating system) is not under their control. It
75
Figure 5. Genotype and phenotypic plasticity contribution to an sports for which each is suited. Height is 80% influenced by ge-
athlete’s performance potential
netics, aerobic capacity in the untrained state and how it re-
sponds to training is approximately 50% inherited (Figure 6).
The data on muscle anaerobic power less clear. However, re-
search indicates anaerobic heritability ranges from 46 - 84%.
At full maturity the genetic influence on anthropometric dimen-
sions such as height, arm or leg length, etc., has been fully ex-
pressed. Nothing can be done to change the athlete's anthro-
pometric characteristics such as leg, arm and torso length.

Figure 6. Influence of genetics on height, aerobic capacity and an-

aerobic power.

Adapted from Simoneau, JA. & Bouchard, C. (1998 p. 18) and Klissouras & Pigozzi
(2009).

is fixed, and determines the upper ceiling to which an athlete’s

sports performance can reach.

Genetic Ceiling Effect

! The athlete’s genotype largely dictates the size of the ex-

ternal and internal body structures. This, in turn, relates to the

76
! Unlike anthropometric dimensions, though, the average un-
trained individual’s internal structures are far from their genetic
capacity. The body only maintains internal structural size it re-
quires for current level of daily activity. Considerable built-in ex-
cess capacity is held in reserve that, for most people, is never
tapped due to their sedentary behavior (Figure 7). Training can
‘trick’ the body into thinking it needs more physical capacity to
meet its survival needs. In this way training induces internal
structures to grow bigger and stronger, or increase the activity
of enzymes and hormones. This is the genotype-training-
interaction effect.
! The most important training response is to stimulate genes
to produce the relevant proteins needed to improve stressed in-
ternal structures. This is one method by which training improves
an athlete's sports phenotype over time. When training stops
the structures regress to a level matching daily activity needs.
In other words, phenotypic plasticity can go in both directions
depending on the training the athlete is undering.
! Some athletes are really lucky with their genetics, espe-
cially when it comes to their structural design. Swimmer, Mi-
chael Phelps, for example, has a very unusual body shape (Fig-
ure 8). Usually, arm span is about the same as height. How-
Figure 8. Phenotype of Olympic swimming Gold Medalist, Michael
Phelps

Figure 7. The body has built-in excess capacity. An example is mus-

cle. It will grow larger when chronically used and smaller when it is
not used.

77
ever, Phelps has an arm span 3 inches (7.62cm) longer than Figure 9. The athlete’s performance ability depends on the size of
his 6'4” (193.94cm) height providing perfect levers for produc-
ing upper body force in the water. His legs are short for his
height, and his torso long. Both these anthropometric character-
istics permit Phelps to sit high in the water resulting in less body
drag. His hands and size 14 flexible feet are disproportionally
large for his physique providing him with exceptional fins and
paddles. He can hyperextend his knees and elbows allowing
him to generate more downward thrust into the water, and there-
fore greater lift and forward propulsion. !

! While the anthropometric design of the athlete’s body is

fixed, developing the athlete’s internal structures is analogous
to building a bigger engine (Figure 9). Training and growth in-
duces internal structures to get bigger and stronger thereby
building a bigger engine capable of producing more speed, en- so they become highly proficient. The coaching task is to opti-
durance, coordination, flexibility and strength. Before puberty, mize the size of the athlete’s natural engine capacity by:
the athlete's performance capacity improves due to natural
body structural growth, and expansion of exploitation capabili- 1. Stimulating additional structural growth
ties as the brain and nervous systems matures. That is, growth
2. Enhancing exploitation capability by perfecting the rele-
of the athlete is accompanied by a gradually expanding and
vant motor skill nerve pathways
more powerful engine.
! It is challenging, however, to optimize engine capacity with-
! After puberty the athlete’s body ends its maturational
out blowing it up (i.e. sending the athlete into an over-trained
growth. At this point continued improvement in engine capacity
state). You can blow up the athlete's engine by stressing it be-
depends on the adaptation of the internal structures, in conjunc-
yond its ability to build the additional structures quickly enough
tion with the athlete’s ability to hone tactical and technical skills
to meet the demands of training.The big unknown is how big
78
the engine can become due to the hard-wired genotype. The Figure 10. The athlete’s body is interconnected.
other unknown is how close the athlete is to reaching their ge-
netic engine size.

Why The Body’s Systems Adapt

! American naturalist John Muir said, “When we try to pick

up anything by itself we find it is hitched to everything else in
the universe.” While Muir was describing the interconnections
occurring in the natural world surrounding us, this notion of inter-
connectedness has remarkable application to the way the hu-
man body works (Figure 10).

! Structures of the body are linked in both structure and func-

tion and adjust in size according to their level of chronic daily
activity. If the physical demands increase above normal daily ac-
tivity, such as occurs with training, relevant organ systems build
more capacity to match the new physical demand placed on
them. Blood vessels increase to the trained muscles to ensure
an adequate blood supply to meet the increased nutrient and
oxygen demands, bone remodels to exactly match stress load-
ings, and the fibers of skeletal and heart muscle increase their
size and metabolic activity to meet endurance, strength and
power requirements.
! These modifications reverse to match lower physiological
demands when training is withdrawn. The coach exploits this in-
ternal remodeling capacity of the human body to enhance an
athlete’s performance.
! The body’s organs, enzymes and hormones, etc., only op-
erate effectively within a narrow range of temperature, acidity
and blood glucose levels, among other conditions. For this rea-
son, the internal environment of the body is tightly controlled.
Hundreds of sensor throughout the body constantly monitor the
state of the internal environment and informs the brain if things
79
are out of balance. The brain works hard to ensure there is mini-
mal disruption of its internal environment, and cells don't have
too much, or too little of anything.
! The process of maintaining critical variables, such as tem-
perature, acidity, blood glucose, etc., within a relatively zone is
referred to as homeostasis (Figure 11). Safeguards within the
body help ensure safe and consistent conditions for cells. An
Figure 11. The Brain Keeps The Body Within Set Limits
athlete’s training is a strategic manipulation of the body’s inter-
nal environment so it becomes a challenge for the cell to retain
homeostasis. Whenever cells are stressed one safeguard is to
activate the body’s adaptive mechanism to enhance organ sys-
tem structure and functioning so the internal environment re-
mains stable for cells when the athlete is working at a higher in-
tensity. To combat disruption in homeostasis, a common re-
sponse to for cells to rapidly manufacturing proteins that are
used to repair damage done by the stress, and to restore the
internal environment back to its normal range.
! The way a coach designs the athlete’s training is analo-
gous to game being played with the body’s adaptive mecha-
nism. A coach makes strategic decisions to disrupt homeosta-
sis of the athlete’s body, that in turn sets the adaptive mecha-
nism into action in its effort to correct this disruption.
! For example, suppose you want the athlete’s muscles to
build an athlete’s endurance capacity. In this case you will de-
sign a training stimulus to prod the body’s adaptive mechanism
to build structures that will enhance the use of oxygen for en-
ergy production. If you want the muscles to add protein so they
can produce a high level of force, as might be the case for a
sprinter, then you will strategically design the athlete’s training
so the muscle fiber cells are placed under stress. In this case
the adaptive mechanism will build more protein, and add it to
the stressed muscles so they better counteract the disruption in
80
their homeostasis. The outcome for the athlete in this case is
stronger muscle capable of producing more force. In essence,
training is a method for manipulating the body’s adaptive
mechanism to do what you want it to do.
The Mysterious Adaptive Mechanism
! Unfortunately, the way the adaptive mechanism responds
to a training stimulus can be unpredictable. The body’s adaptive
mechanism has millions of years of experience adapting to vari-
ous stressors, and has devised many alternatives to maintain
homeostasis. How the adaptive mechanism works is not fully
understood, and this places the coach at a disadvantage in the
game. We know with some degree of certainty that the adaptive
mechanism will only stimulate the essential structural improve-
ments it “thinks” the body needs to survive. consequently,
many training program design mistakes can occur when the
wrong, or mixed signals are sent to the adaptive mechanism.
The outcome is the wrong structural change.
! Building leg strength is an example where it is necessary
to design a training stimulus that will prod the adaptive mecha-
nism to build more protein and add it to the leg muscles so they
can produce a higher level of force. Concurrent development of
endurance capacity while developing strength, can potentially
stimulate the adaptive mechanism to block protein synthesis. A
structural alteration pecking order exists depending on energy
demands. Building protein requires high energy demands, and
therefore structural building projects requiring protein will be
blocked so the metabolic demands to meet endurance stresses
are met. The adaptive mechanism interprets the endurance
stimulus as a signal to redirect energy toward enhancing endur-
ance. An incorrect training program is due to the wrong signal
for the structural building response.
! Other things can also go wrong. Forcing the adaptive
mechanism into a high level of ongoing activity overworks the
sensors responsible for monitoring the correct preset internal
body state and they will eventually malfunction. Overtraining is
the outcome of malfunctioning sensors that fail to send correct
information about the body’s homeostasis to the brain. The ath-
lete’s body will eventually begin to break down.
! With coaching experience a coach learns how to predict
the outcome of a training response based observations from
past training outcomes. Detailed training logs help track what
the adaptive mechanism is likely to do under a given set of train-
ing conditions. A coach’s knowledge about how the human
body works physiologically, in conjunction with the athlete’s
training log, provide informed decisions about how to design the
athlete’s training.
81
Key Points
! The relative contribution of genes versus training to elite
sporting performance remains uncertain. Research indicates
that an athlete's phenotype consisting of metabolic efficiency,
fuel-oxidation rates, muscle fiber contractility, motor skill acquisi-
tion and motivation for training are all influenced in some way
by genes. Ericsson's belief that everyone has the genes for an
elite performance waiting to be awakened by 10,000 h of train-
ing, is not supported. Success in transferring talent from one
sport to another depends on the nature of the motor perform-
ance abilities, and skill complexity required by a sport. Talent
does not always transfer, at least in the short term. The field of
epigenetics is providing additional insight into how genes are
turned on and off by environmental factors such as training and
diet.
athlete to develop a phenotype specific to the physical re-
quirements of a specific sport.
Body cell’s operate within a range of conditions referred to
as homeostasis. Training disrupts the homeostasis of the
body’s cells. This sets the adaptive mechanism to work to
correct and protect against future disruption of homeosta-
sis.
Poor understanding about the adaptive mechanism works
can lead to serious health problems.
Training logs plus science knowledge help track how the
athlete’s adaptive mechanism responds to specific forms
of training.

! Here are the key point snippets for this chapter

Genotype and phenotype contribute to an athlete's sport

potential and current performance. The genotype is the
body’s operating system. Phenotype includes the athlete’s
physical and biochemical characteristics.

Genotype and environmental factors determine the ath-

lete’s sport phenotype. Phenotypic plasticity permits the

82
Chapter 6 Quiz 4. The term 'homeostasis' is
a) The desired state of the internal environment of the body so the
cells can operate efficiently
1. Each of the following applies to the athlete's phenotype EXCEPT:
b) The adaptive mechanism's misinterpretation of the intent of a train-
a) Observable traits, also known as phenotype, result from the inter- ing stimulus
action between the athlete's genes and the environment c) A malfunction of the sensors within the body when it is under a
b) While we have currently believed that phenotype has a genetic in- training stressed
put this theory is now being challenged. d) The remodeling capacity of the body as it adapts to detraining
c) The interaction between environment and phenotype continues
throughout the athlete's live beginning with the fetal environment
5. It is not possible to cause sensors within the body to malfunction by
d) Difference in some phenotypes such as height are determined
mostly by genes. However, even here environmental factors, such causing them to adapt too quickly
as nutrition can have some effect on height. a) True
b) False
2. The athlete's genes is believed to contribute roughly
a) 90% to there sport phenotype
b) 70% to there sport phenotype
c) 50% to there sport phenotype
Coming Up Next
d) 20% to there sport phenotype

3. Each of the following statements is TRUE when comparing the effect ! Next, the major hardware of the athlete's body, such as
of genetics versus training on the athlete's sport phenotype EXCEPT: the heart, lungs, nerves, etc., is examined. This will provide you
a) Genetics largely dictates an athlete’s anthropometric characteris- with a basic understanding of how the structures important to
tics. an athlete's performance function.
b) Genetics largely dictates the ultimate maximum size of the ath-
lete's internal body structures
c) Training enhances the athlete's motor abilities such as speed, en-
durance, coordination, etc., but the training effect cannot exceed
the athlete's genetic ceiling for these abilities
d) Training overrides all possible genetic effects
83
References
Agrawal, A. A. 2001b. Phenotypic plasticity in the interactions and evolu-
tion of species. Science 294: 321–326.
Bouchard, C, A. Ping, Rice T, Skinner JS, Wilmore JH, Gagnon J, Pe-
russe L, Leon A, and Rao DC. Familial aggregation of VO2max response
to exercise training: results from the HERITAGE Family Study. J. Appl.
Physiol. 87(3): 1003 –1008, 1999.
Ericsson KA, Nandagopal K, Roring RW. Toward a science of excep-
tional achievement: attaining superior performance through deliberate
practice. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2009;1172:199–217.
Ericsson K, Krampe R. The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition
of expert performance. Psychol Rev 1993;100:363–406.
Ehlert T, Simon P, Moser DA. Epigenetics in Sports. Sports Med (2013)
43:93–110.
Galton, F., Sir. 1869/1979. Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws
and Consequences (Originally published in 1869). Julian Friedman Pub-
lishers. London. Available online at:
galton.org/books/hereditary-genius/text/pdf/galton-1869-genius-v3.pdf
Klissouras, V; Pigozzi, F. Genetic limits of sport performance: Quo va-
dis? The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 03/2009, Vol-
ume 49, Issue 1
Levins R. Theory of Fitness in a Heterogeneous Environment. I. The Fit-
ness Set and Adaptive Function. The American Naturalist, 11/1962, Vol-
ume 96, Issue 891. pp 361 – 373.
Plisk, S. Periodization: Fancy name for a basic concept. Olympic Coach
16(2): 14-17, 2004.
Rennie, MJ. Body maintenance and repair: how food and exercise keep
the musculoskeletal system in good shape. Exp Physiol 90.4 pp 427–
436, 2005.
Simoneau, J.A. & Bouchard, C. (1998). The effects of genetic variation
on anerobic performance. in: E.V. Praagh (ed.) Pediatric Anaerobic Per-
formance, pp. 5 - 21. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Simoneau, J.A. & Bouchard, C. (1989). Human variation in skeletal mus-
cle fiber-type proportion and enzyme activities. American Journal of
Physiology. Vol. 257 no. 4, E567-E572
Smith D. A Framework for understanding the training process leading to
elite performance. Sports Med 2003; 33 (15): 1103-1126
Tucker R and Collins M. What makes champions? A review of the rela-
tive contribution of genes and training to sporting success. Br J Sports
Med 2012;46:555–561.
Verhoshansky, Y. Main features of a modern scientific sports training the-
ory. Translated from, the original Italian version by Alessandro Lombardi.
New Studies in Athletics, 13(3): 9-20, 1998.
Vaeyens R, Güllich A, Warr CR & Philippaerts R. Talent identification
and promotion programmes of Olympic athletes. Journal of Sports Sci-
ences, November 2009; 27(13): 1367–1380
84
Weibel, ER. Symmorphosis. On form and function in shaping life. Har-
vard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2000.

85
Body structures important for
performance

Topics

1. Introduction

7
2. Four specialized cells

3. Important organ systems for coaches

4. Skeletal system

5. Muscular system

6. Nervous system

7. Respiratory system

8. Cardiovascular system

9. Key points

10. Chapter 7 quiz

11.Coming up next
 Body structures Four Clusters Of Functional Cells!!

important for It is impossible to improve a car’s engine without knowing

how it works. Similarly, it is not possible to design the right en-
gine for a sport-specific phenotype without an insight into how
performance the body is structured and how it functions under normal condi-
tions. High level sports training forces the body to deviate from
its normal functioning. Knowing the body’s structural arrange-
ment (anatomy), and how it functions (physiology) will put you
What You Will Learn in a good position to effectively design a sport specific pheno-
type.
When you have completed this chapter you will be
able to:
What You Will Learn
1. Describe how the athlete’s body is structured
In this chapter we examine the functional cell categories
2. Describe the following five organ systems
that build the body’s structures, briefly review the important
important for an athlete’s organ systems and discuss how they function.
performance:

a. skeletal system
b. muscular system Functional Cell Categories Of The Body
c. cardiovascular system
Athletes are very different in their physical appearance.
d. nervous system Peal away their skin, however, and you will see the same 37
e. respiratory system trillion cells clustered into just four different functional types.
Cells are specialized for: (a) instruction and communication, (b)

87
movement, (c) support and protection, and (d) connecting the Instruction and communication: Nerve cells are highly
parts of the body (Figure 1). specialized cells designed to transmit information rapidly
between various parts of the body.

Movement: Muscle cells are small biological motors

Figure 1. The four specialized cells of the human body capable of producing movement. Heart muscle cells, the
muscle cells lining blood vessels, and skeletal muscle
cells have a specialized movement function.

Support and protection: Skin cells, cells lining the

stomach, and other hollow organs protect the body from
wear and tear.

Connection: Ligaments, and tendons link bones to form

joints. Red blood cells also serve a connection function by
delivering oxygen, fuel and other supplies the cells
throughout the body need to perform their function.

The four cell types form tissues (#1 in Figure 2) from

which the organs (#2) are built. Organs cooperate to form an
organ system (#3) capable of specialized functions essential to
body survival. For example, the heart and blood vessels
comprise the cardiovascular system. Collectively, organ
systems permit the body to perform all the functions necessary
for the body to survive (#4).

There are eleven organ systems in the human body. Five

of them are particularly important to an athlete’s performance.

88
Figure 2. How the human body is structured The Five Important Organ Systems! !

1. The Skeletal system: Bone is a dynamic tissue. It

responds to stress by changing its shape. Where stress is high
the bone is thickened and sections of bone where stress is low
will become thinner and weaker. A strategically targeted training
stress on the skeleton can improve an athlete’s performance by
strengthening relevant parts.

A joint connects two bones typically as either a ball-and-

socket variety capable of a wide range of rotation, or of a hinge
variety with movement in just two directions (Figure 3). The

Figure 3. Two Main Joint Types Found In The Human Body

They include the:

1. Skeletal system,
2. Muscular system,
3. Nervous system,
4. Cardiovascular system,
5. Respiratory system.

89
shoulder and hip are examples of ball and socket joints. The
Figure 5. Fascia is the glue holding all the body parts together
knee, elbow and ankle are examples of hinge joints. The knee
joint is the workhorse of the body absorbing millions of shocks
over a lifetime. Ligaments holding the knee together have a
breaking strain of nearly a ton (907 kg). The smooth cartilage
lining the knee joint is 80% water and only 2 - 4 mm thick, yet it
can tolerate 7 tons (6300 kg) before collapsing.

2. The muscular system: The body weight of most ath-

letes is 40 - 50% skeletal muscle
(Figure 4). The skeletal muscles Figure 4. The 640 skeletal mus-
attached to bones and joints are cles permit an infinite variety of
movement You will often see the muscle
under the athlete’s control and per- Figure 6. Muscle-tendon unit
and its tendon referred to as the
mit an infinite variety of mechani-
muscle-tendon unit (Figure 6). The
cal forces and movement. The
fascia is believed to contain a
athlete can control the amount of
signaling mechanism and is one
force, and start and stop the mus-
rationale for training whole-body B ICEPS
cle’s activity at will. Involuntary
movements rather than isolated MUSCLE
muscles work behind the scenes Tendon
muscles. Whole body movements
to keep the heart beating, move
resembling those found in the sport
food through the digestive system,
strengthens the fascia so force
control the diameter of blood ves-
moves effectively through the line of
sels, among many other functions Tendon
connected muscles.
necessary to keep the body working.
Structurally, skeletal muscle re-
A connective tissue called fascia (Figure 5) is the ‘glue’
sembles a folding telescope (Figure
binding every cell with its neighbor, and every muscle together.
7). Multiple bundles of tissue are tightly packed inside one an-
The fascia connecting the muscle fibers merge to form a fibrous
other beginning with bundles of fascicles that make up the en-
tendon holding the whole muscle in its correct location.
tire muscle. Each fascicle is a bundle of muscle cells (fibers).
90
 Figure 7. Structure of a muscle
The muscle fiber is the longest cell in the body often running
the full length of the muscle. It can be up to 30 centimeters
long. The muscle fiber is made from bundles of small strands of
myofibrils composed of actin and myosin. The actin and myosin
overlap and are ordered into separate units called sarcomeres.
Hundreds of these tiny sarcomeres, only a few micrometers in
length, lie in series to give the skeletal muscle cell a striated ap-
pearance.
Blood vessels deliver oxygen and fuel to the muscle fibers
and nerves (not shown) signal it to contract. Contraction of the
muscle occurs when the head of the thick myosin filament pulls
the thin actin filaments toward the center of the sarcomere. As
the sarcomeres shorten the entire muscle fiber also shortens up
to one-third its normal length. The muscle relaxes when the
actin filaments slide back into their original position lengthening
the sarcomeres in the process. In this way the whole muscle
expands back to its resting length.
It has been known for over 40 years that muscle fibers are
of two varieties according to their speed of contraction. They
are labeled as either slow twitch (Type I) or fast twitch fibers
(Type II) (Figure 8). The maximum contraction velocity of a slow
fiber is around one-tenth that of a fast fiber. Slow fibers are very
efficient fibers, and therefore important for endurance activities
such as long distance running. Fast fibers produce very high
power quickly, and therefore are important to power events like
sprinting, throwing and jumping.
With progress in technology over the past 40 years two
different types of fast fibers have been identified, and this has
expanded our knowledge about how the muscles produce force
and can keep working for long periods. The fast muscle fibers
have different speeds of contraction and energy production
capabilities.
Athletes show great variation in the proportion of the two
fast and the one slow fiber type depending on their genotype.
91
Figure 8. Skeletal muscle fibers are of two types: Slow (type I) and
fast (type II)
Successful endurance runners have a very high proportion of
slow twitch fibers, whereas successful power athletes have a
high number of the two fast twitch fibers.
3. The nervous system: The brain, spinal cord and periph-
eral nerves form the nervous system (Figure 9). This system
communicates with cells throughout the body by using electrical
signals critical to coordinating muscles in the exact movement-
rhythm necessary for performing sport skills. Together the brain
and spinal cord form the central nervous system, or CNS. The
Figure 9. The brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves form the
nervous system.
network of nerves connecting the central nervous system to all
parts of the body form the peripheral nervous system, or PNS.
The CNS, particularly the brain, is analogous to a
mainframe computer programmed to control the functions of
every activity occurring in the body. There are sensors
throughout the body - in the eyes, ears, joints, muscles, and all
the organs - that are constantly monitoring and collecting
information. This information is relayed back to the spinal cord,
and then to the brain. Depending on previous experiences
92
stored in memory, the brain interprets the information and Nerve axons are covered with a fatty insulating sheath
provides instructions to the athlete’s muscles and organs telling called myelin that wraps around
them how to react to a specific situation. The CNS (brain and Figure 10. Nerve axons are the axon similar to how an
wrapped in a myelin sheath
spinal cord) also stores pre-programmed instructions for electrical tape wraps around an
performing fundamental movement. electrical wire (Figure 10). The
myelin wrap increases the speed
When comparing a novice’s performance with that of a and strength of the nerve
more experienced athlete the difference between them is impulses up to 100 times. When
quickly apparent. The brain of the more experienced athlete a nerve is chronically stimulated
has a high response accuracy resulting in smooth, coordinated through training it builds more
movement patterns. The inexperienced athlete’s brain does not myelin. This is believed form the
have sufficient experiences to respond correctly. It is analogous motor nerve pathways for skills.
to not having a sufficiently powerful computer application to An athlete with a higher level of
perform a specific task effectively. skill has a thick myelin sheath
Hurdling is an example of a skill requiring the coordination around the relevant nerve
of many movement tasks performed under time constraints with pathways.
high precision. Information about the location of body parts in Myelin partly explains why it
space, the speed and timing of muscle contraction, visual takes approximately 10,000 hours of practice to become a
information about the upcoming hurdle, and the optimal step proficient performer for most sports. The cells responsible for
rhythm required to negotiate the space between the hurdles, is building the myelin ‘listen in’ on the nerve’s activity and respond
coordinated by the CNS. A brain with experience performing the by building myelin to match the amount of electrical activity the
hurdling movement sequences ‘knows’ how to interpret this nerve is conducting. It takes a long time to develop all these
information and can provide appropriate instructions for complex physiological and nervous system adaptations. The
relevant muscles to shorten, lengthen and relax in perfect athlete can only reach mastery in their performance bit-by-bit
timing. A brain lacking this experience is slow to formulate the and must wait patiently for the adaptation to occur. Whenever
appropriate instructions, and often sends the wrong instructions the athlete practices a skill, or parts of a skill, the repeated firing
back to the muscles. The myelinated nerves appear to play a of nerves pathways stimulates the construction of myelin. This
major role in performing these complex tasks.
93
improves the speed, capacity and reliability of the motor Figure 11. Spongy cone shaped lungs are
pathway circuits responsible for a skill. made up of 600 millions alveoli

Perhaps you now understand why it is critical for the

athlete to learn and practice the skill correctly. It is almost
impossible to dismantle the wrong myelinated motor pathway
and rebuild it with the correctly myelinated one. It is unclear if
the amount of myelin that can be wrapped is genetically
determined, or if it simply depends on the frequency of nervous
pathway stimulation.

4. The respiratory system: The respiratory system en-

compasses the lungs and structures capable of moving oxygen
into the body and eliminating carbon dioxide from the body. Figure 12. Hemoglobin in red blood cells carry the oxygen
The average person takes 20,000 breaths each day (12 breaths
per minute).

The spongy cone-shaped lungs almost fill the chest, and

contain around 600 million tiny air sacs called alveoli (Figure
11). Oxygen diffuses through the thin alveoli walls and into the
tiny blood vessels called capillaries surrounding them.
Simultaneously, carbon dioxide diffuses from the capillaries into
the alveoli. Breathing out expels the carbon dioxide from the
lungs.

The red blood cells in the blood vessels contain

specialized oxygen carriers called hemoglobin (Figure 12).
There are four oxygen binding sites in the hemoglobin. When
94
the oxygen rich red blood cells pass by tissue cells needing the
oxygen it is released from the hemoglobin so it can diffuse into
the tissue cells. Carbon dioxide produced in the tissue cells is
picked up and transported in the veins back to the lungs.
At rest while the athlete is breathing quietly, muscles
between the ribs (external intercostals) and diaphragm contract
to expand the volume of the chest (Figure 13). This, in turn,
Figure 13. The breathing muscles of inspiration and forced expira-
tion
sucks in the air containing the oxygen from the environment.
During exhalation the diaphragm and rib cage relax
compressing the lungs and forcing out the air containing the
carbon dioxide.
The diaphragm is responsible for 45% of the air that en-
ters the lungs during quiet breathing. Other muscles between
the ribs (external intercostals), and in the neck (Sternocledo-
mastoids), also play a variable role in breathing depending on
how quickly the air must be bought into the lungs and expelled
from the lungs. When exercising the abdominal muscles, and
the internal intercostal muscles help expel air quickly out of the
lungs in preparation for the next deep breath.
5. Cardiovascular system. The heart and blood vessels
form the cardiovascular system (Figure 14). The heart pumps
blood through 96,560 kilometers (60,000 miles) of blood ves-
sels that begin and end at the heart. The blood vessels trans-
port oxygen and nutrients to every cell throughout the body and
remove wastes.
The four chambers of the heart are called the right and left
atriums (the chambers at the top), and right and left ventricles
(the chambers at the bottom). Blood enters the heart’s right
atrium. It flows through a valve into the right ventricle where it is
then pumped to the lungs to pick up oxygen. From the lungs
blood flows back into the heart’s left atrium, and then into the
left ventricle. From the left ventricle blood is pumped through
95
Figure 14. The cardiovascular system includes the blood vessels, Key Points
and heart.
In this chapter we overviewed the essential anatomy a
coach needs know to design a sport-specific phenotype.

The key points include:

The 37 trillion cells making up an athlete’s body fall into

four different functional types; (a) instruction and communi-
cation, (b) movement, (c) support and protection, and (d)
connecting the parts of the body.

These cells congregate to form tissues, organs and organ

systems.

OF the eleven organ systems in the human body, five are

of particular relevance to a coach. These five include the:

1. skeletal system
the aortic valve into the aorta where it is then dispersed 2. muscular system
throughout the body. The veins transport deoxygenated blood 3. nervous system
back to the heart’s right atrium where the process repeats itself. 4. respiratory system
When the athlete is resting the heart pumps around 5 liters of 5. cardiovascular system
blood every minute. During exercise it can pump up to 30 liters
per minute!

The coronary arteries wrapping around the outside of the

heart supply its muscle fibers with the oxygen needed to keep
pumping for a lifetime.

96
Chapter 7 Quiz
4. Blood flows back to and through the heart, up through the lungs
and back through the heart in the following order
1. The smallest unit of muscle that is responsible for contraction is
called the
a) right atrium → left atrium → Lungs → right ventricle → left
a) Sarcomere ventricle
b) Sarcolemma b) right atrium → right ventricle → Lungs → left atrium → left
c) Skeletal muscle unit ventricle
d) Fascicle c) Left atrium → left ventricle → Lungs → right atrium → right
ventricle
2. The small structures in the lungs where oxygen diffuses into the
d) right ventricle → left ventricle → Lungs → left atrium → right
blood vessels of the body are called
atrium

a) Alveoli 5. The central nervous system consists of

b) Bronchial tubes a) The brain
c) Trachea b) The peripheral nerves
d) Cardiovascular system c) The brain and spinal cord
d) The Brain and peripheral nerves
3. Which of the following is FALSE with respect to the skeletal sys-
tem?

a) Bones, tendons, ligaments and cartilage form the skeletal

system
b) The vast majority of the bones move the body in some way
c) One function of the skeletal system is to produce new blood
cells
d) More than 80% of the skeletal system is replaced each year.
It can be 100% replaced when the athlete is undertaking
high intensity training.
Coming Up Next
Now it is time to delve into where the athlete’s energy sup-
ply comes from. There are three sources of energy ranging
from fast to slow. Training an athlete for a specific sport pheno-
type requires the development of the correct source of energy.

97
Next we will examine these sources of energy and when the ath-
lete uses them.
References
Bell, G., & Syrotuik, D. (2004). Physiology and biochemistry of
strength generation and factors limiting strength development in
skeletal muscle. In Muscle strength (Shrawan Kumar editor, pp.
14 – 31). London: CRC Press.
Bianconi, E., Piovesan, A., Facchin, F., Beraudi, A., Casadei, R.,
Frabetti, F., … Canaider, S. (2013). An estimation of the number of cells
in the human body. Annals of Human Biology, 40(6), 463–471.
Cleather, D. J., Goodwin, J. E., & Bull, A. M. J. (2013). Hip and knee joint
loading during vertical jumping and push jerking. Clinical Biomechanics
(Bristol, Avon), 28(1), 98–103.
Faulkner, J. A. (2003). Terminology for contractions of muscles during
shortening, while isometric, and during lengthening. Journal of Applied
Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985), 95(2), 455–459.
Fields, R. D. (2008). White Matter Matters. (2008). Scientific American,
(March), 54 – 61.
Maffulli, N., Renstrom, P., & Leadbetter, W. B. (2005). Tendon Injuries:
Basic Science and Clinical Medicine. Springer Science & Business
Media.
Martini, F. H., Nath, J. L., Bartholomew, E. F., & Seiger, C. (2011). Study
Guide for Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology (9 edition). San
Francisco, CA; Glenview, IL: Pearson.
McCarthy, M. M., & Hannafin, J. A. (2014). The Mature Athlete Aging
Tendon and Ligament. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 6(1),
41–48.
Myers, T. W. (2014). Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual
and Movement Therapists, 3e (3 edition). Edinburgh: Churchill
Livingstone.
Schiaffino, S., & Reggiani, C. (2011). Fiber types in mammalian skeletal
muscles. Physiological Reviews, 91(4), 1447–1531.
Sophia Fox, A. J., Bedi, A., & Rodeo, S. A. (2009). The basic science of
articular cartilage: structure, composition, and function. Sports Health,
1(6), 461–468.
Wu, Y., Zeng, Y., Zhang, L., Wang, S., Wang, D., Tan, X., … Zhang, J.
(2013). The role of visual perception in action anticipation in basketball
athletes. Neuroscience, 237, 29–41.
98
The athlete’s energy supply

Topics

8
1. Introduction

2. How is the energy extracted from ATP?

3. The phosphocreatine (PCr) mechanism.

4. Anaerobic glycolytic mechanism

5. Aerobic mechanism

6. Key points

7. Chapter 8 quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1
The athlete’s
energy supply
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
1. Describe the structure of ATP and how energy is
extracted from the ATP molecule
2. Name and describe the three ATP production
mechanisms, two of which operate without
oxygen and one that requires oxygen to work.
Introduction
! The body's 37 trillion cells perform one of four functions:
communicating, supporting, moving and connecting. The cells
in each functional category contain tiny genetically prepro-
grammed biological ‘motor’ for performing a specific task. Some
move things into, out and around the cell, and others produce
the products needed to build structures, or repair damaged
parts so the cell can keep performing its intended function. Yet
others, such as the muscle cells, are designed to move bones,
pump blood, or manipulate the size of blood vessels, among
other moving functions. To perform all this cellular activity that,
in turn, keeps the body functioning, requires an ongoing and
endless source of energy available.
! A small rechargeable biological battery called adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) is the cell's power source for running its bio-
logical machinery. Brain cells use more energy than any other
human organ, accounting for up to 20 percent of the body's en-
ergy supply. There is around 50 grams of ATP (almost 11 tea-
spoons) in the adult human body permitting approximately 5
minute's of normal activity. About 40-60 kilograms of ATP (88 -
132 lbs) is needed each day. This means that the body’s 50
grams of ATP store must be recharged 1000 times each day.
Three recharging processes ranging from fast to slow accom-
plish this task. One coaching goal is to enhance the recharging
100
processes most relevant to the energy needs of the athlete’s Training can enhance the effectiveness of how the small store
sport. of ATP is recharged.

! Even if you do not understand the biochemistry involved

you know there is a link between eating food and how ener-
gized you feel. Food is the fuel the three recharging processes ATP Battery Structure And Recharging Mechanisms
use. Only plants, algae, and some bacteria do not require food
to survive. They use sunlight and photosynthesis as their re- ! ATP is made from an adenosine molecule (A) and 3 phos-
charging mechanism and are called autotrophs (“self-feeders”). phates (P) linked by very high energy bonds (Figure 1). The sim-
All other organisms, including us, live on the energy autotrophs plified explanation for how this happens is that the energy is re-
produce and are called heterotrophs (“fed by others”).
Figure 1. ATP is needed for all muscular movement
! The slow recharging system, called ‘aerobic metabolism’,
needs oxygen to work. The two fast recharging systems do not
require oxygen, and are referred to as ‘anaerobic metabolism’.
Grasping how these three recharging mechanisms work, and
under what conditions they work depends on the specific de-
mands of the sport performance task.

What You Will Learn Last phosphate bond of ATP

is broken to release energy

! In this chapter the structure of ATP and how the cell ex-
tracts energy from this amazing biological energy source is ex-
amined. Most of the focus will be on describing how the recharg-
ADP is recharged to reform
ing processes work so the athlete has a constant supply of ATP.
ATP

101
leased when the bond between the second and third phos-
Figure 2. Methods for recharging ADP back into ATP
phates is broken. When it is missing the last phosphate the ATP
becomes analogous to a flat battery. In this state it is called
adenosine diphosphate (ADP) because there are only two phos-
phates bonded in sequence rather than three. A phosphate can
be bonded back onto the ADP so it becomes the high energy
ATP again. The three methods for doing this differ in capacity
and speed of ATP production (Figure 2). They include the:

• fast recharging creatine phosphate (CP) system with 6-

8 seconds of ATP production capacity.
• reasonably fast anaerobic glycolysis recharging mecha-
nism with up to 60 seconds of ATP production capacity
when producing ATP at maximum speed.
• slow recharging aerobic method with an ATP production
capacity of hours to days.
store of ATP is used the brain concurrently stimulates all three
! These three ATP recharging strategies are known as ‘en-
ATP recharging mechanisms into action. Each system gears up
ergy systems.’ The process by which each recharges ADP back
to full speed at different times.!
into ATP is called ‘energy metabolism’. These are two impor-
tant terms for a coach to understand. ! The creatine phosphate energy system is the immediate
backup battery for the ATP store capable of recharging ADP
! The small store of ATP in the cell allows the athlete to pro-
into ATP for 6-8 seconds when the athlete is moving at very
duce the highest power output. Bursting out of the starting
high speed such as during a 60 m sprint. Before the creatine
blocks, or swinging a golf club at maximum speed, are exam-
phosphate battery is drained anaerobic glycolysis has moved
ples of when the athlete taps into the ATP store. However,
its machinery into high gear and takes over the bulk of the ATP
sports performances seldom last 2 seconds or less. When the
production. Anaerobic glycolysis is a slower system than the
102
CP system and for this reason the brain must slow the athlete ! Table 1 illustrates interesting data showing the ATP source
down so that ATP production can maintain the ATP store at for a 100 meter sprint. ATP is measured in mmol/kg. A mole is a
60% - 80%. This is the reason the athlete has a lower level of special way of measuring very tiny quantities.
power when using anaerobic glycolysis.
Table 1. Energy Source For A 100 M Sprint
! The major problem with using anaerobic glycolysis at its
At start After race Net ATP used
maximum ATP recharging capacity is the nasty acid byproduct
produced. After 60 seconds of using anaerobic glycolysis at full ATP utilization (mmol/kg)

speed the athlete experiences unbearable pain due to the acid ATP store 5 4 1
and must stop, or slow down to allow the acid to clear. If the ath- Creatine
25 7 18
lete wants to run longer than 60 seconds the brain will slow the phosphate
athlete’s speed of movement down to match the much slower Glycogen 56 42 42
ATP production capacity of the aerobic energy system.
Adapted from McGilvery (1983)
! The question is, if all the energy for muscle contraction
and other cell tasks is coming from the ATP store why can’t the !
athlete produce the same amount of power when using all three
These data suggest that the runner used 1 mmol of ATP from
energy systems? The answer goes back to the fact that the
his ATP pool, 18 mmols of creatine phosphate and 42 mmols of
brain will not let the store of ATP in the cells dip below around
glycogen to power the muscle contractions to run the 100 meter
60% - 80%. The athlete can only move as fast as the ATP store
sprint. From these data we can see that most of the energy
is being maintained. The higher the number of chemical reac-
came from the creatine phosphate and anaerobic glycolysis en-
tions involved the slower the system. The aerobic energy sys-
ergy systems. The aerobic energy system is insignificant for
tem requires a large number of complex chemical reactions.
sprinting short distances.
Consequently this slows the aerobic ATP production of system
down considerably. However, the aerobic energy system can re- ! The three energy systems are a major focus of an ath-
charge a high quantity of ATP for an extended time and is, there- lete’s training for most sports. It’s does not appear possible to
fore, a critical system for any athlete who must perform more change the store of ATP the athlete has available. However, the
than a few minutes. three recharging mechanisms are ‘trainable’ to varying degrees.
103
For this reason, it is worth knowing how each energy system
works to produce ATP and the reasons for the limits to their ATP
production capacity.
The Creatine Phosphate (CP) Mechanism
! The creatine phosphate energy system uses a high-
energy compound called creatine phosphate as the fuel source
to convert ADP back into ATP. Creatine phosphate is chemical
compound found in muscles cells and in the brain. The enzyme,
creatine kinase, splits the creatine phosphate into creatine and
a phosphate and this releases energy that is then used to bond
the phosphate onto ADP to reform ATP (Figure 3). !
8 seconds (Figure 4). In other words, there is sufficient creatine
phosphate to run approximately 60 - 70 m at full speed. When
creatine phosphate stores run low the athlete slows down a lit-
tle. You see this happening in 100 m sprinters around the 60
meter mark (Figure 5). When a sprinter appears to surge away
from the pack around this point it is because the other sprinters
have run low on their creatine phosphate store sooner than the
sprinter who appears to be surging ahead.
Figure 4. Creatine phosphate supplies high power for 6 - 8 seconds.

! When ATP is being used very rapidly such as during in-

tense exercise the supply of creatine phosphate lasts around 6-

Figure 3. Creatine kinase splits the phosphate from CP. The energy
produced bonds a phosphate onto ADP to form ATP

104
Figure 5. Speed curve of a world class 100 m sprinter. He is running
low on CP around 7 s into the race and gradually slows until the end
of the race
! At the end of the 100 m run the creatine phosphate stores
of all the sprinters are very low and they must rest to rebuild the
creatine phosphate stores within the muscle again. It take
around 90 seconds to rebuild 80 percent of the creatine phos-
phate in the muscle cell. Excess ATP made available to the cell
by the aerobic energy system is used to accomplish this task.
! Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in meat
and fish. The body also makes creatine in the liver, kidney and
pancreas. About 98% of the creatine in the body is found in
skeletal muscle. It is this creatine that is used to make the high
energy creatine phosphate compound.
! Creatine phosphate does not produce an acid byproduct,
and for this reason it is often called the alactic energy system.
Fast (Anaerobic) Glycolysis
! After creatine phosphate, glycolysis is the next fastest ATP
recharging mechanism, but permits a lower power output. Gly-
colysis works without oxygen, and therefore falls under the an-
aerobic banner along with the creatine phosphate system.
! Glycolysis uses glucose for fuel that originates as carbohy-
drate such as pasta, rice and potatoes from the athlete’s diet.
Carbohydrate is broken down into glucose molecules and can
be stored in the liver and skeletal muscles for future use. Glu-
cose is a large molecule and therefore it is stored as tightly
packed as glycogen, somewhat analogous to how vacuum
bags compress clothes (Figure 6). The glucose molecules are
unpacked and used as needed. The energy contained in the glu-
cose molecules is the energy source for recharging ATP. The
105
 Figure 6. Glucose is packed and stored as glycogen
end product of glycolysis is pyruvate that can stop glycolysis
from working unless it is removed. (Figure 7).
! One solution for removing pyruvate is to move it into the
mitochondria where it is used to power the electron transport
chain of the aerobic energy system. However, the aerobic en-
ergy system is a slow ATP production process. When glycolysis
is recharging ATP at a very high rate the production of pyruvate
outpaces the ability of the mitochondria to clear and use the py-
ruvate.
Figure 7. Glycolysis uses glucose to harness the energy needed to
recharge ADP back into ATP
! The back up solution for removing pyruvate is to convert it
into lactic acid where it is quickly split into lactate and hydrogen
ions. However, the acidic hydrogen ions interfere with the abil-
ity of glycolysis to produce ATP and causes the muscle to
stiffen. High acid conditions also cause pain that is a safety fea-
ture forcing the athlete to stop exercising before serious dam-
age is done to the muscle fibers.
! In essence, while glycolysis does not use oxygen to pro-
duce ATP it relies on the presence of oxygen to keep the acid
condition in the cell low. When glycolysis is producing high lev-
106
els of acid it is referred to as fast glycolysis, or anaerobic glyco- cular system to deliver oxygen to the mitochondria where the
lysis. When the pace of glycolysis matches the ability of the mi- aerobic ATP recharging mechanism is housed. Mitochondria
tochondria to clear pyruvate it is referred to as slow glycolysis, are usually drawn as cigar shaped structures (Figure 8), al-
or aerobic glycolysis. though they likely have a more complex rambling shape. A
membrane divides the mitochondrion into two separate compart-
! Fast glycolysis provides the athlete with a reasonably
ments, one called the intermembrane space, and the other the
high source of power for up to 60 seconds at which point acidic
matrix. The enzymes for breaking down fats and pyruvate are
conditions become too high. Slow glycolysis can supply ATP for
up to 2 hours before glycogen reserves are exhausted. Continu-
Figure 8. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. The
ing to exercise after muscle glycogen is depleted drains glu- ATP production mechanism (the electron transfer chain and
cose from the blood and this denies the brain its critical fuel sup- ATP synthase) is located in the innermembrane.
ply. The athlete will become disoriented and may even pass
out. When playing sports, or running longer distances. there is
a delicate balance between too high and too little glycogen use.
Run or play slowly and the athlete will lose. Run or play too fast
and the athlete may pass out! When glycogen stores are de-
pleted in the muscles the athlete will only be able to generate
ATP by using fat for energy. This is referred to as ‘hitting the
wall’. High school cross-country runners who crawl to the finish
line started the race with low levels of glycogen stores.

The Aerobic Energy System

! The third ATP recharging mechanisms is the aerobic en-

ergy system. This system requires support from the cardiovas-

107
located in the mitochondrial matrix. The electron transport chain
that includes the key structure for aerobic ATP production are
inserted into the inner membrane.
! The mitochondria use a very different ATP production proc-
ess than the two anaerobic processes we have just discussed.
The creatine phosphate system and glycolysis use enzymes to
extract energy for recharging ADP into ATP without the need for
oxygen. You will see this referred to as “substrate level phospho-
rylation”, where phosphorylation simply means ‘adding a phos-
phate’. The process used by the mitochondria is called oxida-
tive phosphorylation to reflect the involvement of oxygen.
! Mitochondria are nicknamed the ‘powerhouse of the cell’
because of the vast amount of ATP they produce. They are also
thought to dictate a cell’s life and death. In 2005 Nick Lane pub-
lished Power, Sex, Suicide — Mitochondria and the Meaning of
Life (Oxford University Press). The book is a fascinating ac-
count of the involvement of mitochondria in many pathological
conditions and in the aging process. The size of the inner mem-
brane is thought to relate to the energy demands of the cell. A
highly folded inner membrane with a large surface area is typi-
cally found in muscle cells and neurons, where the ATP produc-
tion rate is the highest.
! Muscles of endurance runners have highly developed mito-
chondria. However, they don’t come close to the huge number
of mitochondria in the muscles of sled dogs. This explains why
sled dogs can run more than 100 miles a day, at a sub-8-
minute-mile pace for several weeks. Marathoners could run
faster and longer if they could expand their glycogen storage.
However, humans can only store around 2 hours worth of glyco-
gen. Any extra ingestion of carbohydrates, the original source of
and athlete’s glycogen store, is converted into fat. Improvement
in a marathoner’s endurance capabilities has to come from ei-
ther bringing oxygen into muscles faster, or by burning fat with
less oxygen. Highly trained endurance runners have better oxy-
gen capacity than the untrained and can use oxygen more effi-
ciently due to better muscular control. Burning fat with less oxy-
gen, however, does not appear to be possible.
!
How The Mitochondria Work
! When pyruvate moves into the mitochondria it enters a se-
ries of chemical reaction collectively referred to as the tricarbox-
ylic acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle) where the re-
maining electrons it contains are harvested (Figure 7). Fats also
enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle where electrons are also har-
vested. The waste product of this series of chemical reactions
is carbon dioxide that is moved to the lungs and eliminated from
the body. We will now examine how the electrons are used to
create ATP.
108
! The inner membrane of the mitochondria holds several Figure 9. The pumps of the electron transport chain.
structures collectively referred to as the electron transport
chain. A close-up of these structures is illustrated in Figure 9.
The first four of these structures are pumps. They use energy
from the electrons to move hydrogen ions from the matrix up
into the intermembrane space. You can think of the intermem-
brane space as a dam where hydrogen ions (called protons)
are stored. The electrons move through each pump providing
the energy needed to transport the protons from the matrix into
the intermembrane space. Oxygen is waiting at the final pump
to ‘suck up’ the energy depleted electrons, combine them with 2
hydrogen ions and form water. That is all oxygen does. You can
think of oxygen as a type of magnet that helps the electrons
flow quickly from pump to pump providing energy along the
way. At every pump protons are moved from the matrix up into
the intermembrane dam. By the time the electrons reach the
last pump there is hardly any energy remaining.

! The final structure called ATP synthase. This fascinating

structure operates a bit like a spillway on a hydroelectric dam.
more oxygen to the cell's mitochondria to collect the energy de-
The hydrogen ions (protons) stored in the intermembrane
pleted electrons.
space flow through ATP synthase turning an energy generator
that slams a phosphate onto ADP reforming ATP (Figure 9). ! The aerobic energy system is able to use a variety of fuel
sources including pyruvate (and lactate), fat and protein. Har-
! When you design training programs to strengthen an ath-
vesting the electrons from fat requires large amounts of oxygen,
lete's aerobic energy capacity you are developing this pumping
so for moderate to intense physical activity glycogen is the pre-
mechanism along with the ability of the athlete's heart to deliver
ferred source of energy to resynthesize ATP.
109
! In extreme events such as famine protein can be broken Figure 9. How a 100 m sprint is powered.
down for the energy needed to power ATP resynthesis. How-
ever, in a healthy athlete, protein is an insignificant source of
fuel supply because there are adequate supplies of fat. Ano-
rexic women put their life in jeopardy because breaking down
protein from body structures can weaken the organ systems, es-
pecially the heart.

! Here is a very important point. The energy systems don't

work in isolation. Almost all athletic activity involves an interplay
between the three energy systems – they all work together to
provide ATP for the muscles.

! Consider a 100 m sprint race (Figure 10). The three en-

ergy systems begin at the same time and contribute ATP in vary-
ing proportions. In the first 6 - 7 seconds the PC system pro-
Key Points
vides most of the energy. However, creatine phosphate stores
are quickly depleted. Anaerobic glycolysis becomes the main
source of ATP production between the 8 second mark and the
end of the race. The aerobic system is also providing energy
but not in any significant amount.
! In the 400 m race lasting 50 - 60 seconds anaerobic glyco-
lysis will provide most of the athlete’s energy for resynthesizing
ATP. The aerobic energy system gradually becomes the main
source of energy.
1. ATP consists of a molecule containing three phosphates
bonded together by a high energy chemical bond. During
the transition from rest to exercise the ATP demand in-
creases more than 100 fold. Yet despite large fluctuation
in energy demand the ATP store in the cell remains above
60%. This is because there are three methods for reform-
ing ATP when the last phosphate is broken off to release
the energy that bond holds.

110
2. The first method for recharging ADP into ATP is the cre-
atine phosphate system that is very important to power
athletes. Creatine phosphate stored in the muscle re-
leases the energy needed to bond the third phosphate
back onto ADP very quickly. This energy system will pro-
vide sufficient ATP for 6 – 8 seconds of very intense mus-
cular activity.
3. The second method is glycolysis that uses glucose or gly-
cogen. There is about 2 hours supply of glycogen stored
in the body. However, this is irrelevant when the athlete is
using glycogen at a very high speed due to the acid by-
product. After 60 seconds of intense work the athlete
must stop so the body can clear the hydrogen ions that
are causing the acid conditions.
4. The third ATP regenerating system is the aerobic energy
system. This system uses pyruvate, fat and sometime pro-
tein in conjunction with oxygen and the support of the car-
diovascular system to resynthesize ATP production
mechanisms located in the mitochondria. Protein is an in-
significant source of fuel for the aerobic energy system.
The carbon dioxide produced is expelled from the body
through the lungs.
Chapter 8 Quiz
1. The human cell's energy source is ________ . The energy predomi-
nantly used is located in the _______ phosphate bond
a) ATP, last
b) ADP, last
c) AMP, first
d) Food, glucose bonds
2. Which of the following is FALSE with respect to glycolysis
a) After the creating phosphate system glycolysis is the next fastest
method for recharging ATP
b) While glycolysis works in concert with the aerobic energy system
the chemical reactions do not require oxygen to produce ATP
c) Glycolysis uses glucose for fuel
d) Of the three energy systems glycolysis produces the highest
power output
3. When the athlete explodes out of the blocks at the instant the gun
fires the main source of energy is
a) The store of creatine phosphate
b) The store of ATP
c) Glycolysis
d) Glucose
4. An athlete slows down during the final portion of the 100m sprint race
because
a) The aerobic energy system has geared up to full speed
111
 b) The supply of creatine phosphate has declined
c) The store of ATP has not yet been replenished
d) Glycolysis has geared up to full speed
5. All the energy systems begin at the same time. However they gear up
to full speed at different times.
e) True
f) False
Coming Up Next
! Developing the correct energy system is critical to molding
the exact sport specific phenotype. In the next chapter we will
delve into creatine phosphate, its storage and supplementation,
and examine how glucose and fats are delivered to the mito-
chondria. You will immediately see how important the athlete’s
diet is to their ability to reach their genetic potential.
References
Arsac, L. M., & Locatelli, E. (2002). Modeling the energetics of 100-m
running by using speed curves of world champions. Journal of Applied
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113
Energy system power and
capacity

Topics

9
1. The fuel Stores

2. Creatine

3. Carbohydrates, fats and protein

4. Role of vitamins and minerals

5. Nutritional concerns

6. Key points

7. Chapter 9 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1

Energy system The Fuel Stores

fuels & diet ! The main fuels used by the three ATP energy production
systems include creatine, glucose and fat. Each of these fuels
is stored in different locations throughout the body. Protein can
sometimes be used as fuel, but in the healthy athlete the
What You Will Learn amount used is miniscule. For this reason protein is not typi-
cally discussed as a fuel source for sport performance.
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
What You Will Learn
1. Discuss creatine phosphate, its storage and
supplementation ! In this chapter we examine the storage locations for cre-
2. Understand the fuel use according to exercise atine, carbohydrate and fats, when these fuels are used, and
the recommended dietary intake for each food group. !
intensity

3. Discuss the effect of nutrition on the athlete’s

ability to train and perform
4. Discuss the recommended intake of
carbohydrate, fats and protein for the young
athlete
Creatine
! Muscles can store around 120 grams or creatine. This is
98 percent of all the creatine in the body. However, the capacity
of a muscle cell to store creatine is closer to 160 grams (Figure
1). Around 50 percent of this store comes from ingesting animal
products such as meat and fish, and the remainder is made by

115

Figure 1. A 70 kg male stores about 120 g of creatine, yet has the ca-
pacity to store 160 g.
the kidneys, liver and pancreas. The average 70 kg male must
consume around 2 g of creatine each day to maintain a working
supply. !
! Research suggests that adult athletes in high power sports
can benefit by boosting their muscle cell creatine store to its
maximum level by using creatine supplements. However, the
safety of creatine is not well researched in pediatric athletes
even though it is widely used. According to surveys of high
school athletes around 44 percent of those 17 - 18 years old,
12 percent of 16 years old, and around 5 percent of 15 years
old use creatine supplements.
! Medical authorities disagree on the safety of creatine sup-
plements by youth.The American College of Sports medicine
does not recommend creatine use by youth under 18 years.
However, the International Society of Sports Nutrition claims
that under supervision it is a good alternative to anabolic drugs
young athletes might be otherwise tempted to consume. The
American Academy of Pediatrics strongly condemns creatine
supplementation for children or adolescents. This organization
believes that taking supplements violates the notion of fair com-
petition. There is also concern that supplements are generally
not under federal regulation, and can pose a potential health
risk to the young athlete. This organization also believes that
the use of performance-enhancing substances, even when they
are legal, potentially devalues the athlete’s understanding of a
balanced diet and sound physical training.
! There are potential side-effects from creatine supplementa-
tion:
1. Weight gain is a common side effect due to fluid retention.
2. Side effects related to fluid retention weight gain includes
cramping, nausea and diarrhea.
3. There is also possible liver and kidney dysfunction.
116
 4. Fluid retention in the muscle tissue can becomes a prob-
Figure 2. Carbohydrates, fats and protein storage
lem in the anterior compartment of the lower leg. The swol-
len muscle compresses against the fascia sheath sur-
rounding the muscle and this leads to pain that is referred
to as anterior compartment syndrome.

! Power athletes can perform around 6-8 seconds of intense

exercise before their CP stores are depleted. It takes 1 - 2 min-
utes to replenish 90% of these stores. ATP from the aerobic en-
ergy system is needed for this restoration process to occur.!

Carbohydrates, Fats And Protein

! Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are broken apart in the

stomach into glucose, fatty acids and amino acids respectively
that travel in the bloodstream to various storage sites through-
out the body (Figure 2).
! When glucose, fats and amino acids enter the blood-
stream from the small intestines the first stop is the liver where
the assigned glucose and fatty acids storage tanks located
there are filled. Glucose is packaged as glycogen before being
stored. The remaining glucose and fatty acids move on in the
bloodstream to skeletal muscle tissue and other organ cells.
Glucose and fatty acids enters the muscle cell to fill more as-
signed storage tanks. Amino acids needed for repair and struc-
tural building projects are also absorbed into the cells. Any un-
used glucose, amino acids and fatty acids is converted into fat
and sent off to the adipocytes for intermediate and long term
storage. This is the fat located under the skin, and around the
hips and stomach.
! The human brain is only around 2% of the body weight,
but it consumes 20% of glucose. The brain and nervous system
needs about 120 g of glucose per day, which is the amount of

117
sugar in three cans of soda. The liver stores sufficient glycogen Table 1. Energy released, O2 required and CO2 produced for each
to provide the brain its glucose requirements for about 6 – 12 food group
hours. If the athlete limits carbohydrate intake the liver glycogen
reserve is quickly depleted affecting the ability to train and com-
pete. Liver glycogen depletes by 50% overnight. Athletes need
breakfast to replenish liver glycogen stores. Once glucose en-
ters the muscle cell it is trapped there, and can only be used by
the muscle cell. This is why liver glycogen is important for brain
functioning.

! Fat are an important, almost unlimited fuel source for the

aerobic energy system. Fat requires less storage space than
glycogen and produces a higher quantity of ATP. One molecule
of glucose yields 50% fewer calories than one molecule of fat
does (4.1 kcal/g for glucose compared with 9.3 kcal/g for fat -
see Table 1). The disadvantage of fat, however, is its higher re-
quirement for oxygen. Glucose requires .81 liters of oxygen and
fat requires 1.96 liters of oxygen. Fat also produces more car- ! The relative contribution of each fuel to the athlete’s sport
bon dioxide than glucose (1.39 liters of CO2 for fats and 0.81 performance depends on the intensity and duration of the exer-
liters for glucose). This places more stress on the cardiorespira- cise, nutritional status, and the physiological and biochemical
tory system. characteristics of the athlete. Knowing what food group is used
during an athlete’s training helps ensure adequate replenish-
! Information for protein (amino acids) is also shown on Ta-
ment through the diet.
ble 1. However, protein is not a desirable form of energy for the
aerobic energy system to use. !

118
Role Of Vitamins And Minerals
! Diet is considered to be the new frontier in natural perform-
ance enhancement. One reason is the vitamins and minerals it
contains that helps the cell to function effectively. Vitamin and
minerals are especially important for stabilizing enzymes.
! The cell relies on enzymes to carry out chemical reactions
quickly. They are the workhorses of the body constantly disman-
tling biological materials into smaller pieces and reassembling
them again in a different format. In essence, they break down
products (this is called a catabolic action), or build products
(this is called an anabolic action) and this is how the cell grows,
repairs its structures and reproduces itself.
! Enzymes are built from both protein and non-protein com-
ponents. The non-protein components are commonly derived
from vitamins and minerals and are called cofactors that hold
enzymes in the correct shape so they work correctly.
Here are a few critical roles played by vitamins and minerals:
Magnesium stabilizes more than 300 enzymes in the body
and is especially critical for energy regulation. For exam-
ple, it stabilizes the enzyme creatine kinase that is respon-
sible for splitting the phosphate off creatine phosphate
and so it can be bound to ADP to reform ATP. Magnesium
is also involved in muscle relaxation after it contracts.
Calcium is critical to muscle contraction.
Vitamin B3 (niacin) helps move electrons to the electron
transport chain.
Zinc is needed for the body's defensive (immune) system
to properly work.
! The bottom line is a diet deficient in vitamins and minerals
will leave the athlete’s body short on stabilizing components for
the enzymes and this will slow the speed of the enzyme’s activ-
ity. The athlete will be unable to obtain optimum power out of
their ATP production systems. A wide variety of natural fruits
and vegetable will help ensure the athlete has a wide array of
vitamins and minerals available for optimal performance.
! Vitamins also serve important roles as antioxidants. The
bonds holding body’s cells together are easily split apart. When
this happens the molecules produced contain unpaired elec-
trons making them unstable. This type of molecule is known as
a free radical. Some free radicals occurs naturally due to nor-
mal metabolism. Others occur due to environmental toxins such
as pollution, cigarette smoke, or herbicides. Free radicals dis-
turb the structure of healthy nearby cells and weakens the struc-
ture of the cell itself. This can cause a chain reaction to occur
referred to as 'oxidative stress'. Oxidative stress is analogous to
the rust appearing on metal and is what turns fruit exposed to
air brown.
119
! Antioxidants halt the chain reaction by donating one of
their electrons to the free radicals without becoming a free radi-
cal itself. Powerful antioxidant foods include tomatoes, cherries,
broccoli, raspberries and blueberries. Sprouted wheatgrass is
also extremely powerful antioxidant.
! Scientists are still learning about how antioxidants work.
A diet low in natural foods such as fruits, and green vegetables
the athlete will be low on antioxidants. ! A multivitamin is often
recommended. However, a pill does not come close to what na-
ture can provide through good, natural, unprocessed food. Vita-
mins in the diet also appear to be better absorbed than those
obtained in a pill.
! ! Remember that diet is a component of environmental
influences that contributes 30% to the ideal sport-specific phe-
notype. A poor diet potentially lowers the athlete’s genetic poten-
tial through accelerated cell destruction. A wisely chosen diet
helps keep the athlete’s genetic potential in tact. In addition the
athlete’s physiological capacity will not be compromised.
! Athletes taking any supplements of any kind should do so
under the guidance of a knowledgeable physician or nutritionist.
It is possible to cause a young athlete irreparable harm stagnat-
ing their physiological development toward their genetic poten-
tial.
Nutritional Concerns
! Nutrition is important to all athletes. In addition to the en-
ergy demands of training the child and adolescent athlete must
consume sufficient calories to also meet their growth needs. If
glycogen stores are low ATP demands can be met when doing
light-to-moderate exercise, but not high-intensity training. For
this reason, high quality carbohydrate is a key food group for all
athletes, especially young athletes.
! The healthiest sources of carbohydrates are unprocessed
or minimally processed whole grains, vegetables, fruits and
beans. These carbohydrate sources deliver vitamins, minerals,
fiber, and other important nutrients. Here are some issues with
respect to carbohydrate intake for athletes:
• A high protein, low carbohydrate diet will only provide the
athlete with sufficient glycogen for about 1 hour of exer-
cise. Very low carbohydrate diets gradually deplete liver
glycogen stores.
• Using a low carbohydrate diet for any reason, including for
the control or to lose weight, is not recommended for ath-
letes. You don’t want the athlete’s body resorting to using
protein as a substrate for ATP production because this will
result in muscle mass loss, menstrual dysfunction, bone
density issues, and a prolonged recovery.
120
 • Recommended intake of the food groups per day for all 3. There are safety issues surrounding creatine when it is being
athletes, including children and adolescents are: used by the young athlete.

• Carbohydrate: 6 to 10 g/kg body weight per day. 4. Beside creatine, carbohydrates and fats are two additional
critical fuels. The brain requires glucose for to resynthesize
• Protein: 1.2 - 1.7 g/kg body weight per day. These protein
ATP
requirements can generally be met through diet alone.
5. The correct proportion of carbohydrate, fats and proteins, vi-
• Fat: 20% to 35% of total energy intake. High fat diets are
tamins and minerals are important for optimizing an athlete’s
not recommended for athletes.
genetic potential.
! On a side note that we will discuss in a later chapter, chil-
dren lack full development of glycolytic capacity, so fat may be
as important as carbohydrate in supporting performance.

Key Points Chapter 9 Quiz

1. The athlete’s body can synthesize about 50% of the creatine 1. The store of creatine for the PCr energy system is primarily located in:
it needs and the rest is obtained in the diet.
a) the athlete’s muscles
b) the liver
2. The fact that the body only stores 120 gms naturally, yet has c) the blood
the capacity to store 160 gms has led to the widespread per- d) the blood and liver
ception that creatine supplementation can boost the total cre-
2. The liver has absolutely no glycogen storage capacity
atine pool to its maximal level. Research has provided some
support for this belief and appears to facilitate a faster cre- a) True
atine phosphate resynthesis during recovery from intense ex- b) False
ercise.
121
3. Indicate the only places where there are glycogen storage tanks Coming Up Next
a) Liver and adipocytes
b) Muscle and adipocytes ! In this chapter you saw how important diet is to the ath-
c) Liver and muscle
d) Adipocytes, muscle and liver
lete’s performance. In the next chapter we examine the relation-
ship between the aerobic energy system and the athlete’s aero-
bic capacity. You will see how we measure the athlete’s maxi-
4. Why are vitamins important to enzymes?
mal aerobic capacity, or VO2max, and learn how to interpret the
a) Vitamins are an important fuel source for the enzyme data.
b) Vitamins hold the enzyme in the correct shape so it can perform
correctly
c) Vitamins are only important to enzymes if the athlete is training for
speed.
d) Vitamins help make the blood vessel “leaky” so that other nutri-
ents can get to the enzyme.
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genetic potential
c) Athletes taking any supplements should do so under the guidance American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, American College of
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123
Aerobic capacity

Topics

10
1. Maximum oxygen consumption

2. The VO2max test

3. Comparing the VO2max of athletes

4. Efficient use of Aerobic Capacity

5. Aerobic capacity of young athletes

6. Trained children

7. The child's economy

8. Key points

9. Chapter 10 Quiz

10.Coming up next
Section 1
Aerobic capacity
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
1. Understand the meaning and relevance of
maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max)
2. Explain the difference between relative and
absolute oxygen consumption
3. Explain data from a VO2max test so you are able
to interpret the VO2max data of your own
athletes.
Aerobic Capacity
! The aerobic energy system provides the athlete with very
low power output. Despite this, the aerobic energy system is
critical to an athlete’s performance because of its long-term ATP
production capabilities, and in the way it supports the CP and
glycolytic energy systems.
! Aan athlete’s aerobic energy system can be assessed by
using the multistage fitness test, also known as the beep test,
Yo-Yo test, or shuttle run test. Some athlete’s also use the term
‘suicide test’. This test is based on a controlled gradual in-
crease in speed as athletes run between two lines 20 meters
apart until they can no longer keep the designated pace (Figure
1). Computer applications are available for pacing the athlete
during the test. Theoretically, when the athlete is unable to keep
the correct pace their mitochondria has reached full capacity.
The term ‘VO2max' is used to describe this upper limit to the
athlete’s aerobic capacity.
What You Will Learn!
! In this chapter we examine the meaning and relevance of
maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max), discuss the difference be-
125
 tween relative and absolute oxygen consumption, and interpret
data from a VO2max test. There are three important functional
characteristics contributing to an athlete’s aerobic capacity.
These include:
1. Their cardiac output. Cardiac output depends on coro-
nary blood flow, how effectively the cardiac muscle con-
tracts, and how efficiently it uses oxygen. Hearts differ in
these characteristics.
2. The oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. This is de-
termined by the hemoglobin located in the red blood cells.
Figure 1. The shuttle run is a field test used to estimate an athlete’s
Athletes differ in the amount of oxygen they are able to
carry in their blood.
3. Mitochondrial effectiveness. Factors influencing the de-
livery of oxygen to the mitochondria include density of cap-
illaries surrounding the muscle, density of the mitochon-
dria in the muscle cell, and how efficiently the mitochon-
dria work to produce ATP. Well-trained athletes have mito-
chondria with a greater ability to use oxygen effectively.
!VO 2max is always lower than its genetic potential in the
untrained. VO2max of a novice can be increased by as much
as 20 percent through proper training. Experienced athletes
however, have a harder time increasing their VO2max, because
they are already quite close to their genetic potential.
The VO2max Test
! In the lab an athlete’s VO2max is tested using a treadmill
or bicycle ergometer. It is an impractical test in the typical
coaching situation. Common sport-specific field based tests
such as the beep test are more practical. However, it's worth
having some understanding of the lab test because the protocol
for field tests are developed from data obtained from lab tests.
126
 As well, understanding the lab VO2max test helps you under-
stand the the theory upon which the field tests are based.
! Figure 2 shows the graphic of typical data gathered during
a lab VO2max test. It includes heart rate (blue line), carbon diox-
ide (green line) and oxygen consumption (maroon line). The
maximum VO2 consumption is the highest amount of oxygen
the athlete’s aerobic energy system is capable of using. Theo-
retically, athletes with a very high VO2max are able to produce
Figure 2. Data collected during a VO2max test.
more ATP than those with a lower VO2max, and can therefore
run at a higher speed before exhaustion.!
! When performing the lab VO2max test the athlete is fitted
with a mask that is attached by a hose to a device capable of
measuring how much air the athlete is breathing each minute,
and the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the exhaled
air. The oxygen passes through the alveoli in the lungs and into
the blood vessels. The known amount of oxygen in atmospheric
air is 21% (Figure 3). As the blood passes through the muscle
cells the oxygen needed by the mitochondria for the aerobic en-
Figure 3. Set up for a lab-based VO2max test.
127
ergy system is extracted and carbon dioxide deposited into the
blood stream. The oxygen not needed remains in the blood
stream and travels along with the carbon dioxide back to the
lungs where it is exhaled. The oxygen in the blood returning
back to the lungs contains somewhat less that 21% oxygen de-
pending on how much the athlete’s muscles have used. We can
gain insight into how much oxygen the mitochondria extract by
measuring the quantity of oxygen left in the exhaled air. We just
subtract the oxygen in the air remaining in the lungs from the
21% that entered into the lungs.
! We are also able to measure the amount of carbon dioxide
produced by the cells from the same exhaled air. We know
how much carbon dioxide was in the air when the athlete
breathed in, and how much is in the air when the athlete
breathes out. The hose that is in the athlete’s mouth is con-
nected to equipment that measures both the oxygen and car-
bon dioxide that is in the expired air.
! When the athlete increases speed more muscle fibers are
recruited, and therefore a higher quantity of oxygen is extracted
from the blood to meet the mitochondrial needs. At some point
the ability of the mitochondria to use the oxygen reaches its up-
per limit and the athlete is unable to increase speed further.
This is the athlete’s VO2max. The difference between the
amount of oxygen entering the lungs, and the amount left in the
air exhaled from the lungs, provides a measure of the athlete’s
oxygen uptake (VO2). The “V” stands for volume. The peak
amount of oxygen an athlete can use an indication of their en-
durance potential. It also provides information about the health
status of the athlete’s aerobic energy system.
! Beside oxygen and carbon dioxide, the athlete’s heart rate
is also monitored during the lab test. Heart rate data allows us
to estimate the athlete’s oxygen consumption when moving at
different speeds. Theoretically, if you have heart rate and oxy-
gen consumption data you can refer to this to estimate the ath-
lete’s oxygen consumption by simply looking at their heart rate
when they are training.
Comparing The VO2max Of Athletes
! There are two ways to measure oxygen consumption. We
can measure the total amount of oxygen the athlete uses in one
minute. This is called their absolute oxygen consumption and is
measured in liters per minute. The problem with total oxygen
consumption values is that it is not possible to compare athletes
to determine if one has superior aerobic development com-
pared to the other (Figure 4). If you look at two athletes on your
team, one who is slightly more muscular than the other, you
can’t tell which one has responded better to your training pro-
gram. The more muscular athlete will usually have a larger total
128
Figure 4. Relative VO2max allows us to compare the aerobic en- ! Figure 5 provides a comparison of the average relative
VO2max values for athletes who participate in various sports.
Cross-country skiers have the highest VO2max followed by
marathon runners. Softball players have the lowest VO2max val-
ues. Take some time to research for the VO2max values for
your sport. This will provide with you some idea as to what
sized aerobic engines you are dealing with.

Figure 5. Typical relative VO2 max values for athletes in different

sports

oxygen consumption than a smaller athlete simply because of

their higher muscle mass.

! A better method to compare the oxygen efficiency of ath-

letes is to express oxygen in terms of milliliters per kilogram of
body weight each minute. This is called ‘relative oxygen con-
sumption’ and makes it possible to compare the VO2max of ath-
Data selected from Wilmore, J.H. and Costill, D.L. (2005) Physiology of Sport
letes with different body builds.
and Exercise. 3rd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics

129
! The highest reported VO2max values in male runners
have been recorded by English runner Dave Bedford and Ken-
yan legend John Ngugi at 85 ml O2 per kg per min. Joan Be-
noit, winner of the inaugural 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon
in Los Angeles, has the highest recorded VO2max for female
runners at 79 ml/ kg/ min. One of the highest VO2max values
ever recorded in any athlete is Scandinavian cross-country
skier Bjorn Daehlie at 93 ml/kg/min). Oskar Svendsen, also
from Noway is reported to have the highest VO2max at 97.5 ml/
kg/min.
! In contrast, VO2max values measured in healthy young
men are usually between 45 and 55 ml/kg/min—about 60%
lower than in elite athletes. Therefore, with an average increase
of 5 – 15% even with very intensive training the average
healthy person will never achieve VO2max values of elite ath-
letes.
Efficient Use Of Aerobic Capacity
! There is no question that a reasonably high aerobic capac-
ity is important for athletes in most sports. However, movement
economy plays an important role in an athlete's effective use of
their aerobic capacity. Economy of movement conserves pre-
cious oxygen. It's a bit like driving an untuned car and wonder-
ing why the mileage is well below what the car is supposed to
achieve. A more economical athlete will run faster using less
oxygen and will be slower to fatigue.
! A good example is Steve Prefontaine who had a VO2max
of 84.4 ml/kg/min and Frank Shorter who had a VO2max of
71.3 ml/kg/min. These athletes differed by 16% in terms of their
VO2max, yet their best 1-mile (1.6km) times differed by less
than 8 seconds or 3.4%. There was hardly any difference in
their best 3-mile times (4.8 km) (0.2 seconds). Based on
VO2max, Prefontaine should have been better by at least 16%
at all distances. It’s not an uncommon phenomenon that ath-
letes with similar VO2max values have quite different perform-
ances.
! ! Keep in mind that a VO2max test provides just one
small piece of insight into the athlete's performance potential.
The test only lasts a few minutes and does not provide any indi-
cation of the athlete’s fatigue resistance. Athletes whose per-
formance does not match their VO2max are probably not mov-
ing economically. They require more oxygen and will fatigue
more quickly. Or, they may be mentally unprepared and have a
low fatigue resistance, or there may be other factors involved
that we don’t know about.
130
Aerobic Capacity Of Young Athletes
! As the child grows the components determining VO2max –
lungs, heart, skeletal muscle – also grow. Consequently, abso-
lute values of maximal aerobic power increases. The VO2max
of both boys and girls is at the same level at 6 years of age (Fig-
ure 6). Between 6 and 12 years of age both the boys and girls
Figure 6. As the heart, lungs and skeletal muscle grow absolute
VO2max also grows
increase their VO2max at a fairly steady rate reflecting prepu-
bescent growth of the VO2max structures. Then, at around 12
years there is a rapid growth in the VO2max of boys and they
quickly outstrip the girls. At about age 14 the VO2max of girls
plateaus.
! To explain this gender difference in VO2max we have to
remember that VO2max represents the maximum amount of
oxygen the active lean muscle tissue is consuming. As boys
grow they develop more muscle tissue than girls. So, some of
the difference between the VO2max of boys and girls is due to
growth of muscle tissue. Testosterone plays a role in increasing
the male lean body mass. The girls on the other hand stop de-
veloping significant muscle mass at around 14 years of age and
their additional weight is due to fat mass rather than lean body
mass. The additional fat mass does not contribute to VO2max
and this explains the plateau.
! Also, remember that a bigger child of either gender will
usually have more muscle and therefore a larger VO2max re-
gardless of age. Between 8 – 16 years boys can have an aver-
age yearly increase in peak VO2 of around 11%. The largest ab-
solute increase occurs between 12 and 14 years. For girls the
growth in VO2max increases by almost 12% per year between
8 to 13 years. The highest rise occurs between 11 -13 years. !
At age 14 the difference between boys and girls is 25%, and by
131
 Figure 7. Relative VO2max of boys and girls
age 16 the difference can be up to 50%. These data are for all
children and are not specific to trained children. We will address
trained children shortly.!
! If we look at aerobic capacity from the relative rather than
absolute perspective we see an interesting picture (Figure 7.
VO2max is relatively stable in males through out childhood and
adolescence while decreasing in females after about age 10.
As girls mature they carry more fat mass, and since the meas-
ure of VO2max lumps fat mass and skeletal mass together it ex-
plains some of the decrease in the aerobic capacity of girls.
Figure 8. Relative VO2max after the effect of body fat has been re-
moved.
! When the influence of body fat is removed the difference
between boys and girls remains, but it is less pronounced (Fig-
ure 8). The VO2max values of boy remain constant until about
16.5 years and are 6% lower at age 21.5. In girls the decline
starts at age 14.5 and amounts to 15% when they reach age
21. These data suggest that when simply considering the aero-
bic capacity of the muscle fiber both boys and girls lose relative
aerobic capacity as they age. Since these data are for un-
trained children one explanation for this phenomenon is that
both genders become less active as they age. However, be-
132
cause boys maintain a higher level of activity than girls through
puberty and beyond they lose less of their aerobic capacity.!
Trained Children
! Figure 9 presents a relative VO2max comparison (ml/kg/
min) for untrained and trained males and females as they pass
Figure 9. Relative VO2max of trained and untrained children
according to the 5 stages of puberty.
through the 5 stages of puberty. Stage 1 is prepubertal and
stage 5 is the fully mature adult physique. Stage 2 is the first
sign of puberty and ends when the growth spurt begins. Stage
3 is when the growth spurt begins and ends when the rapid
growth period slows down. Stage 4 indicates when the growth
spurt begins to slow.
! Across all five stages of puberty trained children have a
higher VO2max than untrained children. Trained males continue
to improve their VO2max and trained females maintain their
VO2max. Both untrained males and females show a decrease
in VO2max between stages 4 and 5.
! Figure 10 compares swimmers and tennis players. The
solid lines indicates relative VO2max for males and dotted lines
indicates data for females. The dip in stage 3 occurs just as the
period of rapid growth begins. We saw this dip when we dis-
cussed the windows of opportunity for training. Also interesting
is the increase in aerobic capacity (VO2max) for trained boys,
and the retention of aerobic capacity for trained girls between
stages 4 and 5. In the untrained both genders have a decrease
in VO2max.
! Tennis involves more skill than swimming and is more of a
stop and go sport. Relative aerobic capacity (VO2max) for male
tennis players peaks during the growth spurt and then plateaus
133
Figure 10. Relative VO2max of swimmers and tennis players
according to stages of puberty
and declines quite a bit by stage 5 for girls. The reason for this
is unclear.
! When comparing trained swimmers and tennis players
with untrained children (black lines), it training appears to be as-
sociated with a higher aerobic power. This effect is quite notice-
able in the more aerobic sport of swimming. Male swimmers
have a significant increase in relative aerobic power all the way
through to the end of puberty. Although female swimmers show
a decrease in aerobic power when compared with the untrained
females they retain their aerobic capacity as they age. This may
support the cultural explanation for the steady decline in relative
VO2max in untrained females during childhood and adoles-
cence.
! Except for Stage 3, male and female swimmers appear to
have a high aerobic power across all stages of puberty when
compared to male tennis players. This could be due to the aero-
bic nature of swimming, or if could mean that children with a
high genetic predisposition for aerobic capacity maintain partici-
pation in aerobic sports when successful. While it is difficult to
generalize from the limited number of studies available, it ap-
pears that endurance sports like swimming are more effective
than intermittent programs like tennis to improving and/or main-
taining aerobic capacity.
! The optimal age of training is not clear from these data. It
appears that the aerobic capacity of children can increased in
response to intensive training. However, it is not possible to de-
termine if this same effect could not have been accomplished if
intensive training was delayed until stage 4 or 5 and if an even
better training effect could have been accomplished.
134
The Child's Economy
! Children use less oxygen to perform the same amount of
work as they age (Figure 11). A 6 year old, for example, uses
almost 40 ml/kg/min when moving at a pace of 8 km/hr com-
pared with around 35 ml/kg/min for an 18 year old. Improve-
ment in the use of oxygen is most dramatic before age 11 and a
slower improvement after that.
! Research indicates that children who are the least eco-
nomical at age 10 are also the least economical at age 17. Con-
versely, those who are the most economical at age 10 remain
Figure 11. Oxygen uptake comparison of children as they age
the most economical at age 17. This is possibly attributable to
an inherent genetic running motor program that is perfected
through practice.
! Here are some additional insights from available limited re-
search with respect to a child’s movement efficiency as they
age and their oxygen use.
! (a)! The running economy of a child who is normally ac-
tive improves steadily with age. This improvement occurs with
or without participation in formal running training programs.
! (b)! Specific running instruction does not appear to im-
prove the running economy of children. The ‘practice’ of running
is more important than the ‘teaching’ of running. !
!(c) ! Over the long-term it is possible that running econ-
omy is accelerated due to a running training programs. How-
ever, this improvement is likely due to practice rather than to
specific instruction.
! (d)! The following are possible reasons why children
move less economically than adults:
1. They have a higher resting metabolic rates
2. Their muscles simply need more oxygen for any
given speed of movement
3. Their shorter stride rates and stride lengths impose a
mechanical disadvantage.
135
However, these three factors do not completely explain the low
running economy of children compared with adults.
Key Points
The lab VO2max test provides oxygen consumption data
that is used to develop field tests such as the multistage
fitness test. These tests provide valuable information
about the effectiveness of the athlete’s training program.
Total (absolute) oxygen consumption provides information
about how much oxygen the athlete’s body is using. This
does not permit a comparison between different athletes
of different sizes or ages.
Relative oxygen consumption provides information about
how much oxygen the athlete is using per kg of body
weight each min. This permits a comparison among ath-
letes of different ages and sizes. Elite athletes have
VO2max values of over 70 mls/kg/min. The highest re-
corded value is 97.5 mls/kg/min.
Economy of movement allows an athlete to make the
most effective use of their aerobic capacity.
Boys and girls have a similar sized total aerobic capacity
until about 12 years of age. At this point the aerobic capac-
ity of boys accelerates while the girl’s aerobic capacity
slows and then plateaus.
After age 17 years the relative aerobic capacity of both
boys and girls declines. In both cases the peak aerobic ca-
pacity falls between 13 - 15 years.
It appears that training helps maintain the size of a child’s
aerobic capacity.
As a child ages their movement becomes more efficient
and their use of oxygen improves.
Chapter 10 Quiz
1. Each of the following statements apply to an athlete's VO2max EX-
CEPT:
a) The athlete's maximum oxygen consumption reflects the maxi-
mum amount of oxygen the athlete's muscles consume
b) VO2max has a genetic component to it and is the only factor rele-
vant to the athlete's performance
c) VO2max can be improved by about 20% in untrained athletes, but
can usually be improved by a smaller amount in higher training
age athletes
d) Theoretically, a higher VO2max indicates the athlete can produce
more ATP aerobically than an athlete who has a lower VO2max
136
2. Relative oxygen consumption
a) Is measured in liters/min
b) Is the VO2max value recorded for children only
c) Enables a comparison of the VO2max among athletes who are of
different body structures and muscle mass
d) Measures the oxygen consumption just below peak oxygen con-
sumption
Coming Up Next
! In the next chapter we examine muscle fiber size and
strength during the growth of the child and adolescent. We will
also assess factors related to the trainability of strength during
the prepubescent and post pubescent phases.

3. The athlete with the highest VO2max will always be the more profi-
cient performer
a) True
b) False References

4. Which of the following is FALSE about the VO2max of children?

Bouchard, C., Daw, E. W., Rice, T., Pérusse, L., Gagnon, J., Province,
a) The absolute VO2max of a child grows in proportion to the amount
M. A., … Wilmore, J. H. (1998). Familial resemblance for VO2max in the
of skeletal muscle is must support
sedentary state: the HERITAGE family study. Medicine and Science in
b) The relative VO2max of boys is fairly stable across the age span
indicating that the aerobic energy system of boys is quite mature Sports and Exercise, 30(2), 252–258.
at a fairly young age.
Brooks, G. A. (1998). Mammalian fuel utilization during sustained exer-
c) The decline in relative VO2max of girls after age 12 is partially ex-
cise. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry
plained by an increase in fat mass relative to lean body mass
and Molecular Biology, 120(1), 89–107.
d) In the graphic below Curve A represents the absolute VO2max
curve for both boys and girls.
Cooper, K. H. (1968). A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake. Cor-
relation between field and treadmill testing. JAMA, 203(3), 201–204.
5. Economy of movement potentially allows an athlete who has a slightly
lower VO2max than teammates to be the superior performer Flouris, A. D., Metsios, G. S., & Koutedakis, Y. (2005). Enhancing the effi-
cacy of the 20 m multistage shuttle run test. British Journal of Sports
a) True
Medicine, 39(3), 166–170.
b) False
Foster, C., & Lucia, A. (2007). Running economy : the forgotten factor in
elite performance. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 37(4-5), 316–319.
137
Hultman, E. (1995). Fuel selection, muscle fibre. The Proceedings of the
Nutrition Society, 54(1), 107–121.
Kemper, H. C. G., Twisk, J. W. R., & van Mechelen, W. (2013). Changes
in aerobic fitness in boys and girls over a period of 25 years: data from
the Amsterdam Growth And Health Longitudinal Study revisited and ex-
tended. Pediatric Exercise Science, 25(4), 524–535.
Kenney, W. L., Wilmore, J. H., & Costill, D. L. (2011). Physiology of Sport
and Exercise with Web Study Guide, 5th Edition (5th edition). Cham-
paign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Krahenbuhl, G. S., Skinner, J. S., & Kohrt, W. M. (1985). Developmental
aspects of maximal aerobic power in children. Exercise Sport Science
Review, 13, 503–538.
Prud’homme, D., Bouchard, C., Leblanc, C., Landry, F., & Fontaine, E.
(1984). Sensitivity of maximal aerobic power to training is genotype-
dependent. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 16(5), 489–
493.
Ramsbottom, R., Brewer, J., & Williams, C. (1988). A progressive shuttle
run test to estimate maximal oxygen uptake. British Journal of Sports
Medicine, 22(4), 141–144.
Schepens, B., Willems, P. A., Cavagna, G. A., & Heglund, N. C. (2001).
Mechanical power and efficiency in running children. Pflügers Archiv:
European Journal of Physiology, 442(1), 107–116.
Wilmore, J.H. and Costill, D.L. (2005). Physiology of Sport and Exercise.
3rd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics

Krahenbuhl, G. S., & Williams, T. J. (1992). Running economy: changes

with age during childhood and adolescence. Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, 24(4), 462–466.

Noakes, T. (2002). Lore of Running, 4th Edition (4 edition). Champaign,

IL: Human Kinetics.

O’Brien, M. J., Viguie, C. A., Mazzeo, R. S., & Brooks, G. A. (1993). Car-
bohydrate dependence during marathon running. Medicine and Science
in Sports and Exercise, 25(9), 1009–1017.

Pollock, M. L., Foster, C., Knapp, D., Rod, J. L., & Schmidt, D. H. (1987).
Effect of age and training on aerobic capacity and body composition of
master athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985),
62(2), 725–731.

138
Strength

Topics

11
1. Sports performance and strength

2. Gender differences

3. Trainability of strength

4. Types of training adaptations!

5. Safety of pediatric strength training

6. Key points

7. Chapter 11 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1

Strength Sport Performance And Strength

! In most sports, the athlete needs a reasonable level of

What You Will Learn
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
1. Examine strength development of boys and girls
2. Explain factors related to the trainability of
strength during the prepubescent and post
pubescent phases
3. Discuss the benefits of strength training in young
children and adolescents.
strength for optimal performance. Strength is typically defined in
terms of the greatest amount of force an individual can gener-
ate during a maximum voluntary contraction. However, for the
majority of sports maximal strength is not the training goal. It is
optimal strength. The athlete’s application of strength, there-
fore, must reflect the specific demands of their sport, not to in-
crease strength for its own sake.
! Components of strength such as muscle size and ratio of
fast (type II) to slow (type I)muscle fibers are laid down during
the embryo stage. Top class sprinters, for example, are fairly
muscular and have a high number of fast type II fibers permit-
ting high acceleration and power. Endurance athletes, on the
other hand, have a smaller musculature and a high ratio of slow
type I fibers and are much weaker than sprinters. These sport-
specific phenotypes are genetically programmed during the em-
bryo stage and then molded through training.
! The maximum force a muscle can produce depends on its
cross-sectional area. As the child grows the size of each individ-
ual muscle fiber increases, and consequently the cross-
sectional area of the entire muscle also increases along with
strength (Figure 1). Boys and girls have a similar number of

140
 Figure 1. Growth of muscle fiber cross-sectional area post pubescent phases is also discussed. We will also briefly
review the benefits of strength training in young children and
adolescents.!

Gender Strength Differences

! The National Center for Health Statistics uses the follow-

ing tests to assess core, upper and lower body strength in US
children and adolescents aged 6 - 15 years:

• Plank: This exercise works core muscles around the trunk

muscle fibers and this number remains constant throughout
growth and maturation.
What You Will Learn
! In this chapter we examine how strength develops in
young athletes and how males and females differ. Factors re-
lated to the trainability of strength during the prepubescent and
and pelvis. Participants begin by lying face-down on a mat.
The participant lifts his or her body off the mat, keeping his
or her toes and forearms resting on the mat and his or her
back straight. The objective of the exercise is to hold this
position for as long as possible without moving.
• Modified pull-up: This exercise measures upper body
strength. Participants lie on their back with outstretched
arms under a horizontal bar above their fingers. The partici-
pant grasps the bar with an overhand grip while maintaining
a straight body with his or her heels on the floor. The partici-
pant raises and lowers his or her body as many times as
possible so that his or her chest touches a band hanging 8
inches down from the bar.

141
 • Knee extension force: This exercise measures lower body
strength. Participants are seated in a testing chair with their
legs hanging over the edge of the seat. The participant's
hips, thighs, and trunk are restrained with web belts to limit
use of other muscles during the test. A hand-held dyna-
mometer (HHD) is placed on the shin just above the ankle.
The participant presses his or her leg forward into the HHD
as hard as possible. Each leg was tested; maximum force
was recorded.
• Grip strength: This exercise measures upper body
strength. Grip strength was measured using a handgrip dy-
namometer. While standing, the participant squeezes the
handle of the dynamometer as hard as possible. Each hand
was tested; maximum force was recorded.
Here is a summary of the data.
! Core strength. Girls and boys aged 6–11 years did not dif-
fer on the plank test, which is a measure of core body strength.
Girls held the plank for 61 seconds and boys held it for 60 sec-
onds. Adolescent boys aged 12–15 years were significantly
stronger in core strength than girls. Girls held the plank for 77
seconds, while boys held it for 91 seconds. Adolescent boys
and girls held the plank position longer than younger boys and
girls.
! Lower body muscle strength. Girls and boys aged 6 - 11
did not differ lower body strength. Girls exerted a maximum of
44 pounds and boys exerted 43 pounds. Adolescent boys (86
lbs) were significantly stronger than girls (77lbs) . Adolescent
boys and girls exerted more pounds of force on the knee exten-
sion test than younger boys and girls.
! Upper body muscle strength (modified pull up). Girls
and boys 6 - 11 years did not differ in upper body strength
when measured with the modified pull up. Girls performed four
modified pull-ups and boys performed five. Adolescent boys
were significantly stronger than girls. Girls completed 4 modi-
fied pull-ups, while boys completed 10. There was no signifi-
cant difference between younger and older girls in the number
of modified pull-ups they could complete. Adolescent boys com-
pleted twice as many modified pull-ups as the younger boys.
! Upper body muscle strength (grip strength). Girls and
boys aged 6 - 11 years did not differ on grip strength, which is a
measure of upper body strength. Girls squeezed 68 pounds
and boys squeezed 71 pounds. Adolescent boys were signifi-
cantly stronger than girls (143 lbs versus 116 lbs). Adolescent
boys and girls had higher scores on the grip strength test than
younger boys and girls.
! Using the data from other research in conjunction with the
National Center for Health Statistic data is it clear that before pu-
berty the strength of boys and girls is the same. About 1 year
142
 Figure 2. Strength gains of boys and girls Figure 3. Upper and lower body strength with age

after peak height velocity the increase in strength accelerates in

both genders, although the acceleration is much higher for boys
than for girls (Figure 2). By the end of puberty the male has a
higher level of of overall body strength than his female counter-
part.!

! Throughout the growth phase the lower limb strength for

both boys and girls appears to keep pace with the need to sup-
port body weight. The NCHS data stops at 15 years of age and
by 15 years the boys are around 23% stronger than girls in their
lower body strength. Research that extends the age to 17 years
indicates that the quadriceps of boys continues to increase and
by 17 years boys are 50% stronger than that of girls. However,
143
boys are twice as strong as girls in upper body strength (Figure
3). This upper body strength advantages of the male is notice-
able in throwing sports. In most track and field events, for exam-
ple, there is about a 10% difference in the performances of men
and women. However, even though women throw lighter jave-
lins, hammers, and shots their throws are around 20% shorter
than the male throws. World class men throw an 800-g javelin
about 90 m while women only manage to throw a 600-g javelin
about 70 m.
! The superiority of over arm throwing in boys is noticeable
long before puberty even though prepubertal boys are do not
have stronger arms compared with girls at this stage. The expla-
nation for this is not clear. It is possible that boys have more op-
portunity to develop their throwing skills than girls do. Muscle
strength and its application to sports is clearly a complex phe-
nomenon and must be viewed in the context of not only the
growing skeletal lever system but also in the opportunity for skill
acquisition.
Trainability Of Strength
! Resistance training improves strength in three broad
ways:
1) muscle hypertrophy
2) improved neurological and muscle coordination (neuro-
logical adaptations)
3) intrinsic structure (Intrinsic adaptations)
! Resistance trained strength gains of adolescents and
young adults are associated with all three. However, for pre-
adolescents resistance trained strength gains are primarily due
to improved neurological control and muscle coordination. In ab-
solute terms, adolescents have greater gains in strength than
pre-adolescents, and adults have greater gains than adoles-
cents. However, in relative terms preadolescents have equal or
greater strength gains than those achieved by adolescents and
adults.
Types Of Training Adaptations!
! Hypertrophy: Muscle hypertrophy is a fairly consistent out-
come of strength training for adolescents and adults. While no
evidence currently exists that resistance training induces mus-
cle hypertrophy during pre-adolescence, a rare congenital dis-
ease called myotonia congenita indicates that a child’s muscle
size can increase when chronically hyperstimulated. Individuals
with this disease have difficulty relaxing muscles after contract-
ing them. In essence, they have sustained muscle contraction
and there is an accompanying hypertrophy of the affected mus-
144
cles. Therefore, it appears that a child’s muscles can hypertro-
phy. However, the type of resistance training required is not
practical and potentially harmful for the normal healthy child.
Hypertrophy is more inconsistent and of smaller magnitude for
adolescent and adult females.
! In both males and females the hypertrophy of muscle is
relatively small when total strength gains are considered. This
means that changes in muscle size is just one component con-
tributing to strength gains. Other factors such as neurologic ad-
aptations and possibly intrinsic structural changes within the sar-
comere itself must also occur.
! The proportion of type 2 fibers in human muscle is signifi-
cantly correlated with training-induced hypertrophy and in-
creases in strength. Type 1 fibers do hypertrophy but it takes a
much longer period of time and they do not hypertrophy to the
same extent as Type 2 fibers do. This explains why sprint and
power athletes respond well to resistance training and endur-
ance runners do not.
! Neurologic adaptations: Nervous system activation is
known to improve in response to resistance training. However,
there is a much higher neurological response during pre-
adolescence than during post adolescence suggesting that neu-
rologic adaptations is much more important during pre-
adolescence than during adolescence for strength gains.
! In pre-adolescence, it appears that improved motor coordi-
nation is a possible important partner to neurological adaptation
in improved strength. It is believed that improved motor coordi-
nation explains a significant portion of the strength gains of ado-
lescent females due to resistance training.
! When training of one limb, a cross-over effect occurs with
causing strength increases in the other (contralateral) limb. This
supports the notion of a central adaptation hypothesis where
the early phase of strength training trains the brain to recognize
a pattern of muscular timing. Once this pattern is learned both
limbs benefit even if one has not been physically trained. As
muscular coordination improves this increases the potential for
a higher loading and more intense training stimulus that can
eventually lead to muscle hypertrophy. It is unclear if strength
related neurological and coordination of pre-adolescents results
in a faster or enhanced hypertropic response to resistance train-
ing during the adolescent stage.
! Intrinsic adaptations: The word ‘intrinsic’ simply means
belonging to, or lying within the muscle. Changes in muscle ar-
chitecture, myofilament density, and the structure of the connec-
tive tissue and tendons in response to resistance training alter
the intrinsic makeup of the entire muscle. Resistance training is
known to elevate the structural proteins holding the muscle
cells together resulting in a stiffer muscle and tendon. This ad-
aptation would enhance the rapid application of force. Cross-
145
sectional studies have found greater tendon thickness in ath- ! A comparison of physiological adaptations underlying
letes involved in high force activity compared with non athletes. strength changes with resistance training during pre-
adolescence and adolescence is summarized on Table 1.

Table 1. Training induced adaptations: Pre versus adolescent

Greater gains in the adolescent compared to the

Absolute strength
pre-adolescent

Equal or greater gains in the pre-adolescent

Relative strength
compared to the adolescent

Smaller gains in muscle size in the pre-

Muscle hypertrophy
adolescent compared to the adolescent

Possible greater potential for increased

Neuromuscular activation in the pre-adolescent compared to the
activation adolescent due to a lower lifetime exposure to
different types of activities

Possible greater potential for improvement in

skill in the pre-adolescent compared to the
Motor skill
adolescent due to lower lifetime exposure to
skilled activities

From: Blimkie, C. J.R. and Bar-Or, O. (2007) Muscle Strength, Endurance, and
Power: Trainability During Childhood, in The Young Athlete (eds H. Hebestreit and
O. Bar-Or), Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK

146
Safety Of Pediatric Strength Training !
! While scientific reports are limited it appears that if chil-
dren participate in organized sports they are physically and
mentally able to participate in a strength training program. With
appropriate instruction, exercise prescription and supervision,
strength training appears safe for both pre-adolescents and ado-
lescents. Children as young as 5 years have been reported to
participate in strength training. However, the American Acad-
emy of Pediatrics is opposed to the sports of weight lifting,
power lifting, and body building because of lack of data about
the safety of these sports and potential risk of injury to the im-
mature skeleton.
! Currently the benefits of strength training for improving
sports performance, enhancing body composition, reducing
sports injury rate and rehabilitation time following injury remains
largely unproven for both the pre-adolescent and adolescent.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests that strength training re-
duces the incidence of sport-related injuries. Pre-season condi-
tioning programs for adolescent football and soccer players
have pointed to a decrease in the incidence and severity of in-
jury. Studies also suggest there is a decreased incidence of seri-
ous knee injuries in female athletes after a strength training pro-
gram.
! For apparently healthy children, a medical examination is
not mandatory, but it is useful for identifying risk factors and in-
jury history. A medical examination is recommended for children
with known or suspected disease to ensure resistance training
is safe for them or to identify additional precautions before start-
ing one.
!
Key Points
Children gain strength naturally as they age due to their
physical growth. At puberty the superimposing effect of tes-
tosterone accelerates both muscle size and strength in
males creating a significant advantage in muscular
strength over females.
The observed improvements in strength in children in the
absence of hypertrophy indicates that size-independent
changes, such as nervous system maturation, occurs in re-
sponse to resistance training programs.
Changes in muscle fiber architecture, or an increase in sar-
comere contractile force itself could also contribute.
It appears that resistance training for sports participation is
safe for children if designed and implemented appropri-
ately.
147
Chapter 11 Quiz 4. When using resistance training it appears that neurological adaptation
is more important

1. When considering an athlete's strength and his/her ability to produce a) Pre-puberty

force each of the following statements is true EXCEPT: b) Post puberty

a) Force production depends on the cross-sectional area of a mus- 5. While resistance training is supported by the American Academy of Pe-
cle. diatrics for pre-pubescent children, the sports of weight lifting and power
b) Force production depends on the cross-sectional area of a mus- lifting are not supported.
cle.
c) Before puberty girls and boys are already showing significant dif- a) True
ferences in terms of their strength
b) False
d) Lower limb strength appears related to body weight in order to
keep pace with the need to support the increasing body weight

2. Compared with lower body strength after puberty where males are
50% stronger than females, males are disproportionally stronger in up-
per body strength. Coming Up Next

a) True
! In the next chapter we discuss the general physiology of
b) False
force production and its application to acceleration, reactive
3. Strength improves due to the stimulus provided by strength training in
strength and power production.
which of the following ways:

a) Muscle hypertrophy
b) Nervous system adaptations
c) Intrinsic structure of the muscle
d) All three of these

148
References Rowland, T. W. (2005). Children’s exercise physiology. Champaign (IL):
Human Kinetics.

Blimkie, C. J. R., & Bar-Or, O. (2007). Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Young, W. K., & Metzl, J. D. (2010). Strength Training for the Young Ath-
Power: Trainability During Childhood. In H. Hebestreit & O. Bar-Or lete. Pediatric Annals, 39(5), 293–9.
(Eds.), The Young Athlete (pp. 65–83).

Ervin, R. B., Fryar, C. D., Wang, C.-Y., Miller, I. M., & Ogden, C. L.
(2014). Strength and Body Weight in US Children and Adolescents. Pedi-
atrics, 134(3), e782–e789.

Ervin, R. B., Wang, C.-Y., Fryar, C. D., Miller, I. M., & Ogden, C. L.
(2013). Measures of muscular strength in U.S. children and adolescents,
2012. NCHS Data Brief, (139), 1–8.

Folland, J. P., & Williams, A. G. (2007). The adaptations to strength train-

ing : morphological and neurological contributions to increased strength.
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 37(2), 145–168.

NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

Handgrip_Muscle_Strength.pdf. (2012.). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nnyfs/Handgrip_Muscle_Strength.pdf

Jones, D. A., & Round, J. M. (2007). Muscle Development During Child-

hood and Adolescence. In H. Hebestreit & O. Bar-Or (Eds.), The Young
Athlete (pp. 18–26).

NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey.

Lower_Body_Muscle_Strength.pdf. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nnyfs/Lower_Body_Muscle_Strength.pdf

149
Physiology of strength

Topics

12
1. Maximum strength versus absolute
strength

2. Muscle components affecting strength

3. The stretch-shortening cycle

4. Strength and Muscle fiber type

5. Key points

6. Chapter 12 Quiz

7. Coming up next
Section 1
Physiology of
strength and power
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this chapter you will be
able to:
1. Discuss the general application strength to
acceleration, reactive strength and power
production.
2. Describe the contribution of the motor unit,
muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs and elastic
protein to force and power production.
3. Explain the role played by type I, IIa and IIx fibers
in force and power production.
Maximum Strength Versus Absolute Strength
! Strength reflects the amount of force an athlete has avail-
able to use against a resistance (Figure 1). This resistance can
be gravity, an implement, or an opponent. Athletes have four
levels of strength available for force production: absolute
strength, maximum strength, optimal sport-specific strength and
optimal useable-strength (Figure 2).
What You Will Learn
! In this chapter the focus is on examining the characteris-
tics of muscle structures affecting strength and power, how the
tendons store energy to magnify power, and the role played by
the three different fiber types.
Types Of Strength
! Absolute strength reflects the total amount of force the
athlete’s are theoretically capable of producing.
! Maximal strength reflects the amount of force generated
through conscious voluntary effort.
151
Figure 1. Strength reflects the available force an athlete has
available to use against a resistance
Figure 2. The continuum of strength available to the athlete
! Optimal sport-specific strength reflects the amount of
force needed to produce a competitive performance. For the
more experienced athletes is usually less than their maximal
strength.
! Optimal useable-strength reflects the amount of force
athletes can effectively use to perform a sport movement given
their current level of coordination and control. For elite athletes
this may equal to the optimal sport-specific strength. Novice ath-
lete have a optimal useable-strength that is well below the opti-
mal sport-specific strength.
! According to Zatsiorsky, author of the Science and prac-
tice of strength training novice athletes can consciously pro-
duce 65 percent of their theoretical absolute strength. Highly
trained adult athletes, on the other hand are able to voluntarily
tap into 80 percent of their absolute strength. It is only under an
extreme life or death situation is it possible to use total absolute
strength.
! Power is another word used in relation to an athlete’s
strength. Power is the application of strength to produce a cer-
tain level of force in a specified amount of time. It is the amount
of work an athlete is producing per unit time. Quite often
strength and power are used interchangeably but their meaning
152
is quite different. The two words may even be used together to
describe an athlete’s performance: i.e. she is strong and power-
ful. Fast muscular movements with maximal effort produce
“high power” while slow muscular movement with low effort pro-
duce “low power”.
! A recreational jogger, marathon runner and sprinter all pro-
duce a power output. However, when performing their event rec-
reational joggers and marathoners produce a lower power out-
put than a sprinter or thrower does.
! Quite often in sports it is the athlete’s total power output
that is important rather than their maximal strength. A strong ath-
lete is not necessarily a powerful athlete.
! Two applications of strength and power during a sports per-
formance are to accelerate and change direction both of which
reflects the athlete’s power.
1. Acceleration: There are many occasions when athletes
must accelerate their bodies and/or limbs from rest or low
velocity, to maximal velocity. The amount of force an ath-
lete is able to use to successfully accomplish an accelera-
tion task reflects their acceleration strength.
2. Direction change: All sports movements consist of a se-
ries of direction changes. The most common application of
direction change is when the athlete is running and jump-
ing. Every time the foot lands on the ground while running,
hurdling or jumping the knee bends due to the force of
gravity. The leg muscles must quickly halt the downward
movement and accelerate the body vertically upward and
forward. Running is a series of direction changes.
! Direction change is frequently multi-dimensional in nature.
When playing team sports, an athlete needs to counteract grav-
ity while running, in addition to lateral and forward-backward di-
rection changes depending on the behavior of the opponent
and teammates. This ability of the athlete to effectively change
direction with the appropriate amount of force within a short ti-
meframe reflects their reactive strength.
!
Muscle Components Affecting Strength
! Several structural components of muscle contribute to an
athlete’s ability to appropriately use their strength and produce
power while performing sports skills. These include motor units,
muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and elastic tissue. The
muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs are intrinsic sensors
to the muscle and muscle-tendon unit.
153

Figure 3. A motor unit includes the nerve and all the muscle fi-
bers it activates
! motor units, such as the tiny eye muscles, are responsible for
! Motor unit: The brain does not control each muscle fiber
separately because this would demand an unreasonable
amount of information processing. Instead, a single nerve,
called a motor neuron, stimulates several muscle fibers by split-
ting into branches and attaching each branch to a muscle fiber
(Figure 3). Axons of motor neurons extend from the spinal cord
to the muscle where they divide into a number of axon termi-
nals and form junctions with muscle fibers scattered throughout
the muscle. The nerve, and the muscle fibers activated by its
branches, is called a motor unit.
Figure 4. Large motor units control hundreds of muscle fibers.
Small motor units control a small number of muscle fibers.
! Motor units in large muscles important for producing high
force, such as the vastus lateralis muscle (one of the quadri-
ceps muscles), control as many as 2000 fibers (Figure 4). Small
very precise movements and control fewer than 10 fibers. In
other words, the size of a motor unit varies according to
whether it is designed to produce high force, or to produce pre-
cise movement.
!
! The number of active motor units within a muscle depends
on its force production. When a low force is required a few mo-
tor units are active. The other motor units are inactive. Their
muscle fibers simply go along for the ride passively shortening
along with the fibers that are actively contracting. When larger
forces are needed, the nervous system activates additional mo-
tor units. When motor units are called into action to increase the
154
Figure 5. To generate more muscle force more motor units are re-
cruited
muscle’s force production it is referred to as motor unit recruit-
ment.
! Figure 5 illustrates a motor nerve (X) that splits into five
branches to innervate five muscle fibers and motor unit (Y) that
splits into seven branches and innervate 7 muscle fibers. If mo-
tor unit X works by itself it can produce 3 units of force. If motor
unit Y works by itself it can produce 5 units of force. Motor unit
Y produces a higher force than motor unit X because it stimu-
lates more muscle fibers. If both motor unit X and motor unit Y
are activated simultaneously they will produce 8 units of force.
With training the athlete's brain 'learns' how to stimulate more
motor units simultaneously and more precisely upon voluntary
demand.
Intrinsic Muscle Sensors
! To control movement, the CNS must have information
about the current state of the musculoskeletal system.
Muscle spindles work in conjunction with the Golgi tendon or-
gan that we will talk about next to provide this information. Mus-
cle spindles enhance the muscle’s stiffness and also help stabi-
lize movement. They provide for the athlete’s reactive strength.
!
Muscle spindles: Muscle spindles are tiny specialized muscle
fibers lying within the muscle and play an important protection
role by recording the change in length of the muscle and how
fast it is being stretched (Figure 6). Muscle spindles are called
intrafusal fibers meaning that they lie between or in parallel with
skeletal muscle fibers. The power-producing muscle fiber is
called the extrafusal fiber.
155
Figure 6. Muscle spindles protect muscle fibers from damage.
! When the muscle is stretched too much the muscle spin-
dle sends information to the spinal cord where a stretch reflex
mechanism is triggered to resist the muscle stretch. Signals are
sent from the spinal cord back to the muscle through the motor
nerve causing it to contract. The more sudden the change in
muscle length, the stronger the stretch-reflex signal and the
stronger the muscle contraction will be.
! Golgi tendon organs The Golgi tendon organ is another
muscle protection mechanism (Figure 7). This sensor is located
in the muscle-tendon junction and is quite large and it can be
Figure 7. Golgi tendon organ protect muscle tendons from damage.
seen with the naked eye. This tiny structure is attached to 2 to
15 different motor units scattered throughout the muscle. This
allows the Golgi tendon organ to essentially sample tension
from many parts of the muscle. Slow-twitch or Type I motor
units activate fewer Golgi tendon organs than do fast-twitch or
Type II motor units.
! The function of the Golgi tendon organ is not completely
understood. Its location at the muscle-tendon junction suggests
its role is to protect the tendon and muscle. For this reason
Golgi tendon organs are generally viewed as force sensors, but
156
they also provide information about the tendon’s length. Monitor-
ing muscle-tendon complex tension prevents the muscle from
producing excessive force that could damage the tendon. The
tendon is important because it transfers force from the muscle
to the bone. They also greatly enhance the mechanical effi-
ciency of movements by storing and releasing energy that we
will talk about this shortly. So it is important that the tendon is
protected from any type of damage due to excessive stress.
When muscles are active the muscle pulls on the tendon
squeezing a nerve axon lying between connective tissue. The
harder the nerve is squeezed, the more excitation occurs.
!
! When a critical threshold is reached the sensory nerve will
fire. As muscle tension rises, the sensory nerve fires at a faster
rate and a signal is sent to the spinal cord. Once the signal
reaches the spinal cord, the sensory nerve stimulates a short
interneuron in the spinal cord, that in turn, send an inhibitory
stimulus along a large motor nerve that travels back to the
same muscle in which the Golgi tendon organ is located. The
muscle relaxes.
! The Golgi tendon organ reflex inhibition of an active mus-
cle is termed autogenic inhibition. Repetitive firing from many
Golgi tendon organs is needed to produce a relaxation re-
sponse in the muscle. The spinal reflex does not force the mus-
cle to relax completely. Instead, the GTO slightly reduces the
chance that the muscle will strongly contract. Resistance train-
ing is thought to reduce the effect of the Golgi tendon organ
theoretically allowing the athlete to tap into a higher percentage
of their absolute force. However, this idea is speculative and
there is currently no supporting evidence.
! The Golgi tendon organ effect is one explanation for why a
jumper's leg gives way when it is placed under high stress dur-
ing the second to last (penultimate stride). The action is termed
the 'clasp-knife' reflex due to sudden flexion of the joint analo-
gous to the folding of a pocketknife. It is not clear if the Golgi
tendon organ is involved in this action. It could be a motor con-
trol issue where the jumper has insufficient optimal-useable
strength for the approach speed being used. The temporary so-
lution is to reduce approach speed until coordination and motor
control have improved to allow the athlete to use a higher level
of maximal strength. Improving maximal strength could also be
a solution.
! Strength training and plyometric training are thought to
train the Golgi tendon organ to be less sensitive to muscle ten-
sion thereby improving the athlete’s optimal useable strength.
This is one argument for including appropriate plyometrics into
the athlete's strength training program. Again, however, there is
little evidence for this notion.!
! The Golgi tendon effect on muscle is also an argument for
why passive stretching is not recommended during a warm up
routine. Theoretically, passive stretching stimulates the Golgi
157
tendon organ and reduces the athlete’s force production capac-
ity. Dynamic stretching is believed to be a more appropriate
warm up for muscle that is about to be dynamically active. This
will be discuss further in Chapter 15 where the athlete’s flexibil-
ity.
! Elastic tissue. The third structure affecting strength and
power is the elastic tissue that is woven through the muscle fi-
ber and into the tendon and then into the very strong fibrous tis-
sue covering the bone (Figure 8). This fibrous tissue also con-
nects every muscle and every organ throughout the body. The
Figure 8. Countermovement produces a higher jump
extensive network of fibrous fascia is currently thought to ex-
plain how force moves from muscle to muscle. This elastic tis-
sue is also important to the stretch-shortening cycle that can
provide the athlete with additional force.
The Stretch-shortening Cycle
! Over 100 years ago it was noticed that a counter move-
ment produced more force than when a counter movement was
absent (Figure 9). A counter movement is a movement in a di-
rection opposite to the goal direction where the active muscle
first lengthens (eccentric contraction) immediately before short-
Figure 9. Countermovement produces a higher jump
158
Figure 10. Stretch-shortening cycle
ening (concentric contraction). This was initially called the
'wind-up' movement and in 1979 it was renamed the 'stretch-
shortening cycle' (Figure 10). Several possible explanations are
given for the increased force obtained by the stretch shortening
cycle phenomenon.
Motor units and muscles work more effectively with pre-
stretch, and therefore more power is produced.
A countermovement permits time for the central nervous
system to fully activate the sarcomere contractile machin-
ery.
The elastic protein woven throughout the muscle fiber and
tendon stores energy during the eccentric contraction and
reuses it during concentric contraction.
The muscle spindle stretch occurring during the counter-
movement triggers spinal reflexes that increases muscle
contraction to a level above what is possible when no pre-
stretch occurs.
The pre-stretch of active muscle alters the properties of the
sarcomere’s contractile machinery enhancing the force pro-
duced. This enhancement is called potentiation, and in-
creases with the speed of pre-stretch. The muscle spindle
stretch that occurs during the countermovement triggers
spinal reflexes that increase the muscle force of contraction
to a level surpassing that achieved when no pre-stretch oc-
curs. !
There are several possible applications of stretch-shortening cy-
cle in sports:
It is useful for storing energy in a tendon that, in turn, en-
hances maximal force production. Energy stored in the
stretched Achilles tendon permits jumpers to produce a
higher force at take-off.
159
 Throwers use the elastic tissue woven into their chest and Figure 11. Plyometric training potentially teaches the brain to better
shoulder muscles by pre-stretching the relevant muscles predict the force of landing.
just before final implement delivery.

A highly developed and effective stretch-shortening cycle in

the quadriceps muscles improves the athlete's reactive leg
strength by ‘stiffening’ the touch down leg. Athletes with a
stiffer leg can run faster and jump higher, or longer, due to
a shorter ground reaction time.

! One theory about the value of plyometric training is that it

teaches the brain how to quickly recruit the fast Type II fibers.
Another theory is that plyometric training teaches the brain how
to better predict the force of landing enabling it to set the rele-
vant muscles into a higher level of pre-activity before the foot
touches the ground. If your knee has given way when you en-
countered an unexpected step down it was because the brain
was not prepared to stimulate the required muscular force.

! Research demonstrates that subjects who have the high-

est jumps after they drop off a bench also have a very active
vastus lateralis muscle before ground contact.
the jumps were low. Vastus lateralis muscle activity is also
! The green line in Figure 11 is the activity of the vastus lat-
much higher throughout the ground contact phase for those sub-
eralis muscle during the highest jumps. The black is the activity
jects who have the highest jumps (Figure 10). The active vastus
of the vastus lateralis muscle during the poorest jumps. As is il-
lateralis muscle has the effect of stiffening the leg and a fast
lustrated the vastus lateralis muscle was quite active well be-
stretch reflex resulting in a higher jump.
fore touch down when the jumps were high and quite low when

160
 Figure 12. Fiber type variation found in skeletal muscle

! The stretch-shortening cycle is also important for helping

accelerate limbs when they are not in contact with the ground.
When clearing a hurdle, for example, the hip flexor stretch-
reflex is thought to help accelerate the leg through for the next
stride. A jumper uses the hip-flexor stretch reflex for a powerful
swing leg at take off.

! Shot, discus and javelin thrower use the stretch-reflex in

the chest muscles to accelerate the arm during the final delivery
phase. In these cases the limbs are not physically connected to
the ground.

Strength And Muscle Fiber Type

! The final important characteristic of a muscle that influ-

ences the athlete’s force and power production capacity is its
fiber type composition (Figure 11). Three different types of fi-
! Of the three fiber types, the type I fiber has the slowest
bers are scattered throughout a muscle. These include the type
contraction speed and the lowest force production capability.
I or slow oxidative (SO) fibers that are antigravity, weight bear-
The maximum contraction velocity of a type I fiber is approxi-
ing and sustained movement fibers, and two forms of fast Type
mately one tenth that of a type 2x fiber. It is an important endur-
II fibers (type IIa or fast oxidative glycolytic fiber, and type IIx or
ance fiber designed for sustained low levels of activity. The ve-
fast glycolytic) both of which provide the athlete with high
locity of type 2a fibers is somewhere between those of type I
power.
and type 2x and is designed for short-to-moderate duration,
moderate-to-high intensity work. Type 2x fibers are built for ex-

161
plosive, very short-duration activity. The ratio of the three fiber Figure 13. SO fibers are recruited first, followed by FOG and then FG
fibers.
types within a muscle influences the contractile performance of
the muscle. Both varieties of fast twitch fibers have excellent an-
aerobic capability due to their high glycogen and creatine phos-
phate content. However, they differ in some important ways.

! The Type IIa (fast oxidative glycolytic fibers, or FOG) fibers

have a large number of mitochondria, whereas the type IIx (fast
glycolytic or FG) fibers have very few mitochondria. The FG fi-
bers contain a high amount of elastic protein allowing for effec-
tive energy storage. Slow oxidative (type I) fibers are the least
elastic of the three varieties of muscle fibers.

! An aerobic training program trains the FOG fibers to act

like type I fibers by stimulating the growth of the mitochondria. A
high-intensity training program trains them to act like FG (type
IIx) fibers by stimulating their glycolytic enzyme production ca-
pacity. When trained to act like type I fibers, they improve the
performance of endurance athletes.
12). FG fibers have a high recruitment threshold making them
largely inaccessible to untrained individuals. Repetitive high
stimulation activates high threshold FG fibers. Power athletes
have a genetically higher ratio of type IIa and IIx fibers and en-
durance athletes have a genetically higher ratio of type I fibers.

! The FG fibers are the most important to an athlete’s force !

production capabilities because they are generally the largest
and fastest muscle fiber found in the muscle. Key Points

! According to our current knowledge, the brain calls upon Strength refers to the force an athlete can develop against
the type I muscle fibers first followed by the FG fibers (Figure a resistance. Power is work output per unit time.

162
 Absolute strength is the total amount of force the athlete’s
muscles can theoretically produce if maximally stimulated
under a fight-or-flight condition. Maximal force is the
amount of absolute force an athlete can voluntarily produce
with a conscious effort.
b) Power is related to an athlete's strength. It reflects the amount of
force they can produce per unit time.
c) * Absolute strength is the amount of force the athlete is able to pro-
duce through conscious effort.
d) A beginning athlete can consciously produce 65 percent of their
theoretical absolute strength.

Acceleration, direction change and counteracting the move- 2. A motor unit includes
ment of opponents are examples of how the athlete’s
strength is applied during training and competition. a) *The nerve and the muscle fibers it activates with its branches.
b) The Golgi tendon organ
Motor units, muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs and elas- c) The muscle spindle
tic protein are important components of a muscle that play d) The Golgi tendon organ and the muscle spindle
a role in the athlete’s maximal strength capabilities.
3. Which of the following play an important protection role recording the
The type IIa and IIx muscle fibers produce a higher power change in length of the muscle and how fast it is being stretched?

output than type I fibers do. Genetically, successful power

a) Motor unit
athletes have a higher ratio of both varieties of type II fi-
b) * Muscle spindle
bers. Successful endurance runners have a higher ratio of c) Golgi tendon organ
type I fibers. d) Elastic tissue

4. The stretch-shortening cycle is important to performing sports skills for

which of the following reasons?
Chapter 12 Quiz
a) Helping accelerate the limbs when they are not in contact with the
ground
1. Each of the following statements is True EXCEPT:
b) Helps improve reactive strength of the leg by stiffening it when it
first touches down.
a) The force an athlete can develop against a resistance reflects
c) It stores energy in the tendons and elastic muscle tissue
their strength
d) * All of these

163
5. Which of the following muscle fiber types has the slowest contraction
speed?
a) * Type I fibers
b) FOG fibers
c) FG fibers
d) All these fibers have identical contraction speed
Coming Up Next
! In the next chapter we discuss the types of anaerobic ef-
fort common to sports and how anaerobic capacity develops
throughout growth and maturation.
References
Bobbert, M. F., Gerritsen, K. G., Litjens, M. C., & Van Soest, A. J. (1996).
Why is countermovement jump height greater than squat jump height?
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 28(11), 1402–1412.
Chalmers, G. (2002). Do Golgi tendon organs really inhibit muscle activ-
ity at high force levels to save muscles from injury, and adapt with
strength training? Sports Biomechanics / International Society of Biome-
chanics in Sports, 1(2), 239–249.
Harrison, A. J., & Gaffney, S. (2001). Motor development and gender ef-
fects on stretch-shortening cycle performance. Journal of Science and
Medicine in Sport / Sports Medicine Australia, 4(4), 406–415.
Horita, T., Komi, P. V., Hämäläinen, I., & Avela, J. (2003). Exhausting
stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) exercise causes greater impairment in
SSC performance than in pure concentric performance. European Jour-
nal of Applied Physiology, 88(6), 527–534.
Horita, T., Komi, P. V., Nicol, C., & Kyröläinen, H. (2002). Interaction be-
tween pre-landing activities and stiffness regulation of the knee joint mus-
culoskeletal system in the drop jump: implications to performance. Euro-
pean Journal of Applied Physiology, 88(1-2),
Kistemaker, D. A., Van Soest, A. J. K., Wong, J. D., Kurtzer, I., & Gribble,
P. L. (2013). Control of position and movement is simplified by combined
muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ feedback. Journal of Neurophysi-
ology, 109(4), 1126–1139.
Moore, M. (2007). Golgi Tendon Organs Neuroscience Update with Rele-
vance to Stretching and Proprioception in Dancers. Journal of Dance
Medicine & Science, 11(3), 85–92.
Sapega, A. A., & Drillings, G. (1983). The definition and assessment of
muscular power. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Ther-
apy, 5(1), 7–9.
van Ingen Schenau, G. J. (1997). Does Elastic Energy Enhance Work
and Efficiency in the Stretch-Shortening Cycle? Journal of Applied Biome-
chanics, 13, 389 – 415.
164
Wise, J. (2009). When Fear Makes Us Superhuman. Scientific American.
Retrieved from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-fear-superhuman/

Zatsiorsky, V., & Kraemer, W. (2006). Science and Practice of Strength

Training (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics.

165
Anaerobic capacity

Topics

13
1. Uses of anaerobic power in sports

2. Gender, age and Anaerobic

Performance

3. Explaining development of anaerobic

performance

4. Blood lactate levels

5. Application to sport performance

6. Key points

7. Chapter 13 Quiz

8. Coming up next
Section 1
Anaerobic capacity
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
1. Discuss anaerobic development from childhood
to the adult stage of both males and females
2. Explain the qualitative and quantitative factors
contributing to anaerobic performance
Use Of Anaerobic Power In Sports
! The athlete obtains energy for high intensity work from the
alactic and lactic acid producing components of the anaerobic
energy system. The alactic component extracts energy from the
ATP store and the phosphocreatine (PC), and the lactic acid
producing component from nonaerobic breakdown of glucose
through glycolysis. Both systems quickly regenerate ATP and
provide the athlete with large muscle power outputs. The capac-
ity of the anaerobic energy system, however, has a low ATP pro-
duction capacity. A rapid reduction of stored creatine phosphate
and an accumulation of acid cause the athlete to either stop, or
to reduce the work output.
! Anaerobic energy is used to produce three types of high
power output:!
1. It is used for very short 2 seconds bursts of activity. Exam-
ples include striking a golf ball, throwing a shot put, kicking
a field goal, or clearing the starting blocks at the start of a
sprint race. These are all examples of explosive bouts of
maximal power reflecting the athlete’s ability to use stored
ATP in conjunction with a highly effective neuromuscular
system. These 2-second bursts of activity provide insight
into an athlete’s ‘peak power’ capabilities.
167
 2. Anaerobic power is also used for short-term bursts of activ-
ity lasting between 5 – 60 seconds in duration. Between 2 -
6 seconds power is largely determined by creatine phos-
phate metabolism and between 6 - 60 seconds a highly de-
veloped glycolytic energy system provides the power out-
put. Anaerobic power in these situations depends on the
athlete’s ability to sustain a very high power output for up to
60 seconds. This sustained anaerobic capacity is assessed
in terms of ‘mean endurance power’ over a specific time pe-
the athlete can produce very quickly – within 2 seconds. Mean
anaerobic power is the highest power output an athlete can
maintain for 10 - 30 seconds. Testing is usually performed over
30 seconds.
! Figure 1 shows the development of absolute or peak
power (i.e. maximal power output in under 2 seconds) for the
Figure 1. Absolute peak and mean anaerobic power

riod – usually 30 seconds.

3. Anaerobic power is also used for multiple 5 to 10 second

bouts of maximal, or near maximal effort. This situation oc-
curs in team games where players repeatedly sprint a short
distance, jump and/or change direction, and sprint a short
distance again. Activity bouts are interspersed with periods
of walking or jogging recovery.

! The focus of this chapter is on anaerobic development

from childhood to the adult stage and on the qualitative and
quantitative factors contributing to anaerobic performance.

Influence Of Gender And Age

! Two levels of anaerobic power are relevant to an athlete’s

performance. Absolute or peak power is the amount of power
168
legs and arms of males (shown in blue) and females (shown in Figure 2. Relative peak and mean anaerobic power from males and
pink). Leg power for both genders improves relatively linearly
with age and is at its highest level around 30 years of age for
males. Data for both leg and arm power of females is limited.
Female leg power is still on an upward trend at 22 years of age.
Arm power for males improves linearly until around age 22
years. There is no data available of females after 14 years of
age.

! This is the mean power output over 30 s and shows a simi-

lar pattern a linear increase in leg power until around 30 years
of age for males.

The data for females is only available until 22 years. Again,

there are no data available for female arm power after age 14
years. Power for arms is lower than leg power and appears to
plateau for males at around 22 years.

A summary of the data for absolute and mean power is shown

in Figure 2. During the younger ages absolute and mean power
for both genders are similar. Neither has an absolute power that
is substantially different from mean power. Both peak (absolute)
mise female absolute and mean power output for the upper
and mean power increases with age with a gradual increase in
body may not differ with age.
absolute power over mean power. This is true for both legs and
arms of both genders. However, we do not have date for fe- ! When examining power in terms of kg of body – that is,
males after age 14 years. Referring back to the upper body eliminating the influence of growth, there is an increase in peak
strength data we discussed in a previous chapter we might sur- power of the lower body with age for both genders. Upper body
peak power peak for males continues to improve with age as
169
well. There is no data after 14 years for females. This suggests
that absolute (peak) anaerobic capacity of young muscle is not
fully developed and continues to improve with age.
! While peak power per kg of body weight of female muscle
continues to climb with age mean endurance power plateaus
after age 13 years. The data for males also suggests the mean
anaerobic power plateaus after age 15 years.
! What this means is not clear. Peak power involves more
nervous system coordination and control than mean anaerobic
power does. As you will see shortly, the store of ATP in a
child’s muscle is similar to that of an adult. The nervous system
is quite mature before puberty. However, the control aspect of
the nervous system is not fully developed and we will discuss
this more in the next module. This could explain the continued
increase in relative peak power with age. The increase in mus-
cle mass with age adds to peak power.
! Mean anaerobic performance depends on the maturity of
the glycolytic enzymes and these appear to be fully functioning
around 13 – 14 years of age. The improvement in mean anaero-
bic power with age, therefore, appears to be due to the in-
creased muscle mass.
! The absolute leg power of females is 40% lower than
males. However, when comparing lower limb power per kg/
body mass female power production is just 15% lower than
males. In these studies, fat is not factored out. So, this remain-
ing difference could be due to the inability to compare pure mus-
cle mass of the two genders. There is a lot we do not know
about the peak and mean anaerobic power of females.!
Explaining Development Of Anaerobic Performance
! The lower absolute and relative anaerobic performance in
children versus adults can be due to several factors. Clearly,
given the very high relationship between anaerobic power and
muscle mass, a lower muscle protein content of the child is one
explanation. However, explaining power output as a function of
muscle mass is not straightforward. Other factors are involved
as well including an immature neuromuscular system, or an im-
mature anaerobic metabolic activity of the muscle. !
! Effect of muscle protein content: Muscle fiber size in-
creases about 3.5 times in females and 4.5 times in males be-
tween early childhood and adolescence. This muscle growth
matches improvement in absolute anaerobic power capacity
during childhood and adolescence making it tempting to con-
clude that muscle volume is the prime factor in producing an-
aerobic power. Studies using soccer players indicates that fat
free mass of adolescent male soccer players explains 86% to
88%, of peak power and 80% to 86%, of mean endurance
170
power. These data indicate that fat free mass is highly related 1). From a relative perspective a child’s store and relative use
to power output. However, other factors must be involved to of the ATP stores is the same as the adult. It appears that chil-
fully account for the remaining variance. dren can use creatine phosphate at the same rate as an adult,
they have less available providing them with a shorter range.
! Neuromuscular maturation: Very intense anaerobic ac-
Children store less glycogen than adults and also use glycogen
tivities demand considerable nervous system input. Nerve con-
at a lower rate. A child’s glycogen enzymes and use is therefore
duction velocity of the child approaches adult levels by 8 years
less active when compared with an adult.
of age and continues to increase slightly into adolescence. Ex-
plosive activities such as sprinting, jumping and throwing re-
quire a fully mature nervous system to ensure effective motor
unit recruitment. For this reason, skills requiring a high level of Blood Lactate Levels
peak power will continue to improve throughout growth and
maturation and into the adult stage independent of the in- ! Acid accumulation is the inevitable drawback of using the
creased muscle mass of the growing child. glycolytic energy system at a high rate. Figure 3 presents the

! Stored elastic energy of muscle produced during impulse

Table 1. Differences in child-adult substrate availability and
activities such as running, cycling, or jumping, also improves utilization
with age due to maturation of the elastic proteins. This would
Concentration
permit a higher peak power production. Compared with Utilization rate
Substrate in muscle
adults during exercise
! Hormonal maturation: Increasing levels of testosterone (mmol/kg)

and other hormonal changes during puberty are associated with ATP 3-5 Same Same
peak power output of the male athlete. Females do not benefit CP 12 - 22 Lower Same or less
from testosterone. ! !
Glycogen 50 - 60 Lower Much less
! Muscle substrate and metabolism: The most important ATP (Adenosine triphosphate), CP (Creatine phosphate) Data from
muscle substrates for anaerobic power includes the small store Inbar. O & Chia M. (2008)
of ATP, creatine phosphate and muscle glycogen stores (Table

171
limited data available on muscle lactate levels in males as a
function of age. Lactate indicates the amount of acidity in the
muscle and blood. Compared with adults the blood lactate level
of children and adolescents is much lower at all exercise intensi-
ties. Between 14 and 16 years of age there is a rapid rise in lac-
tate and a continued smaller rise into early adulthood.
! The lower maximal blood lactate concentration in children
has been attributed to lower activity of the enzymes necessary
for glycolysis. The muscle of a child under 14 years appears
geared toward aerobic rather than anaerobic energy genera-
tion. The metabolic pathways involved in anaerobic glycolysis is
potentially immature until late adolescence. A younger child
Figure 3. Maximal muscle lactate levels as a function of age.
could also have a lower tolerance for the pain associated with
acidosis.
! Training the short-term creatine phosphate energy system
has potential value to the child’s sport performance because
the nervous system is mature enough to respond to intense skill
work. This may result in an overall improvement in peak anaero-
bic power and power output over shorter distances such as
100m due to nervous system adaptation. Specifically training
the metabolic component of anaerobic power for longer anaero-
bic efforts involving fast glycolysis is probably not possible,
though, due to the lack of necessary enzymes.
Insights From Sport Performances
! The records of the US Junior Olympic Championships re-
flect power development between ages 8 and 18 for both gen-
ders. Jumping records indicate progress in impulse or peak
power development, 100 m reflects short-term alactic power de-
velopment – that is the ATP-PC energy system, and the 400 m
reflects long-term fast-glycolytic (mean power) development.
! Over 100 m male and female improvement is almost lin-
ear. Puberty appears to interfere with male 100 m performance
but for some unexplained reason not for the female 100 m per-
formances. Nervous system maturation also plays a role in
172
Figure 4. US Junior age group records for selected track and field 13-14 for boys). Both genders continue a slower improvement
power events
after puberty.

! The high jump and long jump reflect impulse or peak

power output. Males show a linear improvement from childhood
to the adult phase. The impulse power of females shows a
slower acceleration after age 13 – 14 years than that of males. !
Impulse power plateaus for females between 13 and 17 years.

! These data do not account from growth. Body weight was

not available to calculate relative power output in terms of kg of
body weight. So while the insights are somewhat informative,
there is still a lot we don’t know.!

Key Points

Anaerobic capacity is relatively immature in a child and im-

sprint performance. There is a 14% improvement in sprint per-
formance for boys and a 10.5% improvement for girls between
8 and 13 years. Between 8 and 18 years there is a 25% for
both genders.
! The 400 m illustrates a similar pattern until 12 years of age
when boys and girls diverge. Both genders have a rapid im-
provement of the 400 time before puberty (11-12 for girls and
proves with age
Maturation of the nervous system improves muscle coordi-
nation and motor unit recruitment and this probably ex-
plains some of the age-related improvements in peak an-
aerobic capabilities of young athletes independent of their
lean body mass.

173
 Muscle mass is a factor in the ability of the growing child to 3. When examining power of a child per kg of body mass, and compar-
ing this with an adult, the data suggest that short explosive anaerobic ca-
improve both peak and mean anaerobic power but does
pacity of young muscle is not fully developed
not explain all the variance. a) True
b) False
Maturation of the glycolytic enzymes contributes to contin-
ued development of maximal anaerobic performance be- 4. The lower absolute and relative anaerobic performance in children ver-
yond those obtained by physical growth and muscle mass sus adults could be due to each of the following EXCEPT
alone.
a) Lower protein content
b) Immature neuromuscular system
c) Poor functioning of the aerobic anergy system.
d) Immature anaerobic metabolic activity of the muscle

Chapter 13 Quiz 5. Children produce lower levels of blood lactate concentration. Once ex-
planation is that the enzymes for glycolysis are less active until 16 or 17
years of age
1. Each of the following is an example of a type of anaerobic power used
in sport EXCEPT:
a) Very short bursts of activity lasting 2 seconds or less a) True
b) Short-term bursts of activity lasting between 5 - 60 seconds b) False
c) Multiple 5 to 10 second bouts of maximal or near maximal effort
d) Long term activity over 10 minutes or more

2. Absolute peak power is: Coming Up Next

a) Maximal power output for under 2 seconds
b) Mean anaerobic performance for 30 seconds ! In the next chapter we address coordination abilities of chil-
c) Mean power of the legs
dren and the impact of coordination and control on skill acquisi-
d) Mean power of the arms
tion as the child matures into the adult phase.

174
References Nikolaïdis, P. (2011). Anaerobic Power across Adolescence in Soccer
Players. Human Movement, 12(4), 342–347.

Bogdanis, G. C. (2012). Effects of Physical Activity and Inactivity on Mus-
cle Fatigue. Frontiers in Physiology, 3.
Duffield, R., Dawson, B., & Goodman, C. (2004). Energy system contribu-
tion to 100-m and 200-m track running events. Journal of Science and
Medicine in Sport / Sports Medicine Australia, 7(3), 302–313.
Gamstorp, I. (1963). Normal Conduction Velocity of Ulnar, Median and
Peroneal Nerves in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence. Acta Pædi-
atrica, 52, 68–76.
Van Praagh, E. (1998). Measuring maximal short-term power output dur-
ing growth. In Pediatric anaerobic performance (pp. 155–189). Human
Kinetics.
Van Praagh, E. (2007). Testing Anaerobic Performance. In H. Hebestreit
& O. Bar-Or (Eds.), The Young Athlete (pp. 453–468). Blackwell Publish-
ing Ltd.

Gastin, P. B. (2001). Energy system interaction and relative contribution

during maximal exercise. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 31(10), 725–
741.

Inbar, O., & Chia, M. (2007). Development of Maximal Anaerobic Per-

formance: An Old Issue Revisited. In H. Hebestreit & O. Bar-Or (Eds.),
The Young Athlete (pp. 27–38). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Kaczor, J. J., Ziolkowski, W., Antosiewicz, J., Hac, S., Tarnopolsky, M. A.,
& Popinigis, J. (2006). The effect of aging on anaerobic and aerobic en- !
zyme activities in human skeletal muscle. The Journals of Gerontology.
Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 61(4), 339–344.

McCarthy, H. D., Samani‐Radia, D., Jebb, S. A., & Prentice, A. M.

(2014). Skeletal muscle mass reference curves for children and adoles-
cents. Pediatric Obesity, 9(4), 249–259.

175
 Coordination

Topics

14
1. What is coordination?

2. Coordination perspectives in sports!

3. Classifications of learning (The Cap

model)

4. Effect of nervous system maturation

5. Fundamental movement skills

6. Role of instruction
4
7. Key points

8. Chapter 14 Quiz

9. Coming up next
Section 1
Coordination
What You Will Learn
When you have completed this module you will be
able to:
1. Describe the motor areas of the brain
2. List the variables of coordination
3. Explain the meaning of sequential pattern of
movement units of a skill
4. Explain the difference between coordination and
control
5. Discuss how novices differ from elite performers
in terms of their method for improving movement
control
What Is Coordination?
! We turn our attention now to coordination, a word used to
convey the fluidity with which an athlete performs a sequence
of linked movements to achieve a specific skill outcome such as
clearing a hurdle, or kicking a field goal. Effectively performing
a sports skill requires a predetermined time and spatial se-
quencing of the limbs, muscles controlling the limbs, and joints
so they produce the appropriate force and velocity.
! The athlete’s performance can range from appearing har-
monious, and elegant – in other words, highly coordinated, all
the way to clumsy. Sometimes the movement units lack recog-
nizable rhythm or pattern and can appear chaotic. It is as if the
body parts have a mind of their own and are rebelling against
the will of the body to which they are attached.
Performing a sports skill requires rhythmically coordinating
movement units comprising the skill with precision and within
time pressure constraints intermixed with awareness of spatial
constraints so the intended outcome occurs with optimal con-
trol.
177
! An Olympic gymnast performing a routine on the uneven Figure 1. An athlete who has practiced the throwing skill can inter-
cept more complex flight paths.
bars, for example, precisely times the reactive force provided
by the bar to accelerate her leg swings and body twists in such
a way that the fluidity of the linked movement units is pleasing
to watch. A lesser skilled gymnast lacks the same spatial and
temporal synchronization with the energy supplied by the appa-
ratus. It controls her, and the routine fails to produce a pleasur-
able reaction in the viewer or the performer. Team athletes have
the added challenge of performing with precision and under
time pressure within a variety of environmental constraints de-
pending on the position and behavior of an implement, team-
mates or opponents. Successfully intercepting a ball within this
context takes many hours of practice.

! A novice can successfully catch balls with very simple

flight paths when the ball is the only focus (Figure 1). With prac-
tice a more complex flight path can be managed so long as
there is time to process the information. An expert can intercept
a ball traveling on the most complex of flight paths with minimal
information processing often while simultaneously being aware
of the position of the opponent, teammates or the boundaries of
play.
! In this chapter we begin by briefly overviewing the primary
areas of the brain for motor function that permit the athlete fluid-
ity of movement. With this background we will then examine the
variables associated with coordination. And, because it is not
possible to fully understand fluidity of movement without also
considering the control component of movement we will also dis-
cuss how control of a movement sequence occurs. We will not
go into the complex details of motor control theory. The intent is
to simply provide you with an awareness of the interaction be-
tween coordination and control so you can determine your ath-
lete’s level of progress on their journey towards perfecting their
sports skills. Finally we will examine current theory about how
novice and elite performers improve their control of a move-
ment unit sequence comprising a skill.
178
Motor Control Areas Of The Brain Figure 2. Anatomical regions of the brain involved in motor control.

! Even the simplest sports skill involves complex integration

of many parts of the brain. The brain selects the muscles best
suited for the movement in conjunction with the most effective
contraction sequence. The appropriate force must also be deter-
mined, and the environmental constraints factored in. Three
main anatomical regions of the brain involved in these proc-
esses include the primary motor cortex, the premotor cortex,
and the supplementary motor cortex (Figure 2).

The primary motor cortex selects the appropriate muscles to

contract, encodes the force, direction, movement magnitude,
and the speed of the movement. Every part of the body is repre-
sented in a specific location on the motor cortex beginning with movement, not just the movement itself. For example, it distin-
the foot then the leg, trunk, arm and the hand, head, tongue guishes between a ball placed for a field goal versus one
and larynx. The size of the area devoted to any particular body placed for picking up and throwing in from the sideline. It can
part represents the amount of control that the primary motor cor- also assess errors and make the appropriate adjustments on
tex has over that body part.! The complex movements of the the next effort.
hand and fingers, for example, have larger representations in
The supplementary area programs complex sequences of
the primary motor cortex than the simpler movement patterns of
movements and coordinates bilateral movements. It responds
the trunk or legs. This disproportionate map of the body in the
to mental rehearsal where the athlete thinks about performing
motor cortex is called ! the motor homunculus (HO-MUN-cu-
the skill. This area also transforms distances and angles into
lus).
the amount of force necessary to successfully perform the skill.
! The premotor cortex uses visual information to prepare the
correct muscle activity. It also determines the intention of a
179
Other broad non-motor areas of the brain’s cortex, collectively
referred to as the association cortex, ensure that movements
are planned, targeted accurately, and evaluated for the move-
ment’s consequences. These areas are scattered throughout
the cortex.
The cerebellum located at the back of the brain, is also involved
in movement. It:
Maintains balance and posture to compensate for shifts in body
position, or changes in load upon muscles.
Coordinates timing and force of different muscle groups to pro-
duce fluid limb or body movements.
Plays a role in adapting and fine-tuning motor programs
through a trial-and-error process to make the movement more
accurate.
! You perhaps now have some appreciation for the complex
nature of learning a skill and why learning can be a long slow
process demanding considerable patience. Almost the entire
brain is involved in some way. It first identifies what compo-
nents of the body are needed to perform the movement units
and then stimulates these components into action in the correct
order, AND THEN replicates the muscle sequence with the opti-
mal timing over and over again.
Coordination Variables!
! The motor areas of brain we just discussed select, coordi-
nate, and control the most appropriate subset of over 200 mus-
cles, and 230 moveable joints available to move the human
body. Many different combinations of muscles and joints can ac-
complish the same movement outcome. This is one reason why
an athlete does not perform the same movement in exactly the
same way each time. There are also unique variations of per-
forming a skill among athletes because each has a slightly dif-
ferent muscle insertion on the bone and their external body
shape varies. In addition, each athlete has had different experi-
ences with the movement units making up a skill. This results in
an identifiable ‘signature’ pattern of movement for each athlete.
! How the brain selects a particular subset of all possible al-
ternatives has fascinated motor control researchers since 1922
when the Russian motor control pioneer, Nikolai Bernstein ex-
plored how industrial workers successfully hit a chisel with a
hammer. Bernstein was one of the first to note movement vari-
ability. The endpoint did not differ. However, a number of differ-
ent trajectories of the hammer accomplished the same goal of
hitting the chisel. There is redundancy throughout the human
body, even at the molecular level. The variability in how differ-
ent athletes adapt to training has been known for some time.
So the fact that the nervous system also has many redundan-
180
cies and variability should not be surprising. The main differ- Figure 3. Sensorimotor input to balance
ence between elite and novices is that variability within the elite
performer is due to functional adaptation of their physical and
neurological characteristics. Variability within the novice per-
former is nonfunctional due to weak motor control.

! From a coaching perspective there are seven variables to

consider when assessing the athlete’s movements and their co-
ordination proficiency as they move toward good motor control.

These include balance, reaction time, rhythm/timing, movement

effectiveness, synchronization, kinesthetic differentiation and fi-
nally spatial awareness. All well coordinated movements com-
prise almost all of these variables and the way they interact de-
termines not only the fluidity of the movement but its effective-
ness in achieving the desired outcome as well.

! Balance involves the sensorimotor system. The compo-

nents of this system include the vestibular system, visual sys-
tem, and sensors located in joints and muscles that make up
the athlete’s proprioception or their ability to know where their
body and limbs are positioned in space. The information from
the sensorimotor system is integrated to allow for (Figure 3):
1. clear vision while moving;
2. knowing where the body and its parts are located in
space;
3. calculating the direction and movement speed of the
body and limbs;
4. maintaining stability and postural control while placing
the body and limbs in relevant positions.
! A gymnastics position held for a period of time is an exam-
ple of static balance. Maintaining stability while kicking, throw-
ing, hopping, jumping, catching, and so on, is referred to as dy-
namic balance.

181
! Reaction time refers to how quickly the athlete responds to • To link or couple broad movement units of a skill together
relevant stimuli and reflects the quality of the neuromuscular such as combining an approach run with a vertical takeoff
pathways. to clear a high jump bar.

! Rhythm and timing reflects the athlete’s internal temporal

control and its appropriate application. Every sport skill has an
optimal rhythm. Optimal Sequential Timing

! Movement effectiveness reflects the efficiency of the ath- ! There is an optimal coordinated pattern to performing
lete’s movements while performing the skill. movement units of all skills. Some seemingly diverse skills that
! Synchronization of movement refers to harmonized organi- have a common goal, such as launching a implement, have a
zation of the movement units comprising a skill. similar optimal movement pattern. Throwing, and striking, for ex-
ample, involves roughly the same order to moving the appropri-
! Kinesthetic differentiation involves applying the appropri- ate body parts. The sequence begins with the ground and feet,
ate force required to produce a desired result. then the hips, followed by shoulders, arms and then the hands
where the implement is finally ejected.
! Spatial awareness is the ability to recognize where the
body and its parts are located in space relative to each other, It’s a bit like launching a sat-
and to objects such as opponents, teammates and implements. ellite on top of a five-stage
rocket. The hardest work is
! One or more of the coordination variables are applied with
done immediately at launch,
three purposes in mind:
and for this reason, the big-
• For optimal segmental and limb coordination so the body gest thrust of force is
and limbs are moved in a specified sequence and time pat- needed at this stage. When
tern. throwing or hitting, the legs
are analogous to a rocket’s
• To intercept objects with a limb or body part such as kick- ‘main stage’ to provide the
ing, catching or heading a ball,
182
initial force for setting the entire mass of the body into motion. Figure 4. Correct sequential timing is hips, shoulder and then arm ex-
Stage 2 is the hips, stage 3 the shoulders, stage 4 the arm, and tension
stage 5 the hand. Each sequential body part is slightly lighter
than the one preceding it. The precise timing of the forces pro-
duced at each stage sum together to produce the final high ve-
locity needed to project the implement towards its target.

! Figure 4 illustrates the correct sequence of body move-

ment for a baseball swing. The correct sequence is hip rotation,
followed by shoulder rotation, and then arm and finally wrist ex-
tension. A bad swing begins with shoulder rotation, then hip rota-
tion and then arm extension. This is a common pattern seen
with novice athletes. The tennis serve, the golf swing and throw-
ing all use the same sequence of hips, shoulder and arm exten-
sion.

! However, coordinating the correct sequence of body parts

is just one aspect of performing a skill effectively. There is also
a control component. Performing the correct relative pattern of
body parts and movement units is the coordination aspect. Opti-
lowed by the vertical jump. The correct relative motion between
mizing the motor unit firing so the velocity of each body part is
body segments for the countermovement vertical jump begins
summed at each stage to ensure maximum velocity at the final
with simultaneous flexion of the hips, knees and ankles in the
stage is just as important. This is the control component. An ef-
countermovement phase. This is followed by simultaneous ex-
fective outcome of a skill requires both coordination and control.
tension of the hips, knees and ankles in the propulsion phase.
! The countermovement vertical jump provides an example
! A normal 3 – 4 year old child can easily perform this se-
of how both coordination and control is used to maximize the
quence when asked to jump ‘really’ high when starting from a
jump (Figure 5).This jump begins with a downward motion fol-
183
Figure 5. Demonstration of movement versus control variables
standing position. However, a child lacks the muscular control
and is unable to precisely time motor unit firing to produce maxi-
mum takeoff velocity. A more skilled performer can optimize
body segment movement so the velocity at takeoff is maxi-
mized and therefore the height jumped is maximized.
! For this to happen two things must occur
The first is to ensure a maximum center of gravity height at take-
off (H1). This occurs if the range of motion of the hips, knees
and ankles is maximized during the countermovement phase to
optimize the time of force application against the ground
! The second is to obtain maximum vertical velocity of the
center of gravity at the very instant of takeoff. There is a direct
relationship between takeoff velocity and how high the center of
gravity lifts off the ground. The height the center of gravity rises
off the ground is indicated by H2.
! This, in turn, is dictated by the strength of the extensor
muscles of the hips, knees and ankles. The longer the time pro-
ducing the force the higher the takeoff velocity will be. Time of
force application depends on the extent to which the available
range of motion of the hips, knees and ankles is used. A re-
stricted range of motion adversely affects the ability of the ath-
lete to produce vertical forces. The result is a lower than opti-
mal jump height.
! When comparing children with experienced athletes there
is no difference in the coordination variables. However, there
are significant differences in the control variables. Children are
not able to optimize motor unit firing pattern to achieve the ulti-
mate goal of maximizing their jumping height. A comparison of
highly skilled athletes with lesser skilled athletes reveals the
same pattern. There is no difference in their coordination – that
is their ability to perform the correct sequence of movement.
184
The performance difference is due to the inability of the less Figure 6. Coordination variables for kicking
skilled athlete to optimize the relative motion of the body seg-
ments due to ineffective motor unit firing patterns within the ap-
propriate muscles.

Soccer Example

! Kicking is a skill where the foot is used to impart force to a

ball so it is directed towards a target. The ability to kick a station-
ary ball begins around 18 months of age. Children can kick a
moving ball soon after they begin running.

Kicking involves segmental and limb coordination, interception

coordination and movement coupling – running with kicking (Fig-
ure 6). The goal is to interface segmental and limb coordination
with interception coordination and movement coupling to en-
sure optimal body and foot positioning, along with power.
The accuracy component involves coordination variables and
power component involves control variables. Accuracy and
power can work against each other. Typically, training begins
with teaching accuracy (the coordination component) and then
the focus is on enhancing power (the control component). It is
important to realize that practice and not chronological age cor-
relates with effective coordination and control. !
! Research done by Anderson and Sidaway demonstrates
how practice of a skill affects both coordination and control. Nov-
ice players performing a soccer right-footed instep drive at a 2-
meter target placed 5 meters from the ball were compared with
expert players. The red solid line illustrates knee and hip angle
interaction and indicates patterns of coordination of expert play-
ers.
The solid blue line is a plot of the hip and knee angles of novice
players before practice and this is the dotted blue line is the an-
gle profile after 10 weeks of practice.

185
 Figure 7. Knee and hip coordination of the instep soccer kick for be-
ginners and experts
You can see that after 10 weeks the novice players were al-
ready showing a similar knee and hip angle pattern as the ex-
perts, although a slight difference remained in the magnitude of
knee flexion and hip extension. The novices still do not have
the same range of movement as the experts after 10 weeks of
practice, but the overall coordination pattern is similar. This is a
common phenomenon. Ranges of movement at the joints of the
legs and torso are small at the early stages of practice and in-
creases with practice. In essence, the novice hip and knee se-
quence becomes more expert-like after practice.
Figure 8. Velocity is a control variable and novices compared with ex-
perts before practice.
Figure 8 illustrates the angular velocity of the novice hip and
knee – a control variable. This is the plot of the data for the hip
and knee angular velocities before practice. The expert hip and
knee velocities are shown in red – the dotted red line plots the
knee velocities and the solid red line plots the hip velocities.
The novice plots have been faded into the background. Before
186
practice novices are less than optimal when you compare them
with the experts. The knee velocity of the novices is particularly
slow – the black dotted line is the novice and the red dotted line
is the expert.
Figure 9 is a plot of the data after 10 weeks of practice. This
time the plots for the experts are faded into the background and
the novices are the black plots. The novices remain relatively
Figure 9. Velocity is a control variable and novices remain very differ-
ent from experts after 10 weeks of practice.
slow with their knee speed and their hip speed slows down
when it should be accelerating. The timing of the hip and knee
of the novice is not close to being optimal even after 10 weeks.
! Faster learning of the coordination pattern followed by the
slower learning of the control pattern is why beginners improve
quickly into the intermediate stage, but then become stuck
there. They have the pattern of the movement skill down – but
improving control so power is optimized is a more difficult task.
It is the control factor that distinguishes novices from the skilled
performer.
How Athletes Improve Control
! So how do novices improve their control?
! When performing a skill the athlete’s brain has too many
muscles and joints to control separately at a conscious level.
This is referred to as the ‘degrees of freedom’ problem where
'degrees of freedom' refers to the number of ways in which
limbs and joints can move.
! Novices cannot coordinate all the degrees of freedom they
have available when learning a new skill. The typical strategy a
novice uses is to ‘freeze’ some muscles and joints.
187
When learning to hit a golf ball, for example, novices typically ling a whole bunch of separate movements it only needs to
keep their lower body rigid, lock their wrists and elbows and control a few clusters of linked movements.
while they are rotating their hip they swing their arms like a pen-
Bernstein originally proposed that the control of these linkages
dulum toward the ball. The swing is inefficient, but these actions
occurred in the spinal cord. However, the linking process re-
reduce the number of degrees of freedom novices must control
mains a mystery.
so they can at least hit the ball – it won’t go very far mind you,
but at least they can hit it. ! It is clear from our discussion in this module that coordina-
tion and control of movement units comprising a skill is a com-
With continued practice learners begin to relax some muscles
plex neurological process involving many parts of the brain and
allowing selected joints to move more freely. The right elbow
nervous system. Learning takes a long time because of all the
flexes and extends through a wider range of motion and when
adaptation that must occur along the appropriate neurological
timed with wrist hyperextension permits the golfer to accelerate
pathways.
the club more powerfully into the ball. As the knee joints relax
this allows knee rotation that, in turn, permits an effective trunk
rotation. By ‘unfreezing’ muscles and joints of the elbow, knees
and hip the golfer is able to produce a greater velocity while Key Points
also maintain precision of the club head. The result is an overall
more powerful, precise launch of the ball toward its intended tar- Here’s a summary of the key notions we discussed in this Chap-
get. ter.

! With learning two things occur. • Three main anatomical regions of the brain play a role in
the fluidity of an athlete’s movement: the primary motor cor-
• First joints and muscles are gradually freed increasing the de-
tex, the premotor cortex and supplementary area.
grees of freedom available to the athlete.
• There are seven variables to consider when assessing an
• Second, over the course of practice clusters of movement
athlete’s coordination proficiency: Balance, reaction time,
units become linked so they execute a specific task while act-
ing as a single unit. In this way, rather than the brain control-

188
 rhythm/timing, movement effectiveness, synchronization, Chapter 14 Quiz
kinesthetic differentiation and spatial awareness
1. An athlete's coordination ability is examined from each of the following
• An effective outcome of a skill requires both coordination
perspectives EXCEPT:
(i.e. performing the correct relative sequence of move-
ments) and control (i.e. optimizing the relative sequence of a) moving body segments and limbs in a specific sequence and tim-
movement units for optimal power and precision). ing
b) intercepting objects such as kicking or catching a ball
• Performing the correct relative sequence (coordination) is c) linking movement units of a skill together smoothly and effectively
relatively easy to learn. Optimizing the appropriate motor d) How quickly the athlete's heart recovers during a short period of
unit firing for speed and power (i.e. the control variables) rest
appears to be an ongoing learning task extending well into
the elite performance phase. 2. Which of the following is a characteristic of balance?
a) reflects the efficiency and fluidity of the athlete’s performance of a
• The novice improves control by freezing some muscles skill.
and joints. b) involves a complex sensorimotor system consisting of visual and
vestibular input, and peripheral sensors in joints, muscles, etc.
• !With practice athletes improve control by unfreezing c) refers to how quickly the athlete responds to relevant stimuli
muscles and joints and linking movement units together d) reflects the athlete’s internal timing control and its appropriate ap-
plication
into clusters. This reduces nervous system processing
making the performance of the skill more fluid and auto-
3. Coordinating the correct sequence of body parts is just one aspect of
matic. performing a skill effectively. The other component is:
a) Counter movement
b) Control
c) Feedback
d) Stretch-shortening cycle

189
4. There are seven variables associated with an athlete's coordination
proficiency. Spatial awareness is NOT one of these variables
a) True
b) False
5. With practice athletes improve control by unfreezing muscles and
joints and link movement units into clusters.
a) True
b) False
Coming Up Next
! In sports there are many sudden extremes of movements.
Flexibility is believed to be important to these types of move-
ments and to play a role in helping to prevent soft tissue injury.
Next we discuss flexibility and the factors influencing this ana-
tomical characteristic throughout the phases of maturation.
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192
Flexibility

Topics

15
1. Flexibility and sport

2. ROM methods

3. Children and flexibility

4. Varieties of stretching!

5. The effect of stretching on a muscle

6. Current position statement !

7. Key points

8. Chapter 15 Quiz

9. Coming up next
Section 1

Flexibility Flexibility And Sport

! Flexibility describes joint range of motion. Good flexibility

is believed to permit the range of motion necessary for optimal
application of the four motor performance abilities of endur-
ance, strength, speed and coordination. Range of motion refers
to the distance and direction a joint, or group of joints, can
move freely and painlessly. All major joints have a normal
What You Will Learn ROM. If the range of motion is equal to, or slightly larger than
the normal range for that joint the athlete is placed into the
When you have completed this module you will be ‘good’ flexibility category. If it is lower than the normal range the
able to: athlete is said to have ‘poor’ flexibility.

1. Define flexibility ! The three main applications of flexibility in sports include

(Figure 1):
2. Functional applications and ROM methods
• To permit high amplitude of movement in conjunction with
3. Children and flexibility high speed while performing a skill. An example of this ap-
4. Categories of stretching! plication is seen in sprinting, hurdling, throwing and kicking.

5. Static versus dynamic stretching • To increase time of force application for producing power. A
javelin thrower, baseball pitcher, or kicker who use a full
6. Current flexibility position statement range of motion can maximize the velocity of the implement
prior to release.

194
Figure 1. Functional flexibility applications
• To hold an exaggerated posture, sometimes for extended
periods of time. An example is a cyclist who maintains the
aerodynamic forward riding position throughout the race.!
! Stretching is a specific form of exercise designed to im-
prove joint range of motion. The belief is that with sufficient
stretching, it is possible to increase the length of the muscle.
However, theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking best reflects
the state of our knowledge about the value flexibility and stretch-
ing: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,” he
said, “it is the illusion of knowledge”. There is little scientific evi-
dence for much of what is commonly accepted as flexibility and
stretching doctrine.
! It seems logical to argue that a gymnast needs more flexi-
bility than does a soccer player. It also seems logical to assume
that, based on the skills required, a soccer goalie needs more
joint range of motion than other players on the team. We can-
not, however, state emphatically that stretching programs bene-
fits a sport performance, or even if extreme range of motion
within joints is a positive feature of a sport phenotype. Acrobats,
gymnasts and dancers have highly mobile joints. However,
when chronically applying flexibility to performing extreme pos-
tures demanded for an elite performance, damage to capsules
and ligaments often occurs.
! The other common reason for stretching is injury preven-
tion. There is little credible evidence for this either. Indeed, too
much stretching can increase the risk of injury.
! In this chapter you are introduced to selected issues re-
lated to flexibility and stretching including: strategies for achiev-
ing ROM for common sports skill; flexibility of children; catego-
ries of stretching; nervous system theory of how stretching af-
fects a muscle; and the current European College of Sports Sci-
ences position statement about flexibility and stretching.
195
ROM Methods Figure 2. Methods for attaining range of motion

! Three strategies are commonly used to perform the neces-

sary range of motion for sport skills. These include the joint com-
pensation (relative flexibility), static-active, and static-passive
(Figure 2).

! Joint compensation. If the athlete lacks the necessary

joint range of motion to attain a desired posture, the athlete’s
body will recruit the necessary range of motion from alternative
joints. For example, at the bottom of the rowing catch position,
a rower places the oar forward of the feet close to the bow to
increase the distance for applying the force. The longer the
force of application the faster the boat will go. A rower with re-
stricted hip motion due to tight gluteal muscles will often com-
pensate by recruiting the movement available within the lumbar
and thoracic spine regions. However, repeated flexion of the
the antagonist must relax so the joint moves. Static-active flexi-
lumbar and thoracic spine in this way can lead to overuse dam-
bility occurs when an antagonist muscle is stretched using the
age in the lower back and subsequent pain. The joint compen-
tension of the agonist muscle. This occurs when performing a
sation method is called ‘relative flexibility’, a term coined by
shoot the duck skating pose where the leg is held high in front
physical therapist Shirley Sahrmann and is a potential source of
of the body. The quadriceps muscles and hip flexors provide
chronic injury among athletes.
the force to hold the leg up and are the agonists. The ham-
! Static-active method. Muscles surrounding a joint come strings are being stretched and are the antagonists. To perform
in opposing pairs referred to as agonists and antagonists. The a shoot the duck pose the antagonist (hamstrings) relax while
agonist is the muscle causing the movement, while the antago- agonist (quadriceps) contract.
nist opposes the movement. When the agonists is contracting
196
! Static-passive method. This type of flexibility is needed Figure 3. Flexibility of children
to assume extended positions and then maintain them using
body weight, or the support of the limbs. The muscles of the
limb extended into its full range of motion are not used to main-
tain the posture, as is true for static-active flexibility. The side
splits common to dance, figure skating, martial arts and gymnas-
tics are an example of static-passive stretching. Body weight
provides the force to stretch of the muscles. The standing split
during a figure skating spin is another example. In this case the
skater holds her leg in the split position. Yet another example is
a partnered standing front split. Pain in the hip joints can occur
when the athlete lacks the necessary flexibility and compen-
sates by tilting the pelvis forward.

! Training static-active flexibility is harder than training for

static-passive flexibility because of the muscle strength required
to hold and maintain the posture.
!
Children And Flexibility
! Children under 6 - 7 years of age are like play dough.
They can mold their limbs and trunk into almost any position.
Babies are just as happy sucking on their toes as they are on
their thumbs.
! Between 6 to 12 years, flexibility gradually declines (Fig-
ure 3). Then during the growth spurt (around 11 - 14 years for
girls and 13-15 years for boys) flexibility often continues to de-
cline. One explanation is that bones grow faster than the mus-
cles and therefore they are placed under chronic stretch caus-
ing pain. When the calf muscle are short Achilles tendons strain
can occur. When the bones stop growing, the problems tend to
resolve as the muscle growth catches up to bone growth. The
increase in estrogen is believed to allow girls to improve their
flexibility toward the end of puberty.

197
! Hypermobility is too much range of motion in a joint that
possibly occurs when the tissue surrounding a joint grows
faster than the bone. Some joint hypermobility is not uncommon
in children. It can be an advantage for some athletes, such as
for dancers and gymnasts. However, hypermobility increases
the risk of joint injury. Athletes with joint hypermobility have a
higher risk of joint sprain.
! per body bounces back and forth to quickly force the ham-
Varieties Of Stretching!
! Three broad varieties of stretching include static, dynamic
and pre-contraction stretching.
! Static stretching is of two types: active self-stretch and
passive external assisted stretch. Active self-stretch involves
elongating a muscle to its endpoint and then holding the
stretched position at that length for a short time (usually 15 to
30 seconds) without using any external force to maintain the
stretch. Passive stretching is also a static stretch except that an
external force is used. The external force is typically a partner.
! Dynamic stretching is either active or ballistic. Active dy-
namic stretching involves the muscle moving itself through a
comfortable range of motion back and forth 10 - 12 times. This
form of stretching elongates a muscle without imposing exces-
sive force on the tissue. Dynamic stretching is thought to have
more functional application to sports movements than other
forms of stretching.
! Ballistic stretches involves using the momentum of a body
part to rhythmic bounce muscle beyond its normal range of mo-
tion. It is a form of passive stretching in that the muscle itself is
not causing itself to move. Another body part is forcing it to
move. An example is a seated hamstring stretch where the up-
strings into and out of a stretched position. Ballistic stretching
results in high tissue forces, and can therefore risk damage to
the tendon and muscle. Rather than lengthening a muscle, bal-
listic stretching potentially cause a muscle to tighten due to acti-
vation of the stretch-reflex.! !
! Pre-contraction stretching is known in the clinical setting
as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). This form of
stretching involves alternating between stretching and contract-
ing a muscle while gradually elongating the muscle after each
contraction. There are four theoretical explanations for how
PNF works: autogenic inhibition, reciprocal inhibition, stress re-
laxation and gate control theory.
! Autogenic inhibition theorizes that low-force, long duration
static stretching activates the Golgi tendon organ. After 7 to 10
seconds, muscle tension increases the GTO temporarily inhibits
the muscle spindle in the stretched muscle. This makes it possi-
198
ble to stretch the muscle further. In essence, autogenic inhibi-
tion relies on the protective function of the Golgi tendon organ.
! Reciprocal inhibition occurs due to the cooperative nature
of muscles on either side of a joint. Muscles on one side of
joint relax to accommodate the muscle contraction on the other
side of the joint.
! Stress relaxation response occurs when the muscle-
tendon unit that is under constant stress loses its ability to resist
the stretch and slowly increases in length. This is referred to as
muscle ‘creep’ that results in progressive deformation of the
muscle tendon unit when a constant load is applied over time. It
allows soft tissues to tolerate applied loads by lengthening and
is thought to prevent the muscle from tearing when it is under
prolonged tension. !
! Gate control theory proposes that a combination of the
pain and pressure from the stretch simultaneously activate their
respective receptors. Pressure signals move to the spine before
the pain signals. First the muscle is stretched beyond its active
ROM. At this point the athlete is told to resist this stretch, while
the the targeted muscle is stretched even further. The athlete’s
resistance against the stretch produces a large force in the elon-
gated muscle that stimulates activation of the Golgi tendon unit
to inhibit the force and prevent injury. Over time the Golgi ten-
don organ adapts and decreases inhibition, allowing the muscle
to produce a greater amount of force. However, this may in-
crease the risk of injury.
! Research indicates that PNF stretching does not increase
flexibility any more than static stretching does. Using athletes to
passively stretch each other is not recommended unless the
they have been trained and understand the risks of incorrect or
high-force stretches.
The Effect Of Stretching On A Muscle
! If nothing else, stretching feels good. Even animals love to
stretch. Apart from feeling good, stretching appears to improve
joint range of motion. However, how this happens not entirely
clear. Various theories have been proposed. One theory with
promise proposes that stretching does not increase the length
of a muscle, but rather alters tolerance to the discomfort associ-
ated with a muscle stretch. In essence, stretching is a strategy
for introducing the brain to a new muscle length. The intent is to
entice the brain into recognizing that the increased range of mo-
tion is safe so it does not stimulate pain signals to limit the
stretch.
! An often ignored detail is the effect that stretching may
have on other structural components of the joint capsule like
ligaments and cartilage. Force stretching can cause injury to
199
the fascia that weaves through the muscle and extends into the
body’s ligaments and tendons. Fascia and connective tissue
have a low extensibility. After a stretch fascia and connective tis-
sue generally returns to its original length. If it is stretched too
far it is damaged. For this reason, athletes who overemphasize
flexibility can have hypermobile joints and degeneration in the
articulating surfaces of a joint. Fascia needs to be quite “stiff”
and “resilient” so stretching this tissue is not beneficial.
! A method for ensuring a safe range of motion for a mus-
cles is to stretch it without using excessive force. If force is
used to pull into a stretch then this moves the stretch outside
the ability of the brain to control the stretch. The athlete must
use their own muscle strength to move into and out of the
stretch. In essence, it appears that the static-active method is
the safest method to use for static stretching.
! Static stretching has traditionally been a key component of
a warm-up. A traditional warm-up typically consists of a sub-
maximal aerobic component, such as slow jogging or cycling, to
raise body temperature to increase nerve conduction velocity,
enzymatic activity and muscle compliance. This is followed by
10 minutes or so of static stretching, and then by a series of dy-
namic movements similar to those of the sport and serves as a
form of skill rehearsal.
! The overwhelming evidence is that static stretching during
a warm up routine has no significant effect of performance and
can, in fact, impair subsequent performance. Dynamic stretch-
ing, on the other hand, has been shown to increase subsequent
power output. For this reason, dynamic stretching using move-
ments similar to those occurring in the sport is recommended
as a replacement for static stretching during a warm-up. A bet-
ter place to use static stretching is during the cool down period
after exercise.
Current Position Statement !
! In 2006 the European College of Sports Sciences exam-
ined the relevance of the flexibility claims for sports perform-
ance. Here is a summary of their conclusions.
Claim: Passive stretching causes elongation of a muscle.
• Reality: During passive static stretching stress relaxation oc-
curs. However, this mechanical effect appears to rapidly dis-
appear within minutes.
Claim: Stretching reduces injury risk.
• Reality: The available evidence does not support the notion
that stretching before exercise reduces injury risk.
Claim: Static stretching reduces power.
200
• Reality: The evidence suggests that an acute bout of static • Static-passive
stretching decreases maximal muscle efforts, including jump
3. Three varieties of stretching
performance, when these are performed immediately after an
acute bout of stretching. The mechanism for the reduction in • Static
performance after static stretching remains unknown. The ef- • Dynamic
fect of stretching on running speed has also been investi- • Pre-contraction
gated, and these published studies report either no effect or a
negative effect on running speed. 4. Effect of stretching on a muscle is a nervous system phe-
nomenon
Claim: Habitual stretching improves running economy.

• Reality. Habitual stretching is unlikely to improve running

economy. Indeed, muscle 'tightness' is associated with Chapter 15 Quiz
greater economy of movement, and not vice versa.
1. There are three main applications of flexibility in performing sports
skills. Which of the following is NOT one of these applications?
a) To permit high amplitude of movement in conjunction with high
Key Points speed
b) To increase time of force application for producing power
1. There are three main applications of flexibility is sports c) To hold an exaggerated position
d) To help the heart pump blood through the muscles
• High amplitude of movement
• Increase time for force application 2. If the athlete lacks the necessary joint range of motion to attain a de-
• Hold exaggerate postures sired posture, the athlete’s body will recruit the necessary range of mo-
tion from alternative joints. This is known as
2. Three strategies for performing ROM a) Joint compensation
b) Static-active method
• Joint compensation c) Joint recruitment
• Static-active d) Static-passive
201
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48.

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b) False
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Coming Up Next
Hindle, K. B., Whitcomb, T. J., Briggs, W. O., & Hong, J. (2012). Proprio-
ceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF): Its Mechanisms and Effects
Now it is time for you to become an amazing coach. on Range of Motion and Muscular Function. Journal of Human Kinetics,
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Enjoy your journey!
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203
Chapter Quiz answers

16
Chapter Quiz Answers

Chapter 1 Chapter 5 Chapter 9 Chapter 13

b c a d
c d b a
d b c a
d a b c
a b d a

Chapter 2 Chapter 6 Chapter 10 Chapter 14

a b b d
c c c b
d d b b
a a b b
b b a a

Chapter 3 Chapter 7 Chapter 11 Chapter 15

b a c d
a a a a
b d d d
c b a a
c c a a

Chapter 4 Chapter 8 Chapter 12

c a c
b d a
c b b
c b d
a a a

205