Why does bone density matter for older performers?

Bone density falls naturally with age. Regular weight-bearing training slows the loss and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

How does regular exercise affect articular cartilage?

Regular exercise thickens articular cartilage. Thicker cartilage absorbs shock better and protects the ends of the bones.

How does mobility training affect ligaments?

Mobility training makes ligaments stronger and more pliable. Joints become more stable while keeping a good range of movement.

How do tendons adapt to resistance training?

Resistance training thickens tendons and increases their tensile strength. Thicker tendons transmit greater force from muscle to bone with less risk of injury.

What is muscular hypertrophy?

Muscular hypertrophy is an increase in the cross-sectional area of a muscle. Hypertrophy results from growth in the size of individual muscle fibres.

WJEC A-Level Physical Education 601-8485-1

Performance Analysis and Fitness Testing

Topic overview The coaching process and approaches to performance analysis Video, notational and time-motion analysis Laboratory and field-based fitness testing Validity, reliability and interpreting test results

Levers and Movement Analysis

Topic overview The three orders of lever in the body Mechanical advantage and lever length Planes and axes of rotation Joint movement patterns in sporting actions

Joints and the Musculo-Skeletal System

Topic overview The skeleton, bone types and connective tissue Joint classification and types of synovial joint Major skeletal muscles and their actions Muscle fibre types, antagonistic action and contractions

Components of Fitness and Methods of Training

Topic overview Health-related and skill-related components of fitness Weight training, plyometrics and flexibility training Continuous, fartlek, interval and circuit training Altitude training and training in hot and cold climates Periodisation and SMART goal setting

Energy Systems and Principles of Training

Topic overview ATP and the ATP-PC system Anaerobic glycolysis and the aerobic system The energy continuum, thresholds and VO₂ max Applying the principles of training

Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Warm-up and cool-down Causes of fatigue, OBLA and DOMS EPOC and its alactic and lactacid components The fate of lactic acid and speeding up recovery Rehabilitation of minor injuries

Diet, Nutrition and Hydration

Topic overview A balanced diet and energy balance Carbohydrates, fats, proteins and the glycaemic index Diets for different sports and pre-competition meals Hydration and sports drinks

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

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 and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Achievement motivation: need to achieve and need to avoid failure Competitiveness and developing achievement motivation in young performers Self-efficacy and its sources

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, Guidance and Feedback

Topic overview Types of transfer Methods of practice Methods of guidance Types and uses of feedback

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

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

Short-Term Responses to Exercise

Topic overview The heart as a dual-action pump and its control Cardiac dynamics, the cardiac cycle and the cardiac response Blood vessels, blood pressure and the vascular shunt Respiratory response to exercise intensity Neuromuscular responses, steady state and VO₂max

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

Topic overview Musculo-skeletal adaptations to training Cardio-respiratory adaptations to training Interpreting data on long-term adaptations

Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements

Topic overview Glycogen loading: depletion, repletion and tapering Protein supplements: whey and casein Creatine, caffeine and the misuse of supplements

Biomechanical Principles

Topic overview Newton's laws of motion in sport Momentum, impact and impulse Stability, equilibrium and friction

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

Attitudes

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

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

Information Processing and Memory

Topic overview Welford's and Whiting's information processing models 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

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

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

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise

3 subtopics
9 things to know
A2 Unit 3

What Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise covers

Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise is examined in A2 Unit 3, Evaluating physical education. It covers musculo-skeletal adaptations to training, Cardio-respiratory adaptations to training and Interpreting data on long-term adaptations.

Where it is assessed

A2 Unit 3

Evaluating physical education, a 2 hour paper worth 36% of the A level.

Check the WJEC 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

Which training enlarges fast-twitch fibres, and how can training shift fibre types?

Key term

What happens to adaptations when training stops, and how do they help a hockey player?

Key term

How do ligaments and tendons adapt to training?

Key term

What is bradycardia?

Key term

What is cardiac hypertrophy?

Key term

A graph shows heart rate at a fixed submaximal workload before and after a 12-week aerobic programme, with the second line lower. Explain the difference.

Key term

How does training affect bone density?

Key term

Why does cardiac hypertrophy lead to bradycardia?

Numbers

A runner's VO₂max rises from 48 to 55 ml/kg/min after training. Calculate the percentage increase.

Take Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Cardiac hypertrophy vs Bradycardia
Cardiac hypertrophy: enlargement and thickening of the heart muscle. Bradycardia: a resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute.
Muscular hypertrophy vs Capillarisation
Muscular hypertrophy: growth in the cross-sectional area of individual fibres. Capillarisation: an increase in the number of tiny blood vessels supplying working fibres.
Vital capacity vs Residual volume
Vital capacity: the most air that can be forcibly exhaled after the deepest breath in. Residual volume: the air left in the lungs after the most forceful breath out.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
How does training affect bone density?
Model answer
Weight-bearing and resistance exercise increase the deposit of calcium in bone. Denser bones are stronger and less likely to fracture.
2
Why does bone density matter for older performers?
Model answer
Bone density falls naturally with age. Regular weight-bearing training slows the loss and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
3
How does regular exercise affect articular cartilage?
Model answer
Regular exercise thickens articular cartilage. Thicker cartilage absorbs shock better and protects the ends of the bones.
4
How does mobility training affect ligaments?
Model answer
Mobility training makes ligaments stronger and more pliable. Joints become more stable while keeping a good range of movement.
5
How do tendons adapt to resistance training?
Model answer
Resistance training thickens tendons and increases their tensile strength. Thicker tendons transmit greater force from muscle to bone with less risk of injury.
6
What is muscular hypertrophy?
Model answer
Muscular hypertrophy is an increase in the cross-sectional area of a muscle. Hypertrophy results from growth in the size of individual muscle fibres.

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Performance Analysis and Fitness Testing

Levers and Movement Analysis

Joints and the Musculo-Skeletal System

Components of Fitness and Methods of Training

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Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise revision questions

What does Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise cover in WJEC A-Level Physical Education?: 3 subtopics: musculo-skeletal adaptations to training, cardio-respiratory adaptations to training and interpreting data on long-term adaptations. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise organised?: By the WJEC 601-8485-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

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