Preventing Injuries through Fitness Training

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Preventing Injuries through Fitness Training

• Mrs. Marr
• Sports Med I

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Objectives

• The Student will-
• Discuss the foundations and principles of
  conditioning.
• Explain the importance of a proper warm-up and
  cool-down.
• Explain the importance of flexibility, strength,
  and cardiorespiratory endurance for athletics and
  injury prevention.
• Discuss the various types of stretching and how
  each is performed.
• Discuss principles and specific techniques for
  improving muscular strength, cardiovascular
  endurance, and flexibility.
• Identify the concept of Periodization and the
  types of exercise that are performed in each
  phase.

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Physical Fitness

• Proper physical conditioning for sports
  participation should prepare the athlete for a
  high-level performance while helping to prevent
  injuries inherent to that sport.
• Physical Fitness definition is that physical
  fitness is state of well-being that allows a
  person to perform their daily routines and
  activities with a sense of vigor, stamina, and
  energy.

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Physical Fitness

• Physically fit can reduce the risk of injury
• Physical Fitness means that the elements of
• muscular strength,
• flexibility,
• cardiovascular endurance,
• muscular endurance,
• body composition

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Preventing Athletic Injuries

• A comprehensive injury prevention program
  includes
• Education
• Rule enforcement
• Proper matching of participations during practice
• Elements of physical fitness

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Educating the Athlete

• Includes both
• Teaching about the dangers involved in the sport
• Proper techniques for the particular sport
• Example the ATC and Coach should educate the
  football athlete about his helmet- used for
  protection not as a weapon.
• Document that he has been given instructions
  (legal liable for negligence)

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Rule Enforcement

• Many rules are designed to prevent injuries
• Spearing (FB) was banned in 1976 prevent the
  head as a weapon
• Head/ spinal cord injuries
• Enforce rules during practice and games

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Proper Matching

• Factors in matching
• Weight
• Age
• Skill level
• Especially in contact sports
• Wrestling
• Boxing
• Football
• Field hockey
• Hockey

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Purpose of Conditioning and Strength Training

• Athletes (and the athletic trainer's) role in
  conditioning and strength training
• Optimize performance athletic development
• Prevent injury
• People in other exercise settings
• Enhance health and wellness
• Optimize performance
• Older adults
• Maintain health and wellness
• Improve quality of living

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Exercise Prescription

• Needs analysisconsidering the objectives of the
  program
• What muscle groups should be conditioned?
• Demands of sport Physiological and biomechanical
  analysis of the skills of the sport
• Abilities of the athlete
• Energy systems
• Muscle activity concentric, eccentric, or
  isometric?
• Injury patterns
• Team's injury history
• Athletes injury history

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Fitness-Testing Procedures

• Measures the athlete's level of fitness
• Helps identify muscle groups or energy sources
  that need to be trained
• Usually includes tests of muscular function,
  cardiovascular function, speed, agility, and body
  composition
• SPARQ testing provides sport-specific evaluation
• http//www.sparqtraining.com/
• Preseason participation evaluation

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Fitness-Testing (Evaluations)

• Ongoing evaluations
• For athletes
• Help to identify particular weaknesses that may
  have developed
• For physically active (non competitive athletes)
• Indicate progress toward fitness goals and
  whether changes in the program are advisable
• Postseason fitness evaluations
• Used to plan and assess the off-season training
  program

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Body Comp

• Height, weight, and body composition
• Uses of anthropometry measurement and study of
  the human body and its parts and capacities
• height and weight
• To determine position on team an athlete is best
  suited for
• Self-knowledge
• Unexpected changes can be a sign of a medical
  condition

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Body Comp

• Height, weight, and body composition
• Body composition test is more significant
• Amount of fat in relation to lean tissue
• High levels of fat affect ability to move
  optimally and are associated with certain
  diseases and illnesses
• Methods of measuring
• Skin calipers
• Body mass index
• Hydrostatic weighing
• Bioelectrical impedance

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Exercise Prescription

• Goal setting
• Short-term goals
• Include immediate (individual day) and
  short-range (month) goals
• Contribute to the long-term goal
• Long-term goals
• Must be established by the athlete
• Should be specific, measurable, and attributable
  to the conditioning program
• Limitations to the plan
• Recognize that obstacles to achieving the goal
  will occur, and establish alternate plans
• Provide communication and encouragement

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Exercise Prescription

• Exercise plans
• Training volume Amount of work performed
• Exercise order
• Station approach Maximize overload on one muscle
  group before moving to the next
• Circuit training Work a muscle group to fatigue,
  and then hurry to the next exercise, maintaining
  the elevated heart rate

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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Resistance and overload essential to every
  program
• Exercise intensity
• The percentage of the 1RM relationship of
  percentage to strength gains
• Hypertrophy method
• Goal is increased muscle mass through increasing
  the size of individual muscle fibers
• 5 to 12 reps at 70 to 85 of the 1RM
• High-intensity training method (HIT)
• Goal is to improve recruitment of existing muscle
  fibers rather than to increase the size of the
  fibers
• Intensity reaches up to 100 amount of weight
  increased if athlete can lift prescribed weight
  more than four times

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Periodization

• Year-round conditioning is essential in most
  sports to assist in preventing injuries.
• Periodization is an approach to conditioning that
  attempts to bring about peak performance while
  reducing injuries and overtraining in the athlete
  by developing a training and conditioning program
  to be followed throughout the various seasons.
• Periodization an approach to conditioning that
  uses various types and intensity of training
  throughout the year.
• Brings about peak performance by constantly
  changing training stimulus (intensity, volume,
  specificity, etc.)
• Reduces risk of injury and overtraining
• Goals
• Individualization
• Peak performance
• Decrease injury
• Variety
• Macrocycle comprised of Mesocycle, Mesocycle
  comprised of Microcycles

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Periodization Training
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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Macrocycle refers to the entire training program.
  
• Duration of competitive training
• Annual for most athletes, every four years for
  Olympic athletes
• Progresses from high volume, low intensity
  non-sport specific to low volume, low intensity,
  sport specific activity

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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Mesocycle refers to the type of training/phases
  being performed
• Preparatory phase
• Off-season (3 sub-phases)
• Hypertrophy/endurance
• Low intensity, high volume
• Non-sport specific
• Strength
• Moderate intensity, moderate volume
• Power
• High intensity, low volume
• Sport-specific

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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Mesocycle (continued)
• In-season
• Competition phase
• Maintenance driven
• High intensity, low volume
• Post-season
• Transition phase
• Unstructured
• Allows time to recover physically
  psychologically

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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Microcycles- Period of the training calendar
  composed of several days of training followed by
  1 to 2 days of rest

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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Progressive Overload
• There are two ways to progressively overload your
  body.
• First is to increase the number of reps you do
  with a set weight from the previous workout.
• If you performed 8 reps of bench press with
  125lbs. last time, you strive to get 9 on the
  next workout.
• Second, you may progressively overload by
  increasing your training weight.
• If you got 8 reps with 125lbs. last workout and
  you go up to 130lbs. for 8 reps, you have
  progressively overloaded your body.
• Gradual increase in the stress placed on a muscle
  as it gains strength or endurance
• Accomplished through increasing repetitions or
  resistance

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Foundations of Conditioning
Physical conditioning must follow the SAID
principle-an acronym for Specific Adaptation to
Imposed Demands.
SAID PRINCIPLE
Specific
Adaptation to
Imposed
Demands
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Developing the Strength-Training Program

• Rest periods and training frequency
• Rest periods Amount of time between consecutive
  sets
• Longer3 to 5 minwhen training for absolute
  strength (1RM loads)
• Shorter30 to 60 secwhen training for muscle
  hypertrophy (8-12 reps with submaximal weight)
• Rest periods in circuit training 11 ratio and
  when to modify
• Training frequency Length of time between
  exercise sessions
• Typically, weight training done on alternating
  days
• Longer recovery needed if early in exercise
  program, if exercises are multijoint, if maximal
  or near-maximal loads are used
• Shorter recovery needed if low volume used on
  days between high-volume training, or if athlete
  has been weightlifting on a regular basis for
  several years

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Principles of Conditioning

• Warm-up/cooldown
• Motivation
• Overload
• Consistency
• Progression
• Intensity
• Specificity
• Individuality
• Stress
• Safety

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Warm-Up and Cooldown

• A proper warm-up should precede conditioning, and
  a proper cool down should follow.
• It takes at least 15 to 30 minutes of gradual
  warm-up to bring the body to a state of readiness
  for vigorous sports training and participation
  (break a sweat)
• Warming up consists of general, unrelated
  activities followed by specific, related
  activities.
• Warm-up Exercises
• Why are they important?
• How do they reduce injuries?
• Cool down
• Benefits
• How long?

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Flexibility

• Flexibility - the range of motion possible about
  a given joint or series of joints.
• Why is it important?
• How can it be limited?
• How is it measured?
• Optimum flexibility is necessary for success in
  most sports.
• Too much flexibility can allow joint trauma to
  occur, whereas too little flexibility can result
  in muscle tears or strains.
• The safest and most effective means of increasing
  flexibility are static stretching and the PNF
  techniques.
• Active and Passive Range of Motion
• Agonist v. Antagonist Muscles

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Stretching Techniques

• Ballistic stretching
• Static Stretching
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)

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Stretching

• Flexibility/stretching programs
• Passive stretching
• No work on the part of the athlete
• Another person carries limb through range of
  motion must have training
• Active stretching
• Athlete takes an active role in the stretching
• Uses his or her own body to produce the stretch
• Contract/relax stretching
• Partner or therapist provides the resistance to
  the contraction and stretches the muscle group
• Preliminary contraction may allow the muscle to
  more fully relax during the stretching cycle
• Single, straight plane of motion

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Stretching

• Flexibility/stretching programs
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF)
• Requires that three movements occur
  flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and
  rotation
• Diagonal patterns of movement traversing three
  planes
• Stretching methods
• Static Joint moved to the point at which
  tightness is felt, and that position held
• Ballistic Involves a bouncing movement not
  entirely safe
• Dynamic Involves sport-specific movements for
  example, "high knees" for sprinters

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Stretching Techniques Examples
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Flexibility (testing)

• Flexibility
• Joint structure
• Structure of joint surface determines the motions
  available
• Ball-and-socket versus other types of joints
• Effects of muscle size
• Muscle bulk can limit movement
• Can avoid this loss of flexibility in two ways
  stretching the same muscle that is strengthened
  and strengthening the opposite muscles
  (antagonists)

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Flexibility (testing)

• Flexibility (cont.)
• Ligament and tendon composition
• All connective tissues are made up of collagen
  and elastin
• Some people have more elasticity than others have
  
• Age and Gender
• Females tend to be more flexible than males
• As people age, they tend to decrease in
  flexibility
• Active people are more flexible than sedentary
  people

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Flexibility (testing)

• Flexibility (cont.)
• Testing
• Importance
• Hamstring sit-and-reach test
• Pectoralis Major muscles supine, elbows clasped
  behind head then relax shoulders to allow elbows
  to move toward table

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Muscle Function- Strength

• Muscular Strength the maximum force that can be
  applied by a muscle during a single maximum
  contraction.
• Ability of the muscle or group of muscles to
  overcome a resistance
• 1-repetition maximum (1RM) test
• Strength is that capacity to exert a force or the
  ability to perform work against a resistance.
• There are numerous means to develop strength
  including
• Isometric exercise
• Progressive resistance exercise
• Isokinetic exercise
• Circuit training
• Plyometric exercise
• Calisthenics

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Muscle Function- Endurance

• Muscular Endurance the ability to perform
  repetitive muscular contractions against some
  resistance
• Ability of a muscle or group of muscles to
  perform a repetitive action
• Sit-ups, push-ups, or more sport-specific
  evaluations such as the squat with a light weight
  for a cross country runner

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Muscle Function- Power

• Muscle power
• Rate of performing work A weight lifted (force)
  through a range of movement (usually a vertical
  distance) divided by the unit of time required to
  perform the lift
• Vertical jump

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Types of Skeletal Contractions

• Isometric
• Concentric
• Eccentric

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Isometric

• Isometric
• Muscle generates a force, but there is no joint
  movement resistance is greater than the athlete
  is able to move
• Strength gains are greatest at the precise joint
  position at which the contraction is performed
• Isometrics are not often applicable to sport
  performance, though consider holding positions in
  wrestling and gymnastics, abdominal muscles in
  swimming, abdominal and back muscles in running
• Difficult to measure the overload

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Isotonic

• Isotonic
• Moving the joint through a range of motion with a
  set amount of resistance applied
• Occurs in lifting free weights and in most
  activities of daily living

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Variable Resistance

• Variable resistance
• Delivers a varying resistance at different points
  in the range of motion
• Offset cam on Nautilus/variable-resistance
  machines sliding lever bar systems rubber bands
  or elastic tubing (provides increased resistance
  as the band is elongated)

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Isokinetic

• Isokinetics
• Weight training is a common type of strength
  training for developing the strength and size of
  skeletal muscles. It uses the force of gravity
  (in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or
  weight stacks) to oppose the force generated by
  muscle through concentric or eccentric
  contraction
• Muscular action performed at a constant velocity
• Isokinetic machines provide a maximum resistance
  throughout the entire range of joint movement

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Concentric

• Concentric and eccentric training
• Most sports involve both phases
• Concentric muscle activity
• The shortening of the muscle when a limb moves
  through a range of motion with a resistance
  applied
• This muscle action is the force-production part
  of almost every human movement

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Eccentric

• Eccentric muscle activity
• The lengthening of a muscle (lengthening
  contraction) that occurs with lowering of a
  weight
• Does not occur in every form of isokinetic
  exercise (some isokinetic machines do allow
  eccentric contractions), proprioceptive
  neuromuscular facilitation exercises, or manual
  resistance exercises without modifications
• Does occur with most other weightlifting machines
  and in all forms of body weight conditioning
  (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.)

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Types of Strength Training- Plyometric

• Plyometric
• is a type of exercise training designed to
  produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the
  functions of the nervous system, generally for
  the purpose of improving performance in sports.
• Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded
  and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the
  strength, elasticity and innervations of muscle
  and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run
  faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending
  on the desired training goal.
• Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or
  force of muscular contractions, often with the
  goal of increasing the height of a jump.

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Types of Strength Training- Plyometric

• Also known as stretch-shortening cycle exercise
• Stretch phase Eccentric loading phase
• Shortening phase Force-production or concentric
  phase
• Every physical activity incorporates the
  stretch-shortening cycle
• Critical feature A concentric force production
  follows every eccentric load absorption
• When a muscle is stretched prior to the onset of
  a contraction, the contraction is greater than it
  would have been otherwise
• Can be used as part of a rehabilitation program
  or to prepare for a specialized skill or
  performance

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What Determines the Amount of Strength?

• Size of muscle
• Number of muscle fibers
• Neuromuscular efficiency
• Biomechanical Factors
• Fast-Twitch v. slow-twitch muscle fibers
• Level of physical activity
• Overtraining

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Resistance Training Techniques

• Isometric Exercise
• Progressive Resistive Exercise
• Isokinetic Exercise
• Circuit Training
• Plyometric Exercise
• Callisthenic Strengthening Exercise

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Resistance Training Techniques
Technique
Equipment/Activity
Action
Isometric exercise Force develops while
muscle length remains constant Any immovable
resistance Progressive resistance exercise
(PRE) Force develops while the muscle
shortens or lengthens Free weights, Universal,
Nautilus, Cybex, Eagle, Body
Master Isokinetic training Force develops
while muscle is contracting at a constant
Cybex, Orthotron, Kincom,
Biodex

velocity
Circuit training Uses a combination of
isometric, PRE, or isokinetic exercises
May use any of the equipment list




into a series of stations
Plyometric exercise Uses a rapid eccentric
stretch of the muscle to facilitate Hops,
bounds, and depth jumping

an explosive
concentric contraction
Calisthenics Uses body weight for
resistance No equipment needed (Sit-ups, push-



ups,ect.)





Isometric Exercise
Progressive Resistive Exercise
Isokinetic Exercise
Plyometric Exercis
Calisthenics
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Resistance Exercise Terminology

• Repetition
• Repetition Max
• Set
• Intensity
• Recovery period
• Frequency

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Cardiorespiratory Endurance

• Cardiorespiratory endurance ability to perform
  activities for extended periods.
• Cardiorespiratory endurance is the ability to
  perform whole-body, large-muscle activities
  repeatedly for long periods.
• Aerobic activity
• Anaerobic activity
• Maximum aerobic capacity is the greatest
  determinant of the level of cardiorespiratory
  endurance.

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Improving Cardiorespiratory Endurance

• Methods for improving cardiorespiratory endurance
  may be accomplished
• Continuous training
• Interval training
• Fartlek training
• Training in which the pace is varied from a fast
  sprint to slow jogging (INTERVAL)

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Aerobic

• An aerobic or endurance base is required of most
  all sports to prevent fatigue and injury.
• Aerobic endurance training
• Nearly every physical activity requires some
  degree of cardiovascular, or aerobic, endurance
• Establish fitness level by using a cardiovascular
  stress test to determine the maximal heart rate
• The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
  recommends an exercise intensity for aerobic
  conditioning between 60 and 90 of the maximal
  heart rate
• The highest heart rate of which an individual is
  capable.
• A broad rule of thumb for estimating maximal
  heart rate is 220 (beats per minute) minus the
  person's age (in years)
• Overload required, short-term goals leading to
  long-term goals in a steady progression

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Anaerobic

• Anaerobic Training
• Not as universally required as aerobic training,
  but critical in most sport activities
• Anaerobic exercise is developed through power and
  speed training in short yet intense sessions.
• Power is the ability to function rapidly in your
  sport to attain maximal results.
• A good strength base is required to begin a power
  program.
• Circuit training is a good example of power
  training where a 30 second bout of vigorous
  exercise is performed followed by a 20 second
  rest throughout a cycle of 6 - 8 exercises.
• This is the system that ultimately develops you
  for your sport.

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Anaerobic

• Training principles
• Requires short, intense bursts of activity
• Should be sport specific
• Possible methods running short, intense sprints
  performing short, intense bouts on a slide-board,
  bicycle, step-up equipment and so on
• Cannot be sustained for long periods of time
• Can use interval training to allow body to
  recover
• Who should train Anaerobically?
• Primarily for people with moderate level of
  fitness who want to improve this aspect of their
  conditioning
• Not appropriate for older adults or others who
  have low fitness levels, or for anyone who might
  risk injury doing exercise at high intensity
• People at risk for cardiovascular disease should
  be carefully screened
• Program design
• Advantageous to vary distances of sprints during
  the workout
• Increase volume gradually to avoid injury
  Increase mileage or time spent by no more than
  10 per week
• Alternate interval training days with days of
  rest or more moderately paced exercise

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Cardio Functions (testing)

• Cardiovascular function
• Evaluating aerobic power
• Ability to use oxygen in performing work
• 1.5 mile (2.4 km) timed run, step test, 2 mile
  (3.2 km) timed run
• Evaluating anaerobic power
• Ability to perform activities of very short
  duration using metabolic processes that produce
  energy without oxygen
• Vertical jump, shuttle run

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Speed and Agility

• Speed and agility will keep you out of
  potentially injury producing situations.
• Speed may be developed by improving technique
  utilizing efforts with a 6 second maximum effort.
• Agility and coordination emphasize neuromuscular
  control and are the culmination of all physical
  fitness factors.
• It is the ability to react to the demands of
  sport. It is usually the first to suffer fatigue.
  
• As you implement improvement of these systems you
  can increase muscle fiber size and bone strength,
  increase flexibility, decrease fat, improve
  cardiovascular, and respiratory fitness and help
  reduce the chances you will sustain injury in
  your activity.
• Those who are physically fit have an injury rate
  one half to those who are not fit.

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Agility and Speed (testing)

• Agility and speed
• Agility
• The ability to start, stop, and change direction
• Shuttle run
• Proper footwear time to learn the pattern before
  being timed
• Speed
• Length of time required to travel a set distance
• Runningpreferably in distances similar to those
  that occur in the sport timed dashes such as the
  40 yd (37 m) or 100 yd (91 m) dash for sports
  with short bursts of sprinting

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• Also-
• Use of Proper Equipment
• Maintenance and Appropriateness of Playing
  Surfaces
• Adequate Adult Supervision and Commitment to
  Safety
• Proper Preparation

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Equipment Selection

• An LAT must understand biomechanics of the sport
  or activity, then attempt to find specific
  exercises to challenge the relevant muscles to
  adapt, and choose equipment on these parameters

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Equipment Selection-Types

• Free weights
• Strength-training machines
• Can be less expensive than free weights
• Safer for young athletescannot drop weight on
  foot or chest
• May not provide an adequate range of exercises
  for all sizes of athletes or for all strength
  levels

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Equipment Selection- Types

• Individual machines
• Take up more space and cost more than free
  weights
• Major benefit can exercise an individual joint
  action or muscle group
• Other equipment
• Functional activities
• Plyo-balls, elastics, swimming or pool work

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Equipment Selection- Comparing

• Comparing equipment types
• In general, free weights are thought to be more
  beneficial than machines
• Machines offer an advantage when range of motion
  is limitedin rehabilitation situations or for
  athletes who have disabilities

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• Proper rest and nutrition are necessary for
  optimal performance.
• If you are skimping on sleep and not getting an
  adequate diet you only hold yourself back and set
  yourself up for injury.
• Hydration is part of the nutritional balance
  necessary for participation.
• Sweat rates of elite athletes may exceed 8 - 10
  quarts a day.
• Dehydration of as little as 2 can affect
  physical performance which in turn makes injury
  more likely.

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• Exercise should be that which can be comfortably
  tolerated.
• There should be a slow build up in intensity to
  reach peak performance.
• Usually an increase of about 10 per week is what
  is recommended to properly prepare your body for
  the activity and to prevent injury.
• Too much too soon is often the cause of overuse
  injury.
• As exercise becomes more intense it should also
  be pain free in that there may be some soreness
  but not causing musculoskeletal pain the next
  day.
• Ideally you progress the exercise in intensity
  but without pain or soreness.

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• Pain is the body's way of telling you you're
  doing too much and risking injury.
• Thus, it is important that when beginning a sport
  that you slowly adjust to the pace, from half to
  three quarter to full speed.
• In this manner you acclimate to the full speed of
  the sport.
• Obviously you must allow ample time to prepare
  for competition.
• However it requires time and hard work, which
  many are not willing to do.
• Just like with improper hydration, nutrition, or
  rest, an injury is more likely to happen.

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• An often overlooked area of injury prevention is
  a preseason screening process.
• Areas that should be assessed should be
• equipment, especially shoes
• A worn or cheap pair of shoes is an example of an
  injury waiting to happen.
• posture
• Lower extremity posture in running sports should
  be evaluated and corrections made prior to
  competing
• strength
• range of motion
• Proprioception
• endurance
• power
• speed
• agility
• If you have a previous injury, it should be
  assessed in the above areas to assure that you
  are ready to return to play.

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• You should have a strength level appropriate for
  your sport of choice.
• If the muscles and tendons cannot handle the
  stress loads of the sport or activity, injury is
  sure to occur.
• Strength and flexibility are the cornerstones of
  physical fitness.
• If you lack strength or adequate range of motion
  in your joints they are at risk of injury.
• A weak or tight muscle or tendon is at risk.
• Proprioception or balance is required in sport
  and a factor in the injury process if you have
  deficits here.
• For the lower extremity for example you should be
  able to balance easily with your eyes closed on
  one leg, if not then this is an area of concern
  and need remediation.

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Preventing Sports Injuries

• Fatigue is often a cause of injury.
• The muscles and tendons cannot contract and relax
  in a sequential manner, become out of synch,
  reactions slow and injury is there waiting to
  happen in the form of a strain, sprain or
  fracture.
• When you feel fatigue coming on, it is the time
  for a break to allow the body its necessary
  recuperation.

72
Preventing Injury

• Coaching methods
• Particular coaching techniques or instructions
  can cause or prevent injuries (e.g., spearing
  versus head up during tackling in football)
• National Standards for Athletic Coaches (National
  Association for Sport and Physical
  Education/American Alliance for Health, Physical
  Education, Recreation and Dance AAHPERD)
• Matching athletes on motor skill performance
• Controlling biomechanical stress/overuse
• Role of extrinsic forces (someone else landing on
  your foot)
• Modifying physical demands placed on athlete
  (being aware of illness and fatigue)

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Mental

• The injury prone athlete exhibits negative
  thinking.
• Being positive about injury prevention without
  being too much of a risk taker will add to your
  pleasure of activity and help with reducing your
  injury risk.
• The assessment and implementation of a program to
  prevent injury will allow you to enjoy the
  benefits of the sport or activity without the
  consequences of pain, discomfort and frustration
  as result of injury.  

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Injuries

• Injuries occur for a variety of reasons.
• Traumatic injuries occur when contact or force is
  too much for your muscles, joints or bones to
  absorb.
• A sprained ankle, a twisted knee, a fall off your
  bicycle or a collision at second base are
  examples of this type of injury.
• Overuse injuries are a gradual breakdown of body
  structures. They can often be prevented and are
  generally caused by any one or combination of the
  following
• not enough strength for the activity
• not enough flexibility for the activity
• inappropriate activity or intensity (too much,
  too soon!)
• improper or faulty equipment
• change in exercise surface (different running
  terrain or exercise floor)
• poor biomechanics or technique
• Pain is an indication that something is wrong, so
  listen to your body.
• As your injury progresses, pain will increase
  and/or occur earlier during exercise.
• Swelling, redness or warmth-to-the-touch are also
  signs of injury and inflammation.

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How are athletic injuries prevented?

• The following are some of the strategies that may
  help teens prevent athletic injuries
• Have a sports pre-participation physical
  examination
• Before each training or sports event, warm up and
  then cool down afterward
• Do flexibility exercises
• Play within safe ranges for ones age and size
• Use proper and well fitted equipment
• Keep oneself physically fit
• Begin training one to two months before the
  sports activity is to begin
• Gradually increase ones training time but not
  more than ten percent each week

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Considerations forFemale Athletes

• Hormonal differences
• Neural differences
• Strength/body weight ratio
• Absolute vs. relative strength

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QUESTIONS?