NOTEBOOK

4ºE.S.O.
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 1. Warm-up
Objectives:
Warm-up exercises are necessary before doing physical work or playing sports:
- To prevent injuries: ankle sprains, muscle strains...
- To improve all levels of physical performance (strength, stamina, speed, flexibility...).
- To prepare the body and mind for the activity
These objectives are possible due to the warm-up increases body and muscle temperature,
heart and breathing rate...

Features:
Warm-up should:
- be progressive, from low to high intensity.
- be aerobic, alactic anaerobic exercises can only be done at the end.
- work nearly all muscles and joints.

Warm-up phases:
Warm-up phases:
1) Joint mobility exercises
It is important to follow an order so as not to forget any joint (from bottom to top), and
movements must be done faster and faster and wider and wider.

2) Exercises to increase the heart and breathing rate.

We start running slowly, moving arms forwards and backwards, running with knees up, heels
up, side-steps, big steps (strides), and so on.
We continue running faster and faster.
And finally, to end this phase of the warm-up, we do high intensity exercises (alactic
anaerobic exercises) as jump, sprints, push up, when I whistle lie on your back (lying face up) or
on your chest (lying face down) and stand up as fast as you can.

3) Muscle stretching
It is the last part of the warm-up. Muscle stretching must be done little by little until you notice
or feel tension, not pain, and hold the position for at least 6 seconds.
You have to follow an order, as we saw with joint mobility exercises.

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 2. Physical fitness
Physical fitness is a general state of health and wellness (well-being) and the ability to
perform better in sports or physical activities.
It can always be improved by following a training plan to improve the components of physical
fitness or, as they are called in Spanish, basic physical abilities:

Stamina
Stamina allows us to do a specific type of exercise for the longest time possible without
fatigue or feeling tired.
For example:
Cycling: In the Tour of France they ride more than 200km over a lot of days, but they also sprint!
Marathon runners run for more than 2 hours at a very fast pace.

Benefits of regular stamina training:

-Your heart grows larger and thicker. -You have more capillaries.
-Your breathing capacity increases. -It´s easier to maintain your ideal weight
Aerobic Exercise is very good for your health. It develops your heart, your lungs and your
circulatory system.

There are three types of stamina:

- Aerobic stamina is the ability to withstand exercise from medium to low intensity (between
30-70%) for a long period of time (from five minutes to several hours). The higher intensity, the
less time you can do exercise and vice versa.
Aerobic stamina can also be divided into: aerobic power (exercises between 2 and 10
minutes, at 60-80% intensity), aerobic capacity (exercises between 10 minutes and 2 hours in
length, at medium intensity, 40-60%) and endurance (exercises from 20 minutes to several
hours in length at a very gentle intensity, 30-50%)
For example: marathon runners, cycling at a gentle pace...

- Lactic anaerobic stamina is the ability to withstand or delay fatigue at high intensity
exercises (at 85-95% intensity) but shorter, periods of between 1 and 3 minutes.

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 For example: 1,500 m race or running 1km in the least time.

- Alactic anaerobic stamina is used in exercises where you work at maximum intensity over a
short period of time (between 6 and 30 seconds).
For example: 100m race or 50m sprint.

How to increase your stamina?

We can improve our stamina with the stamina training methods:

Continuous training
It consists of running for a long time or distance at the same pace and low intensity without
resting.
This system principally allows you to develop aerobic stamina, and involves exercising at low
or medium intensity with heart rate (intensity) fluctuating between 120 and 160 beats per
minutes (bpm). The idea is keeping the heart rate as stable as it is possible.

Fartlek
It is also a continuous training system but in this case, we change the pace, it means we
vary the speed, so we run at a fast speed (at 80-90% intensity) for short times and at a slower
speed to rest or recover.
Heart rate is not constant and can fluctuate from 140 to 180 bpm.

Interval training system

These systems allow you to increase the intensity of the exercise by dividing the work load
into several phases, interrupted by breaks to rest. There are two different methods:
Interval=> exercise with intervals that are used for uncompleted recovery. The sportsperson
must begin the next exercise without having entirely recovered.
Repetitions=> exercise divided into small parts, but with full recovery periods so the next
repetition begins in top condition.

Strength:
Strength is the ability to overcome a load or resistance by using your muscles.

Benefits of developing your strength:

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-You have more muscular power. -Your muscles and tendons
grow in size.
-You can move weights more easily (including your own body). -It helps you keep a good
posture in daily life and sports

There are three types of strength:

Maximum strength: the ability to generate maximum tension without taking time into account
or to lift high weights. For example, weightlifting.

Explosive strength: the ability to move a non-maximum load at maximum speed or to do a

movement as fast as you can, moving a small weight.
For example, throwing or jumping. This type of strength is also called speed or power
strength.

Strength endurance: the ability of a muscle or muscle group to contract during prolonged
period of time without feeling tired.
For example, rowing or swimming.

How to increase your strength?

We can improve our strength with the following method:
Circuit training
There are several stations, and in each station one different exercise is done, it is important
to establish the repetitions or time you have to be doing the workout and the resting periods
between stations or sets inside a station.
You can use it to develop any type of strength, but you will have to vary the numbers of
repetitions, set, time and resting periods.
In fact, this method is very similar to interval training but instead of running we use our own
body (sit-up, push-up, ) or weights.

Multi-jumps
Increase power strength in the lower body.
The greater variety of activities, the better the results.

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 Multi-throws
Increase explosive strength in the upper body.
These exercises use different types of objects (medicine ball) and techniques.

You can do it inside a circuit or as an isolated exercise.

Speed
Speed is the ability to do one or more movements in the shortest period of time. (as fast as
you can)
When we talk about the speed to move from one place to another (running, biking or
swimming), we call it a sprint.
Speed means reacting quickly and moving fast.

Benefits of speed training:

-Speed is basic in all sports. Even in a marathon, the winner is the fastest!
-It is related with coordination and agility. If you react and move fast, you have an advantage in
all sports.
-Speed training develops and makes your muscles grow.
You can find three types of speed:

Reaction speed: moving as fast as you can after the referee blows the whistle in a 100m
sprint. In team sports, there is also reaction speed: chasing your opponent when he runs
away from you, or reacting to a volleyball spike quickly.

Speed of an isolated movement: a karate kick or a tennis service must be very quick.

Speed of combined movements: any sprint in running or swimming, a dribbling in football...

How to increase your speed?

We can improve our speed developing our strength (explosive strength), running short
distance with a complete recovery period, doing exercises at fastest speed.
Repetitions interval training method with short distance and complete recovery period (4
minutes at least).

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 Circuit training, multi-jumps or multi-throws: few repetitions (between 5 and 15) and sets
(around 5) and long rest. Doing exercises at fastest speed.

Flexibility:
Flexibility is the ability to have wide range of movement in your joints.
Flexibility can be explained using the following equation:
joint mobility + muscle elasticity = flexibility
Flexibility is very important in all sports, because with it, you have better performance and
less injuries.

There are two types of flexibility:

Dynamic Flexibility: you use it when you do wide and relaxed movements.
For example, the first part of the warm-up, joint movements.

Static Flexibility: you use it when you hold one position for some seconds. There is no
movement.

Flexibility is the only physical ability that decreases as you grow older.
You need to spend a little time everyday to maintain and improve it.

Benefits of flexibility training:

-Your range of movement in joints is bigger, so you can accelerate your arms and legs for a
longer distance. Then, you can kick, throw and hit faster and stronger.
-You have less injuries. -Your movements are not limited. -Your muscles are more
elastic and more powerful.

How to increase your flexibility?

The methods to develop can be divided, as the types of flexibility, into:

Dynamic training method

Movement is more or less fast, for example, moving your leg forward and backward, as we
saw in joint movements exercises you have to do from slow to fast and from narrow to wide,
and doing at least 10 or 15 repetitions as the stretching phase is very short.
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 Static training method
It is similar to muscle stretching phase of the warm-up, stretch muscles little by little up to
notice tension not pain, and keep position for 30 seconds. We have to hold position longer in
order to develop this ability.

Task: You have to record a video in which you explain or talk

about:
- When and how we have used theses training methods. All of them, you must speak about
stamina, strength, speed and flexibility.
- How did you feel while you experimented them? Which did you feel more exhausting or
easier?
- Express your personal opinion about the training process and the benefits you have felt.
It should last less than two minutes, more or less.