Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart per minute and therefore will vary depending on the intensity of the exercise. It is calculated as the stroke volume multiplied by the number of heartbeats per minute. I have seen a blog here saying the elite athlete's CO goes down at rest, but [...]
This week I had an email asking me if leg swings are an example of dynamic stretching or ballistic. The answer was not a simple yes or no. As a teacher, I would normally through this out to my students as a debate. See if they can work it out. But here is some of the [...]
The ethics around drug use in sport are wide, but he HSC PDHPE syllabus want you to consider whether the use of drugs is for personal success or big business. Over the last 30 years sport has changed dramatically going from games we played, to big business. Sport is now a multi-million dollar industry in [...]
Technology has caused a massive increase in performance over the past 40 years. David Epstein (in the video below) describes how the simple change in running surface and the use of running blocks has revolutionised the times for running events at the Olympic Games. Please take the time to watch this video. This video provides [...]
There are many examples of technology in sport, but I thought I would mention a few that you might wish to think about using as examples in your study. The first of our ex amples of technology in sport is the sensor pad. Teakwood has introduced sensors to help make sure that every point is [...]
There are plenty of useful sites for Factors Affecting and Improving Performance that I use all the time. They provide up-to-date information and cover lots of content. The first of our useful sites for Factors Affecting and Improving Performance is Australian Association of Strength and Conditioning (ASCA). They don't provide a lot of free information to kick [...]
When considering the use of drugs ethical considerations concerning fair play vs cheating need to be explored. The teacher notes in the HSC PDHPE syllabus are used to guide the learning of content to which they refer. In Improving Performance, use of drugs comes under ethical issues related to improving performance, and our understanding and application [...]
The performance effects and harms associated with drug use are drug specific and content heavy. It is specifically because of this that the HSC PDHPE syllabus has a teacher note to reduce the content and focus on ethics. Students need only a general understanding of the performance-related effects of, and the harm associated with, using [...]
Continuing our teacher note series, today we look at the combination of cold, wind and hypothermia. This teacher note comes under environmental considerations for What role do preventative actions play in enhancing the wellbeing of the athlete? in Sports Medicine. The teacher note says: Students should understand how the combination of heat and humidity or cold [...]
Improving Performance requires you to look at the use of technology to improve performance as an ethical consideration. GPS devises are used expensively as a piece of technology that can improve performance. GPS devises provide trainers and coaches with objective data to help analyse an athlete's performance both during training and during competition. GPS devises [...]
