Jack Final Project | Maximotrueba

Exercise Principles and Training Techniques

My final project draws from my experiences as an exercise science student, an athlete, and my interest in sports. I prepared a series of presentations and an activity that delved primarily into the topics of exercise principles and specific training techniques. These resources were prepared for my Physical Education students at the Bachillerato 1 level.

My primary objective in teaching this material was to give students the foundation needed to create their own training programs, or training programs for others, in whatever sport or type of exercise they prefer. There is a formulaic way to approach designing a training program, and I tried to make this apparent to my students and give them insights into the basic tools needed to make a sound plan. This is very useful for these particular students because many of them are currently athletes in sports such as football, American football, track and field, martial arts, and gymnastics, so it is valuable for them to understand the basics of creating a training program. Additionally, many of them want to teach Physical Education or become coaches or personal trainers, so this information is extremely relevant to them moving forward with their careers.

The resources that I used for these lessons were Powerpoint presentations, to which I added audio on every slide of myself presenting the information. I believe this information is best suited for use over the course of two or three class periods, and I was able to complete the lessons and activity in only two classes without feeling rushed. My role was as the primary instructor and leader of the lessons and the activity, and the teacher worked to supplement my lecture and fill in bits of information and advice as he saw fit. He became especially helpful during the activity portion in which students designed their own training programs, because he has a great deal of personal experience with designing and following training programs. I am grateful that he allowed me to take the lead during these classes - the information I was teaching is very much in my area of interest and knowledge due to my studies at my University and life experiences, so I felt very qualified to speak to these topics.

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During the first portion of the first class period, I gave a presentation on the basic components of fitness and principles of training. I discussed how these components and principles differ across sports, and how and why different sports require different types of training. I related all of these components to sports, and began the discussion of how a training plan is developed depending on the sport, the athlete, and the goals of that athlete. I also discussed some basic physiological factors that can limit training such as oxygen debt, lactic acid accumulation, and maximum heart rate. The Powerpoint I used for this portion of the class can be found below. The Powerpoints below have audio of myself speaking about the information presented on each slide, and this could be helpful for students to hear pronunciation of the different concepts in a native accent.

Principles of Fitness and Training Parts 1 and 2

After this first presentation, I moved on to the next portion of the class in which I discussed specific training methods. I spoke on seven different specific training methods, and with each one provided or asked for examples of what type of sport or athlete might use such methods, and what benefits are gained from each type of training. At the end of this presentation was when I introduced the activity portion of the lesson. I asked students to create their own 8-week training plans for whatever sport or activity they prefer, and to keep in mind the core principles and training methods we had learned. I assigned this as homework for them to begin formulating their training plans, and the following class period the teacher and I helped to further guide students in designing their plans. The presentation used for the second portion of class is below. This presentation also includes audio of myself speaking about the topics presented on each slide.

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When evaluating the training plans the students created, I did not care so much about if their plan was what I would consider to be highly effective, or one that would get them to a high level of fitness or performance in sport. I was more interested in seeing that they had thought about the FITT principles of training and addressed them, that they had kept the other training principles in mind and utilized them effectively, and that they understood the purposes of the different specific training methods.

Specific Training Methods

This lesson and corresponding activity was very useful for the students because it gave real life context and significance to what they were learning. Too often students will learn something in the classroom, or from the textbook, and think "How does this apply to me? Why does this matter?" and I believe that this activity eliminated those thoughts for most of my students. Another great aspect of this activity is that it is adaptable for many different levels of students. While the presentations, particularly the first presentation, may need some adjustments to make them more suitable for younger learners, the process of making the training plan is a great and appropriate activity for students in Secundario as well as Bachillerato.