Adaptations to Training | Edexcel A-Level Physical Education (9PE0)

Adaptations to Training

  • 44 questions
  • 3 subtopics
  • Component 1: scientific principles of physical education
  • Component 1

Adaptations to Training is examined in Component 1, Scientific principles of physical education.

It covers heart and lung adaptations to training, muscle and bone adaptations to training and nervous system and muscle fibre adaptations.

Sample questions from Adaptations to Training

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

  1. Heart and lung adaptations to training

    What happens to maximum heart rate and maximum cardiac output with endurance training?

    Show the answer
    Maximum heart rate stays the same, because it depends on age. Maximum cardiac output rises, because stroke volume at maximal effort is larger.
  2. Heart and lung adaptations to training

    Describe how the respiratory muscles adapt to training.

    Show the answer
    The diaphragm and intercostal muscles become stronger and more resistant to fatigue. The trained athlete can breathe more deeply and sustain a higher ventilation.
  3. Muscle and bone adaptations to training

    How do muscle enzymes adapt to aerobic and to anaerobic training?

    Show the answer
    Aerobic training raises the activity of the aerobic enzymes in the mitochondria. Anaerobic training raises enzymes such as creatine kinase and phosphofructokinase.
  4. Muscle and bone adaptations to training

    State Wolff's law.

    Show the answer
    Wolff's law states that bone adapts to the loads placed on it. Bone becomes stronger where stress is greatest and weaker where it is absent.
  5. Nervous system and muscle fibre adaptations

    What is autogenic inhibition, and how does training reduce it?

    Show the answer
    Autogenic inhibition is a reflex relaxation of a muscle triggered by Golgi tendon organs when tension is very high. Strength training dampens the reflex, so more force can be produced.
  6. Nervous system and muscle fibre adaptations

    How do adaptations to slow twitch and type IIa fibres help a 10,000 m runner hold pace late in a race?

    Show the answer
    Trained slow twitch and type IIa fibres sustain the pace aerobically for longer. Fast glycolytic motor units are called on later, leaving them fresh for the finish.

The 3 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic What it covers Questions
Heart and lung adaptations to training Cardiac hypertrophy after endurance and strength training, stroke volume and resting heart rate, maximal cardiac output, capillary density, blood volume, blood pressure, respiratory muscles, lung volumes, VO₂ max and the a-vO₂ difference. 15
Muscle and bone adaptations to training Muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia, mitochondria and myoglobin, fuel stores and enzymes, buffering capacity, tendons and ligaments, bone and osteoblasts, Wolff's law, articular cartilage, flexibility training, and the tennis player's arm. 15
Nervous system and muscle fibre adaptations Early neural strength gains, motor unit recruitment, impulse frequency and synchronisation, autogenic inhibition, agonist and antagonist coordination, plyometric adaptations, fibre type changes, type IIa fibres, balance training and children's strength. 14
Adaptations to Training is 44 of the 2,108 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

  1. Step 1 · Closed book

    Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.

  2. Step 2 · Open book

    Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.

  3. Step 3 · Closed book again

    Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.

Nearby topics

All 38 topics Guide overview

Edexcel A-Level Physical Education Active Recall Guide

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