What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload is a gradual increase in training load beyond what the body is used to. Adaptations continue only while the demand keeps rising.

Why should overload be increased gradually rather than suddenly?

The body needs time to adapt to each new load. Sudden large increases risk injury, illness and overtraining.

What is reversibility?

Reversibility is the loss of adaptations when training stops or is reduced. Aerobic adaptations are generally lost faster than strength.

How can an injured footballer limit the effects of reversibility?

The footballer can keep training the uninjured parts of the body, for example with upper-body circuits. Aqua jogging can maintain aerobic fitness without loading an injured leg.

What is variance in training?

Variance is regularly changing the methods, exercises and settings of training. Variety prevents boredom and reduces the risk of overuse injury.

Eduqas A-Level Physical Education A550QS

Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle

Topic overview Health, fitness and the UK activity guidelines Physical, psychological and social benefits of exercise Sedentary lifestyles and the risks to health

Short-Term Responses to Exercise

Topic overview The heart as a dual-action pump and the cardiac cycle Stroke volume, heart rate and cardiac output during exercise Nervous and hormonal control of heart rate Blood vessels, blood pressure and the vascular shunt Ventilation, gas exchange and neuromuscular responses

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

Topic overview Bone, connective tissue and muscle adaptations Bradycardia, cardiac hypertrophy and ejection fraction Lung volumes, pulmonary diffusion and aerobic capacity

Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness

Topic overview Health-related and skill-related fitness components Field test protocols for each component Laboratory tests and maximal versus sub-maximal testing Validity, reliability and interpreting results

Training Methods, Principles and Periodisation

Topic overview Specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variance and FITT Continuous, fartlek, interval and high intensity training Weight, plyometric, circuit and flexibility training Altitude training and training in hot and cold climates Training zones, heart rate monitoring and periodisation

Energy Systems

Topic overview ATP, the ATP-PC system and the lactic acid system Aerobic energy production, fuels and maximal oxygen uptake The energy continuum, thresholds and training design

Fatigue and Recovery

Topic overview Fuel depletion, dehydration and fatigue Lactate accumulation, OBLA and DOMS Oxygen deficit and the stages of EPOC Lactate removal and recovery aids

Diet, Nutrition and Supplements

Topic overview Macronutrients and a balanced diet Energy balance, glycaemic index and fuel use Diets for different sports and carbohydrate loading Hydration strategies and sports drinks Protein, creatine and caffeine supplements

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Warm-up and cool-down physiology Risk assessment and the PAR-Q Causes and predictors of injury PRICE and rehabilitation methods

Joints and the Musculo-Skeletal System

Topic overview Joint classification and synovial joint types The skeleton, bone types and connective tissue Major skeletal muscles in sporting actions Muscle fibre types, muscle roles and contractions

Planes, Axes and Movement Patterns

Topic overview The sagittal, frontal and transverse planes Axes of rotation in sporting movements Joint movement terms in sporting actions

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws of motion in sport Momentum, impulse and force–time graphs Stability, centre of mass and equilibrium Lever systems and mechanical advantage

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Distance, displacement, speed and velocity Acceleration and graphs of motion Angular displacement, velocity and acceleration Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics

Topic overview Factors affecting the flight of a projectile Lift forces and the Bernoulli principle Spin and the Magnus effect Drag, streamlining and laminar flow

Performance Analysis

Topic overview The coaching process and approaches to analysis Video analysis Notational analysis, time-motion analysis and GPS

Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology for the performer Technology for officials Technology for spectators Technological doping and the level playing field

Personality

Topic overview Trait, social learning and interactionist theories Extroverts, introverts and Type A and Type B personalities Personality profiling and the profile of mood states

Attitudes

Topic overview Attitudes, prejudice and stereotyping The triadic model of attitudes Changing attitudes through cognitive dissonance and persuasion

Goal Setting

Topic overview Why performers set goals Outcome, performance and process goals SMART goals and short, medium and long-term targets

Stress, Arousal and Anxiety

Topic overview Stress, arousal and anxiety defined Drive, inverted-U and catastrophe theories The zone of optimal functioning and peak flow Measuring stress, arousal and anxiety Controlling stress, arousal and anxiety

Motivation

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Achievement motivation: need to achieve and need to avoid failure Competitiveness and developing achievement motivation in young performers

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression, assertion and types of aggression Theories of aggression Causes and control of aggression

Social Facilitation

Topic overview Audiences, co-actors and performance Theories of social facilitation Home field advantage and reducing social inhibition

Group Dynamics and Leadership

Topic overview The 6 Is and the formation of groups Task and social cohesion Group productivity, social loafing and the Ringelmann effect Leadership theories and styles Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model and the Leadership Scale for Sports

Attribution Theory

Topic overview Weiner's model of attribution Errors in attribution Learned helplessness and attribution retraining

Self-Efficacy and Confidence

Topic overview Self-efficacy, self-confidence and self-esteem Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Developing self-efficacy

Skill, Ability and Skill Classification

Topic overview Skill, ability, learning and performance Gross motor and psychomotor abilities Classifying skills on continua

Learning Curves, Theories and Stages

Topic overview Learning curves and plateaus Observational learning Reinforcement and drive reduction theory Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Transfer, Practice and Guidance

Topic overview Types of transfer Methods of practice Methods of guidance

Information Processing, Memory and Feedback

Topic overview Information processing models and feedback Memory stores and selective attention Strategies for improving memory Reaction time, response time and Hick's law The psychological refractory period, anticipation and motor programmes

Sport, Culture and Society

Topic overview Culture, society and social institutions Sport as social control and socialisation Sport, national identity and government

The Emergence of Modern Sport

Topic overview Public schools and the three stages of athleticism Universities, codification and the spread of games From amateurism to professionalism and commercialisation Olympism, shamateurism and sport as a political tool

Ethics, Deviance and Doping

Topic overview Fair play, sportsmanship and gamesmanship Deviance, Coakley's sports ethic and violence Reasons for doping and its ethics WADA, drug testing and biological passports

Social Differentiation in Sport

Topic overview Social stratification and class in sport Prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination Barriers to participation for disadvantaged groups Strategies to widen participation

Sport and the Mass Media

Topic overview Functions and forms of the media in sport The symbiotic relationship and the golden triangle Media stereotypes and the dramatisation of sport

Commercialisation and Globalisation

Topic overview Sport as a commodity and consumerism Sponsorship, marketing and the sporting goods market Americanisation and globalisation theory Globalisation, financial gain and global migration

Mass Participation and Excellence

Topic overview Mass participation versus excellence Participation, lifestyle and movement between levels Talent identification and the elite pathway Sport organisations and recreational pathways

Training Methods, Principles and Periodisation

Specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, variance and FITT

3 things to know
Components 1 and 2

Overview

Specificity, progressive overload, reversibility for an injured footballer, variance for an elite swimmer, the FITT principles for a beginner jogger, intensity as a percentage of maximum, precise work and recovery times, and overload that is too sudden.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What do the principles of specificity and progressive overload require of a training programme?

Key term

Why must overload rise gradually, and what happens to fitness when training stops?

Key term

What is the principle of specificity?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the principle of specificity?
Model answer
Specificity means training must match the demands of the activity, including its movements, muscles and energy systems. A sprinter should therefore train with short, maximal efforts.
2
What is progressive overload?
Model answer
Progressive overload is a gradual increase in training load beyond what the body is used to. Adaptations continue only while the demand keeps rising.
3
Why should overload be increased gradually rather than suddenly?
Model answer
The body needs time to adapt to each new load. Sudden large increases risk injury, illness and overtraining.
4
What is reversibility?
Model answer
Reversibility is the loss of adaptations when training stops or is reduced. Aerobic adaptations are generally lost faster than strength.
5
How can an injured footballer limit the effects of reversibility?
Model answer
The footballer can keep training the uninjured parts of the body, for example with upper-body circuits. Aqua jogging can maintain aerobic fitness without loading an injured leg.
6
What is variance in training?
Model answer
Variance is regularly changing the methods, exercises and settings of training. Variety prevents boredom and reduces the risk of overuse injury.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle

Short-Term Responses to Exercise

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Leadership is seen as .

innatelearnedtaught

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA larger base of support makes a performer more stable.

BA gymnast widens the feet on landing to avoid stepping.

CA lower centre of mass makes a performer more stable.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Flexion means a decrease in the angle at a joint.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Training Methods, Principles and Periodisation, 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.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.