Define periodisation.

Periodisation is dividing a training year into periods, each with a specific aim. The plan builds towards peak performance at the right time.

Why do elite coaches periodise training?

Periodisation ensures the performer peaks for major competitions. Periodisation also structures progression and builds in recovery to prevent overtraining.

Define the term macrocycle.

A macrocycle is the long-term training period aimed at a major goal. A macrocycle usually lasts a year, and for an Olympic athlete it may span four years.

Which phases make up a macrocycle?

A macrocycle contains a preparatory phase, a competitive phase and a transition phase. The phases run in that order.

A mesocycle is a block of training lasting several weeks with one main focus. A six-week block to build maximum strength is an example.

Give an example of how a footballer's pre-season might be divided into mesocycles.

An early mesocycle might build aerobic fitness and general strength. A later mesocycle might focus on speed, power and match-specific fitness.

OCR A-Level Physical Education H555

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Topic overview Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and muscles Hip, knee and ankle joints and muscles Planes of movement, muscle roles and contractions Analysing movement in sporting actions Motor units and muscle fibre types

The Cardiovascular System

Topic overview Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest The cardiac cycle and conduction system Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery The vascular shunt mechanism Venous return and heart rate regulation

The Respiratory System

Topic overview Breathing frequency, tidal volume and minute ventilation Mechanics of breathing at rest and in exercise Regulation of breathing Gas exchange at the alveoli and the muscles

Energy for Exercise

Topic overview ATP and coupled reactions The ATP-PC system The glycolytic system The aerobic system The energy continuum and intermittent exercise EPOC and the recovery process

Environmental Effects on Body Systems

Topic overview Altitude and oxygen delivery Acclimatisation and timing arrival at altitude Exercise in the heat and cardiovascular drift

Diet, Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids

Topic overview Components of a balanced diet Energy balance, meals and hydration Anabolic steroids, EPO and HGH Blood doping, intermittent hypoxic training and cooling aids Carbohydrate loading and supplements

Aerobic Training

Topic overview VO₂max and the factors that affect it Testing aerobic capacity Continuous training, HIIT and target heart rates Adaptations to aerobic training

Strength and Flexibility Training

Topic overview Types of strength and strength testing Strength training methods Adaptations to strength training Types of flexibility and flexibility testing Flexibility training methods and adaptations

Periodisation of Training

Topic overview Macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles Training phases and tapering Planning a personal health and fitness programme

Training and Lifestyle Diseases

Topic overview Atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease Heart attack and stroke Asthma and COPD

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Acute and chronic injuries Risk factors, warm-up and cool-down SALTAPS, PRICE and concussion Fractures, joint injuries and muscle damage Treatments for sporting injuries

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws and force calculations Forces and free body diagrams Centre of mass and stability Levers and mechanical advantage Limb kinematics, force plates and wind tunnels

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Linear motion, distance and displacement Speed, velocity and acceleration Graphs of linear motion Angular motion and the axes of rotation Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Fluid Mechanics and Projectile Motion

Topic overview Air resistance and drag Factors affecting projectile distance Forces on a projectile and flight paths Bernoulli's principle and lift Spin and the Magnus effect

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer

Topic overview Classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing Classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation Whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice Massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice Transfer of learning between skills

Theories and Stages of Learning

Topic overview Operant conditioning Cognitive theory and insight learning Bandura's observational learning Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Guidance and Feedback

Topic overview Verbal and visual guidance Manual and mechanical guidance Intrinsic, extrinsic, positive and negative feedback Knowledge of performance and knowledge of results

Memory Models

Topic overview Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model Selective attention Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing

Personality and Attitudes

Topic overview Trait theory of personality Social learning and interactionist perspectives Attitudes and the triadic model Persuasive communication and cognitive dissonance

Motivation and Arousal

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Rewards and motivation in coaching Arousal and drive theory Inverted-U and catastrophe theories

Anxiety

Topic overview State and trait anxiety Somatic and cognitive anxiety The zone of optimal functioning

Aggression

Topic overview Aggression and assertion Instinct and social learning theories of aggression Frustration-aggression and aggressive cue hypotheses

Social Facilitation and Group Dynamics

Topic overview Social facilitation and inhibition Evaluation apprehension and reducing social inhibition Groups and Tuckman's stages of development Steiner's model, the Ringelmann effect and social loafing

Goal Setting

Topic overview Outcome, performance and process goals How goal setting improves performance The SMART principle

Attribution

Topic overview Weiner's model: locus of causality and stability Controllability, self-serving bias and attribution retraining Learned helplessness and mastery orientation

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Sports confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem Vealey's model of sports confidence Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Building confidence in performers

Leadership

Topic overview Effective, emergent and prescribed leaders Autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire styles Trait, social learning and interactionist theories of leadership Chelladurai's multi-dimensional model

Stress Management

Topic overview Stress and stressors in sport Self-talk, thought stopping and rational thinking Mental rehearsal, imagery, goal setting and mindfulness Relaxation, biofeedback, centring and breathing control

Sport in Pre-Industrial and Industrial Britain

Topic overview Popular recreation in pre-industrial Britain Urbanisation, rational recreation and the railways Amateurism and professionalism in Victorian sport Public schools and the cult of athleticism

Sport in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Topic overview Amateurism and professionalism in the 20th century Social change and sport in 20th-century Britain Class, gender and access in 21st-century sport The globalisation of sport

The Olympic Games and Global Sporting Events

Topic overview Coubertin and the aims of the modern Olympics Berlin 1936 and Mexico City 1968 Munich 1972 and the Cold War boycotts Hosting a global sporting event

Drugs in Sport

Topic overview Legal supplements and illegal doping Why elite performers dope Consequences of doping for society, sport and performers Strategies against doping

Violence and Gambling in Sport

Topic overview Causes of player and spectator violence Implications of violence in sport Preventing violence among players and spectators Match fixing, bribery and illegal betting

Commercialisation and the Media

Topic overview What drives the commercialisation of sport Impacts of commercialisation Television, radio, press and internet coverage Positive and negative effects of the media Sport as a commodity and the golden triangle

Routes to Sporting Excellence

Topic overview From talent identification to elite performance Schools, clubs and universities in elite success UK Sport and the national institutes Drop-out from elite programmes

Modern Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology and elite performance Technology and general participation Technology and fair outcomes Technology and entertainment

Periodisation of Training

3 subtopics
9 things to know
Component 01

What Periodisation of Training covers

Periodisation of Training is examined in Component 01, Physiological factors affecting performance. It covers Macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles, training phases and tapering and planning a personal health and fitness programme.

Where it is assessed

Component 01

Physiological factors affecting performance, a 2 hour paper worth 30% of the A Level.

Check the OCR specification ↗

The 3 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is periodisation, and why do elite coaches use it?

Key term

What is a mesocycle, and how might a footballer's pre-season be divided into them?

Key term

What are a microcycle and a training unit?

Key term

What is the aim of the preparatory phase?

Key term

What physical activity do the UK Chief Medical Officers' 2019 guidelines recommend for adults?

Key term

How is the preparatory phase often divided?

Key term

What do the UK Chief Medical Officers' 2019 guidelines recommend for children and young people?

Key term

How do training volume and intensity change during the preparatory phase?

Key term

Why should a person complete a PAR-Q before starting a new programme?

Take Periodisation of Training further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Macrocycle vs Mesocycle
Macrocycle: the long-term period, often a year, building to a main goal. Mesocycle: a block of several weeks with one main focus.
Microcycle vs Training unit
Microcycle: a repeating pattern of sessions, usually lasting one week. Training unit: a single session with its own specific aim.
Preparatory phase vs Transition phase
Preparatory phase: the off-season period of building general and then specific fitness. Transition phase: the rest and active recovery period after the season ends.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Define periodisation.
Model answer
Periodisation is dividing a training year into periods, each with a specific aim. The plan builds towards peak performance at the right time.
2
Why do elite coaches periodise training?
Model answer
Periodisation ensures the performer peaks for major competitions. Periodisation also structures progression and builds in recovery to prevent overtraining.
3
Define the term macrocycle.
Model answer
A macrocycle is the long-term training period aimed at a major goal. A macrocycle usually lasts a year, and for an Olympic athlete it may span four years.
4
Which phases make up a macrocycle?
Model answer
A macrocycle contains a preparatory phase, a competitive phase and a transition phase. The phases run in that order.
5
What is a mesocycle?
Model answer
A mesocycle is a block of training lasting several weeks with one main focus. A six-week block to build maximum strength is an example.
6
Give an example of how a footballer's pre-season might be divided into mesocycles.
Model answer
An early mesocycle might build aerobic fitness and general strength. A later mesocycle might focus on speed, power and match-specific fitness.

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Skeletal and Muscular Systems

The Cardiovascular System

The Respiratory System

Energy for Exercise

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ADoping can damage health and add to healthcare costs.

BDoping can also encourage drug use in amateur and gym sport.

CA sport linked to doping is seen as dishonest.

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Brain Breaks between sessions

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