Standard Grade P.E

ENDURANCE

Q.What is endurance?

A. Having endurance enables you to repeatedly perform a skill, or take part in an activity for a long time.

There are two kinds of endurance:

1. Cardio-respiratory endurance - required in whole body activities, which increase the demands on the heart and lungs. E.g, marathon running, football and hockey.

2.Muscular endurance - where a muscle or group of muscles are required to work continuously. E.g, leg muscles in cycling.

A high level of Cardio-Respiratory Endurance (CRE)

allows:

• You to work for a longer period of time before becoming tired.

• You to maintain a high work level with less effort.• A quicker recovery after taking part in activity.• Longer levels of concentration = fewer mistakes

Q. How can Cardio-respiratory endurance be improved?

A. Through TrainingFirstly: Decide what level of fitness is requiredThen:Find out your ‘training zone’

220 (The body’s max pulse/min) - your age.Example - 220 - 14 = 206 is MHR

For aerobic training, work for at least 20mins, 3 times per week,at between 60%-85% of your maximum heart rate.

Types or training:

• ‘continuous running’- gradually increasing the distance or speed.

• ‘varied pace running’(‘Fartlek’) - steady running including some sprints.

• ‘interval running’ - running in a set time, over a set distance, with recovery in between.

What if you do not have enough energy to keep working?

If the work level is too demanding, and you cannot supply the working muscles with enough oxygen, then you are working ‘anaerobically’, (without oxygen). This is known as ‘oxygen debt’.

Working anaerobically can allow lactic acid to build up in the muscles, causing pain and stiffness.

Q. How do you improve muscular endurance?A. You can use circuit trainingCircuits can be based on:

Time - increasing the time spent at each station, or decreasing the rest time.

Or

Number - Using a programme based on the maximum number of repetitions you can

perform at each station

N.B Remember to re-test and increase your workload

Effects Of Training

• More effective lungs (Vital capacity)

• More oxygen reaches the working muscles (Aerobic threshold)

• Increase in the size of the heart, allowing more blood to be pumped to the working muscles (Stroke volume)

Here are some questions to try:

Q. Which two statements from below about muscular endurance are correct?

A)Footballers need muscular endurance to help them shoot.

B)Rowers need muscular endurance in their arms.

C)Muscular endurance in the legs will allow a cyclist to work longer.

ANSWER: B and C

Q. Which of the following statements about the effects of exercise are true?

A)The size of the heart increases.

B)The lungs become smaller.

C)The lungs become more efficient and can take in more oxygen.

D)Your maximum heart rate increases.

ANSWER: A and C