§-Module

NSWHealth and Movement Science← Health and Movement Science syllabus

Focus Area 2: Training for improved performance

19 dot points across 19 inquiry questions, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How do the principles of training inform program design?

Apply the principles of training (specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variety, individuality, recovery) to design a training program for a specific performance goal

Principles of training. Defines specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variety, individuality and recovery; applies them to a worked training-program example for a named sport.

9 min read →

How do we screen and stratify a client before prescribing exercise, and when must we refer them on?

Investigate pre-exercise screening, risk stratification and informed consent as the duty-of-care steps that precede a safe exercise prescription

Pre-exercise screening - why we screen, the PAR-Q+ and the AusEP Adult Pre-Exercise Screening Tool, spotting contraindications and risk factors, stratifying clients as low, moderate or high risk, knowing when to refer to a doctor or allied-health professional, and informed consent.

9 min read →

How do psychological strategies enhance an athlete's performance and motivation?

Investigate psychological strategies used to enhance motivation and manage arousal and anxiety (goal-setting, mental rehearsal, self-talk, concentration and relaxation techniques) and apply them to a chosen performance context

Psychological strategies for performance: the inverted-U/optimal arousal theory, cognitive vs somatic anxiety and stress management, intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation, SMART goal-setting, mental rehearsal and imagery, self-talk, concentration and attentional focus, and relaxation and psyching-up techniques.

10 min read →

How is sporting skill acquired, and what makes practice and feedback most effective?

Investigate skill acquisition through the stages of learning, types of practice, types of feedback, and the role of coaching cues; apply the principles to a chosen sporting context

Skill acquisition. The Fitts and Posner stages of learning (cognitive, associative, autonomous); types of practice (massed vs distributed; whole vs part; blocked vs random); types of feedback (intrinsic vs extrinsic; knowledge of performance vs results); coaching cues; the role of deliberate practice in expert performance.

9 min read →

How is training structured across a year so that an athlete peaks for a target competition?

Structure a yearly training program using periodisation (macrocycle, mesocycle, microcycle) and the training phases to manage load, fatigue and recovery and to peak for a target competition

Periodisation. Defines the macrocycle, mesocycle and microcycle and the training phases (preparation, pre-competition, competition, transition), and explains peaking, tapering, linear versus undulating models, and managing load, fatigue and super-compensation across a year.

10 min read →

How do athletes and coaches develop and adapt strategies and tactics to improve performance?

Investigate how strategies and tactics, informed by opponent analysis and performance data, are developed and adapted to improve performance

Strategies versus tactics, game plans and tactical models, reading the play and decision-making, attacking and defensive approaches, and how opponent analysis and performance and video data are used to develop and adapt tactics to improve performance.

9 min read →

What physiological adaptations occur in response to training, and over what timeframe?

Investigate acute physiological responses (cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular) and chronic adaptations to aerobic and resistance training

Difference between acute physiological responses (during exercise) and chronic adaptations (after weeks of training), across cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular and metabolic systems.

9 min read →

How are sports injuries prevented, rehabilitated, and managed back to play?

Investigate sports injury prevention, rehabilitation, and return-to-play decisions, including risk factors, evidence-based warm-up protocols, rehabilitation phases, return-to-play criteria, and concussion management

Injury prevention, rehabilitation and return to play. Covers intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors, load management, evidence-based warm-up protocols (FIFA 11+, RAMP), rehabilitation phases, return-to-play criteria, and concussion management per AFL, NRL and World Rugby protocols.

9 min read →

How does technology shape performance, and what ethical and equity issues does it raise?

Investigate the role of technology in performance enhancement, including training monitoring tools, performance-enhancing drugs and anti-doping, technological doping, and the ethical and equity issues these raise across athlete populations

Technology in sport. Training monitoring tools (GPS, force plates, video analysis, wearables); performance-enhancing drugs and anti-doping (WADA, ASADA, the prohibited list); blood manipulation and gene doping; technological doping (specialised footwear and equipment); ethical and equity considerations.

9 min read →

What are performance-enhancing drugs, what risks do they pose, and how is doping detected and regulated?

Investigate performance-enhancing drugs and doping in sport, including the main drug classes and their effects, the risks to athlete health and to the integrity of sport, detection and testing, the anti-doping regulatory framework (WADA, Sport Integrity Australia, the Prohibited List, sanctions) and the ethics of doping

Doping: the main performance-enhancing drug classes (anabolic steroids, peptide/growth hormones, stimulants, EPO and blood doping, beta-blockers, diuretics) and their effects, the health and integrity risks, detection and testing, the WADA and Sport Integrity Australia framework, sanctions and the ethics of doping.

10 min read →

How are valid and reliable fitness tests selected and used to assess performance and prescribe training?

Select and justify valid, reliable fitness and performance tests for the components of fitness, and use the results to set baselines and prescribe training

Choosing valid, reliable fitness tests, field versus laboratory testing, the standard test for each fitness component (beep test, 1RM, vertical jump, Illinois, sit-and-reach), and using normative results to set baselines and prescribe training.

10 min read →

How do recovery strategies support adaptation, manage fatigue and improve performance?

Investigate physiological, neural, tissue and psychological recovery strategies and evaluate the evidence base for managing fatigue and overtraining

Recovery strategies - physiological (cool-down, active recovery, refuelling, sleep), neural, tissue (cryotherapy, compression, massage, hydrotherapy) and psychological - plus super-compensation, overtraining and the evidence base for each technique.

10 min read →

How is a training program designed, monitored and adjusted to meet a performance goal?

Apply a needs analysis, the FITT principle and the principles of training to design, sequence, progress and evaluate a training program for a specific athlete and goal

Program-design process: completing a needs analysis (goal, demands of the activity, current fitness, constraints), applying FITT and the principles of training, selecting training methods, sequencing and progressing load, then evaluating and adjusting the program.

10 min read →

How do energy systems and training types interact to produce performance adaptations?

Analyse the three energy systems (ATP-PC, anaerobic glycolysis, aerobic) and the training types that target each, with reference to specific sporting contexts

Three energy systems and the training types that target each. Includes the dominant-system durations, rest:work ratios, adaptations, and worked sporting examples.

9 min read →

How do nutrition, hydration, supplementation and sleep support training adaptation and performance?

Analyse the role of nutrition, hydration, supplementation and sleep in supporting training adaptation, performance and recovery, with reference to evidence-based recommendations

Nutrition, hydration, supplementation and sleep for performance. Covers carbohydrate periodisation, protein intake, hydration strategies, evidence-based ergogenic aids, and sleep recommendations for athletes.

9 min read →

How are training principles applied to develop strength, power, speed and flexibility, and how are these combined for team-sport athletes?

Examine training methods for strength, power, speed and flexibility, and design a periodised plan that integrates these capacities for a chosen athlete

Strength, power, speed and flexibility training. Applies specificity, progressive overload and FITT to each capacity, distinguishes the rep ranges and loading patterns for strength, hypertrophy and power, and shows how a periodised plan integrates these capacities for a team-sport athlete.

9 min read →

How do coaches monitor, record and evaluate training to know whether the program is working?

Examine the tools and methods used to monitor, record and evaluate training load and performance, and explain how the resulting data informs program decisions

Monitoring training load and performance. Covers training logbooks, GPS units, heart-rate monitors, RPE, wellness questionnaires, performance testing batteries, and how to read trends rather than single sessions.

9 min read →

How can biomechanical principles be applied to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of movement?

Examine biomechanical principles (motion, balance and stability, force, levers, projectile motion, fluid mechanics) and apply them to improving sporting technique

Biomechanical principles (motion, balance and stability, force, levers, projectile motion and fluid mechanics) and how each is applied to improve sporting technique, with simple physics done correctly.

11 min read →

How is a single training session structured so that it is safe, effective and matched to its purpose?

Design a training session, justifying the structure (warm-up, conditioning/skill phase, cool-down), the work-to-rest and intensity decisions, and the safety and monitoring strategies used

Structuring one training session - the general and specific warm-up (RAMP) and its physiological purpose, the main conditioning or skill phase matched to the session goal with work-to-rest and intensity choices, the cool-down and active recovery, plus session sequencing, safety and intensity monitoring.

10 min read →