Process
Eduqas A-Level Physical Education A550QS
Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle
Short-Term Responses to Exercise
Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise
Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness
Training Methods, Principles and Periodisation
Topic overviewSpecificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variance and FITTContinuous, fartlek, interval and high intensity trainingWeight, plyometric, circuit and flexibility trainingAltitude training and training in hot and cold climatesTraining zones, heart rate monitoring and periodisation
Energy Systems
Fatigue and Recovery
Diet, Nutrition and Supplements
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
Joints and the Musculo-Skeletal System
Planes, Axes and Movement Patterns
Biomechanical Principles and Levers
Linear and Angular Motion
Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics
Performance Analysis
Technology in Sport
Personality
Attitudes
Goal Setting
Stress, Arousal and Anxiety
Motivation
Aggression
Social Facilitation
Group Dynamics and Leadership
Attribution Theory
Self-Efficacy and Confidence
Skill, Ability and Skill Classification
Learning Curves, Theories and Stages
Transfer, Practice and Guidance
Information Processing, Memory and Feedback
Sport, Culture and Society
The Emergence of Modern Sport
Ethics, Deviance and Doping
Social Differentiation in Sport
Sport and the Mass Media
Commercialisation and Globalisation
Fatigue and Recovery
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Components 1 and 2
What Fatigue and Recovery covers
Fatigue and Recovery is examined in both papers, since Component 1 and Component 2 can each examine any of the content. It covers fuel depletion, dehydration and fatigue, lactate accumulation, OBLA and DOMS, oxygen deficit and the stages of EPOC and lactate removal and recovery aids.
Where it is assessed
Components 1 and 2
Either 2 hour written paper, each worth 35% of the A level, can examine this.
Check the Eduqas specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Fuel depletion, dehydration and fatigueFatigue from phosphocreatine and glycogen depletion, hitting the wall and running on fat, sweating and the blood, temperature control, the fluid loss that impairs performance with a worked example, electrolytes, decision-making, and the triathlete.Open →
- Lactate accumulation, OBLA and DOMSLactic acid and lactate, why lactate accumulates, OBLA and resting lactate, the incremental treadmill test, endurance training and OBLA, comparing two athletes, field lactate testing, and DOMS, its causes and prevention.Open →
- Oxygen deficit and the stages of EPOCOxygen deficit and oxygen debt, EPOC and why it exceeds the deficit, the 400 m and the jog, the alactic stage and phosphocreatine restoration, the tennis player's 25 seconds, myoglobin re-saturation and the lactacid stage.Open →
- Lactate removal and recovery aidsActive cool-downs and the best intensity, the fate of lactic acid and the Cori cycle, ice baths and their drawbacks, compression clothing, the two-hour recovery window, supplements, massage and combining recovery methods.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why does a sprinter slow near the finish, and why does glycogen depletion cause fatigue late in a marathon?
Key term
What happens to the lactic acid produced during exercise?
Key term
How does a build-up of lactic acid cause fatigue?
Key term
What is fatigue in a sporting context?
Key term
What is the difference between lactic acid and lactate?
Key term
What is oxygen deficit?
Key term
How does an active cool-down speed the removal of lactic acid?
Key term
How does running out of phosphocreatine cause fatigue in a 100 m sprint?
Key term
Why does lactic acid accumulate when exercise becomes intense?
Key term
Why does an oxygen deficit occur even at the start of a gentle jog?
Key term
How does blood lactate fall after hard exercise with an active recovery compared with a passive one?
Take Fatigue and Recovery further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Oxygen deficit vs EPOC
Oxygen deficit: a shortfall in aerobic supply as work begins, met anaerobically. EPOC: extra aerobic intake during recovery that returns the body to rest.
Alactic stage vs Lactacid stage
Alactic stage: the fast recovery phase restoring phosphocreatine and reloading myoglobin. Lactacid stage: the slow recovery phase removing lactate and rebuilding glycogen.
OBLA vs DOMS
OBLA: the point where blood lactate starts to rise sharply. DOMS: muscle pain and stiffness peaking a day or more after exercise.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is fatigue in a sporting context?
Model answer
Fatigue is a decline in the ability to keep producing force or power. Performance falls as a result.
- 2
How does running out of phosphocreatine cause fatigue in a 100 m sprint?
Model answer
Phosphocreatine stores last only about 8 to 10 seconds of maximal effort. ATP then cannot be resynthesised fast enough, so the sprinter slows near the finish.
- 3
Why does glycogen depletion cause fatigue late in a marathon?
Model answer
Muscle and liver glycogen stores are limited and fall steadily during a long race. Fat becomes the main fuel, and fat cannot supply energy quickly enough to hold race pace.
- 4
What is meant by hitting the wall in endurance sport?
Model answer
The wall is the sudden, severe fatigue felt when muscle glycogen runs out. A marathon runner who hits it is forced to slow down sharply.
- 5
Why can a performer keep going after glycogen runs out, but only at a lower intensity?
Model answer
Fat can still be broken down aerobically once glycogen is gone. Fat needs more oxygen per unit of energy, so only a slower pace can be supplied.
- 6
How does heavy sweating affect the blood during exercise?
Model answer
Sweat loss reduces the volume of blood plasma. The blood becomes more viscous, so it flows less easily to the working muscles.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Fatigue and Recovery revision questions
- What does Fatigue and Recovery cover in Eduqas A-Level Physical Education?
- 4 subtopics: fuel depletion, dehydration and fatigue, lactate accumulation, obla and doms, oxygen deficit and the stages of epoc and lactate removal and recovery aids. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Fatigue and Recovery organised?
- By the Eduqas A550QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Fatigue and Recovery, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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