WHAT:
Overweight children seems to be an increasing problem with today's society. It has been shown that physical activity has been linked to nearly all major health problems; physical and mental disorders (Classen & Hokayem, 2005). More so, physically activity patterns of childhood and adolescence tends to be the beginning of a lifetime pattern of physical activity participation in individuals when they reach adulthood (Gill & Williams, 2008). Also, it is indicated that activity declines more so in a person's adolescent stage of life, particularly in females (Gill & Williams, 2008).
The facilitation on an after-school program to help promote and support healthy physical activity at a young age, may contribute to these children's lifetime patterns of physical activity as they mature into and beyond their adolescent stage of life. Being an overweight child can be mentally and socially difficult. Children may experience times where they are put in an uncomfortable situation where physical activity is the main focus, and struggle to partake because of their health status (Powell & Pratt, 1996). Children are not only pressured and feel insecure due to other children, but also from today's media (Classen & Hokayem, 2005). Developing an after-school program will allow these kids to become comfortable performing physical activity in a supportive and positive environment, which may be a helpful starter to a pattern of physical activity throughout their lifetime. It starts at an early age, and getting off to a positive start may limit health risks further down the road.
SO WHAT:
The health belief model has a considerable support in relation to health behaviors and medical compliance but limited application to exercise and physical activity. Health belief model includes four components: perceived susceptibility for a particular health threat, perceived severity, perceived benefits of taking action, and perceived barriers/cost of action (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Decision theory entails the perception and evaluation of relative costs and benefits (Gill & Williams, 2008). Meaning, a person may generate a list of short- and long-term consequences of an exercise program, then weigh them to determine whether the pros outweigh the cons, in their mind.
Social cognitive theories takes into consideration what affect self-efficacy has on a person's exercise behavior. These theories are good predictors of physical activity in various populations, including obese people and people with physical disabilities.
Behavioral approaches to exercise adherence has two stages: acquisition of the exercise habit (early stage) and exercise maintenance (later stage). As part of the early stage, shaping, reinforcement control, and stimulus control are important strategies to considered. Shaping is important for establishing long-term exercise habits. Reinforcement control uses social support and praise during sessions to motivate. Stimulus control uses cues in acquiring the exercise habit (Gill & Williams, 2008).
Relapse preventions is an important model to consider. It is often linked to the dropping out of exercise programs. Participants may first lapse, meaning to "slip" missing one workout or eating something not allowed by a diet. Next they may experience a relapse, which is a string of lapses occurring back to back or over a short period of time. Lastly a participant may experience a collapse, where they give up completely or return to past behaviors (Gill & Williams, 2008).
NOW WHAT:
Each individual student will sit down with me and discuss goals and desires that they wish/want to accomplish through physical activity. I will assist them in producing feasible/reachable goals that will keep the students interested and motivated to continue to participate and return to the after-school program. Also, during the meeting, I will have them, to the best of their knowledge, make a list of short- and long-term consequences of being physically active. This will help/assist them in developing and understanding of why being physically active isn't only beneficial presently but also as they mature throughout their adolescent and adult years. By allowing them to realize that starting positive habits and patterns now, may benefit them in the future and possibly limiting health risks as well.
During their first stage of the behavioral approach, I will start of with basic exercises to develop an interest and establish a long-term exercise habit. I will gradually progress them through exercises, not pushing them over board, but yet not pushing them at all. I would start off mainly using body weight exercises and making connections to interests that each individual student has to create a positive environment. By using body weight exercise at the start of the program, the student will become and develop awareness of how there body moves in free space, also to develop a base strength where they are able to control and move their own body weight. Each program for the students will have a variety of exercises from day to day to keep their interest and motivation toward the exercises/workouts high and positive. I will allow the students to decide between a 3-days per week or a 5-days per week program, depending on their schedules. Whether they choose the 3 or 5-day program, each student will still receive the same amount of physical activity per week, 2.5-3 hours.
Lastly, I will give the students an information packet on the benefits of participating in physical activity of at least 30 minute a day, and why it's important to develop an interest and positive habit of exercising at such a young age, as well as, the possible risks of skipping a workout for the wrong reasons. I would like the parents to go over the packets with their children to help them understand the benefits and also the parents will develop an understanding of why physical activity may be a positive motivator for other lifestyle patterns.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, today's youth have developed more health problems and a greater number of the youth have developed issues with obesity. It is important to develop a positive habit of exercise at a young age in hope of these habits causing a waterfall effect on these children's physical activity patterns throughout their developmental stages of life. The sooner we are able to develop these positive exercise habits, the sooner today and future generations obesity rates can start to decline. If we are able to get a jump start on this growing problem, the better off the future may be by limiting health risks and disease.
REFERENCES:
Classen, T., & Hokayem, C. (2005). Childhood influences on youth obesity. Economics & Human Biology, 3(2), 165-187.
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Powell, K. E., & Pratt, M. (1996). Physical activity and health. BMJ, 313(7050), 126.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
I Want to Go Heavier
WHAT:
As an athlete in the sport of weightlifting, a technical and fundamentally sound sport, I can become very frustrated and poorly motivated some days/sessions. If I have a difficult workout the day before, I seem to allow it to carry over to the next day's session. Anxiety and negative behavior control how I approach each training session. Also, days where I'm sore, tired, fatigued, or have body aches, I tend to think about about how I feel (negatively) throughout the entire day, building up my anxiety which affects my performance in training. Over the last few months I've been dealing with back and knee problems which has effected my training, not only physically, but more so mentally. I'm easily distracted from the task at hand as well as easily become frustrated with my performance.
SO WHAT:
Looking at my situation from a third person view, I can see reasons of why I let this effect my training. According to Gill and Williams (2008), positive and negative reinforcement are key ways of changing behavior by implementing a stimulus, either positive or negative, to get a controlled response to the athlete's behavior (Wiese, Weiss, & Yukelson, 1991). Also, a punishment may be used, in this case decrease behavior strength not increase it (Orlick, 1974). By implementing something negative, behavior can be changed to a more positive response in an effort to eliminate negative behavior (Gill & Williams, 2008). The implementation of a behavior plan may be crucial in an athlete's ability to change behavior and response. Also, the plan assists the athlete to follow through with the plan to meet their goals, depending on the goals set for the individuals problem(s) or struggles. There are seven steps at which need to be considered when developing a behavior plan; (1) Clarify the problem, (2) formulate goals for the consultant, (3) design target behaviors, (4) identify the maintaining conditions of the target behavior, (5) design a treatment plan, (6) implement the plan, and (7) evaluate the success of the plan (Gill & Williams, 2008). Each one of these steps allows the coach, consultant, or supervisor to properly set up a plan of attack to allow the athlete to succeed.
NOW WHAT:
First, I will sit down with my coach and clearly state my problem(s). These need to be specific so that later in the process, specific goals can be constructed. By clearly stating my specific problems, I will be able to understand why these behaviors have developed and my coach will be able to recognize them later in training. Once I have specifically stated my problem, next, I will formulate specific goals. I will personally set these goals, unless my coach believes they are unachievable, then he will step in and assist me in formulated goals that will better benefit me. I would want to set a goal where I'm only allowed to do a certain percentage of my max to better develop my technique. I believe that my technique has diminished due the compensation I've been developing to limit the amount of back pain I experience during a lift. Also, I'll add that once my technique and pain start to better, I would be rewarded with a chance to increase the percentage of my 1RM that I can go for certain lifts. As my technique betters, I will be able to increase the number of sessions per week that I can do a higher percentage, as long as I stay technically sound. I will gradually increase and work my way up in weight, then once again reward myself with a chance to max out. These goals won't be set in stone, I would be able to revamp/reevaluate my goals throughout according to my behavioral response(s). Designing target behaviors in the next step. I would measure my behavior based on my performance by accomplishing a set number of repetitions and sets at the set percentage without technical breakdowns. For example, being able to make 5 sets of 3 80% of my 1RM in snatch and/or clean & jerk with my technique remaining solid. Once my technique starts to breakdown, I get frustrated, which is what we're implementing the plan to cope with this negative behavior. Having these target behaviors actively performed, will allow me to evaluate myself. Being able to identify why I may maintain a negative behavior. The ABC model is a basic way of understanding these behaviors (Gill & Williams, 2008). A stand for the antecedents; why do I mentally breakdown when my technique breakdown. B stands for the behavior itself; becoming unmotivated to train or attempt more weight for a certain set and rep combination. C stands for the consequences of the behavior; missing reps or the feeling of not wanting to train/finish the training session. Next step is to design a treatment plan using reinforcement that has a value to me, whether its objects or in my case the ability to attempt heavier weight more often. Also, it might mean being able to training in a certain area of the room or getting to decide the music selection for a certain day. Implementing the plan on an agreed date, athlete and coach, have decided upon. The treatment plan needs to be monitored continually and adjusted over-time by the coach and myself making sure the goals and activities are being met, if not revised to accomplish them. Lastly, evaluation on our plan needs to be done, whether that's over a couple months or over years. Over-time my coach will be able to taper off following consistent success. We would have follow up meetings to track my progression and success.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, being able to implement a behavior plan can change my response to negative responses associated with poor training sessions, due to technique. Being able to clearly state why I'm struggling and developing these negative responses and then developing techniques and reinforcement plans that can be evaluated over-time can alter my response during training. Positive and negative reinforcement and punishment may be used as a stimulus to develop a controlled response to certain behaviors, positive or negative. Setting goals to motivate an athlete to understand that the behavior is positive or negative keeps the athlete on track to improve and strive for certain reinforcements; objects, verbal complements, or the allowance to specifically do something of value to them.
REFERENCES:
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Orlick, T. D. (1974). Sport participation: A process of shaping behavior. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 16(5), 558-561.
Wiese, D. M., Weiss, M. R., & Yukelson, D. P. (1991). Sport psychology in the training room: A survey of athletic trainers. The Sport Psychologist, 5(1), 15-24.
As an athlete in the sport of weightlifting, a technical and fundamentally sound sport, I can become very frustrated and poorly motivated some days/sessions. If I have a difficult workout the day before, I seem to allow it to carry over to the next day's session. Anxiety and negative behavior control how I approach each training session. Also, days where I'm sore, tired, fatigued, or have body aches, I tend to think about about how I feel (negatively) throughout the entire day, building up my anxiety which affects my performance in training. Over the last few months I've been dealing with back and knee problems which has effected my training, not only physically, but more so mentally. I'm easily distracted from the task at hand as well as easily become frustrated with my performance.
SO WHAT:
Looking at my situation from a third person view, I can see reasons of why I let this effect my training. According to Gill and Williams (2008), positive and negative reinforcement are key ways of changing behavior by implementing a stimulus, either positive or negative, to get a controlled response to the athlete's behavior (Wiese, Weiss, & Yukelson, 1991). Also, a punishment may be used, in this case decrease behavior strength not increase it (Orlick, 1974). By implementing something negative, behavior can be changed to a more positive response in an effort to eliminate negative behavior (Gill & Williams, 2008). The implementation of a behavior plan may be crucial in an athlete's ability to change behavior and response. Also, the plan assists the athlete to follow through with the plan to meet their goals, depending on the goals set for the individuals problem(s) or struggles. There are seven steps at which need to be considered when developing a behavior plan; (1) Clarify the problem, (2) formulate goals for the consultant, (3) design target behaviors, (4) identify the maintaining conditions of the target behavior, (5) design a treatment plan, (6) implement the plan, and (7) evaluate the success of the plan (Gill & Williams, 2008). Each one of these steps allows the coach, consultant, or supervisor to properly set up a plan of attack to allow the athlete to succeed.
NOW WHAT:
First, I will sit down with my coach and clearly state my problem(s). These need to be specific so that later in the process, specific goals can be constructed. By clearly stating my specific problems, I will be able to understand why these behaviors have developed and my coach will be able to recognize them later in training. Once I have specifically stated my problem, next, I will formulate specific goals. I will personally set these goals, unless my coach believes they are unachievable, then he will step in and assist me in formulated goals that will better benefit me. I would want to set a goal where I'm only allowed to do a certain percentage of my max to better develop my technique. I believe that my technique has diminished due the compensation I've been developing to limit the amount of back pain I experience during a lift. Also, I'll add that once my technique and pain start to better, I would be rewarded with a chance to increase the percentage of my 1RM that I can go for certain lifts. As my technique betters, I will be able to increase the number of sessions per week that I can do a higher percentage, as long as I stay technically sound. I will gradually increase and work my way up in weight, then once again reward myself with a chance to max out. These goals won't be set in stone, I would be able to revamp/reevaluate my goals throughout according to my behavioral response(s). Designing target behaviors in the next step. I would measure my behavior based on my performance by accomplishing a set number of repetitions and sets at the set percentage without technical breakdowns. For example, being able to make 5 sets of 3 80% of my 1RM in snatch and/or clean & jerk with my technique remaining solid. Once my technique starts to breakdown, I get frustrated, which is what we're implementing the plan to cope with this negative behavior. Having these target behaviors actively performed, will allow me to evaluate myself. Being able to identify why I may maintain a negative behavior. The ABC model is a basic way of understanding these behaviors (Gill & Williams, 2008). A stand for the antecedents; why do I mentally breakdown when my technique breakdown. B stands for the behavior itself; becoming unmotivated to train or attempt more weight for a certain set and rep combination. C stands for the consequences of the behavior; missing reps or the feeling of not wanting to train/finish the training session. Next step is to design a treatment plan using reinforcement that has a value to me, whether its objects or in my case the ability to attempt heavier weight more often. Also, it might mean being able to training in a certain area of the room or getting to decide the music selection for a certain day. Implementing the plan on an agreed date, athlete and coach, have decided upon. The treatment plan needs to be monitored continually and adjusted over-time by the coach and myself making sure the goals and activities are being met, if not revised to accomplish them. Lastly, evaluation on our plan needs to be done, whether that's over a couple months or over years. Over-time my coach will be able to taper off following consistent success. We would have follow up meetings to track my progression and success.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, being able to implement a behavior plan can change my response to negative responses associated with poor training sessions, due to technique. Being able to clearly state why I'm struggling and developing these negative responses and then developing techniques and reinforcement plans that can be evaluated over-time can alter my response during training. Positive and negative reinforcement and punishment may be used as a stimulus to develop a controlled response to certain behaviors, positive or negative. Setting goals to motivate an athlete to understand that the behavior is positive or negative keeps the athlete on track to improve and strive for certain reinforcements; objects, verbal complements, or the allowance to specifically do something of value to them.
REFERENCES:
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Orlick, T. D. (1974). Sport participation: A process of shaping behavior. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 16(5), 558-561.
Wiese, D. M., Weiss, M. R., & Yukelson, D. P. (1991). Sport psychology in the training room: A survey of athletic trainers. The Sport Psychologist, 5(1), 15-24.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Take a deep breath and relax
WHAT:
A junior tennis player is experiencing emotional ups and downs during competition, and when the competition becomes toughest, late in tournament play, he rarely plays up to his potential. Young players that have promising talent and ability in sport may be receiving added stress from their coach, parents, or themselves (Taylor, 1992). With this added pressure/stress, they have a difficult time focusing on the task/competition at hand. Even though they are physically capable of out playing everyone they face, they allow added stress to effect their emotions. This is usually caused by the lack of the ability and experience to manage and cope with these emotions and stresses (Jones, 2003). Being able to learn to adapt on the fly and cope, will allow this athlete to eventually play at his potential.
SO WHAT:
First off, this athlete, being a junior competitor, more than likely has difficulty coping with stress and emotions while in competition. His lack of knowledge and experience dealing with these issues makes it difficult to let go and move on.
My initial analysis of this athlete is that he's allowing his arousal levels to get too high, which narrows his focus. According to Gill and Williams (2008), when arousal levels increase beyond the optimal level, emotional control is needed. Most strategies for stress management involve relaxation methods. Also, overarousal initially increases either physiological arousal and cognitive worry can quickly create a negative thought-anxiety cycle; worry and increases in arousal create a negative cycle that decreases performance (Gill & Williams, 2008). Mayer and Salovey's model of emotional intelligence includes 4 branches: (1) emotional perceptions and expression, (2) emotional facilitation of thought, (3) emotional understanding, and (4) emotional management. These skills allow a person to benefit from being able to control emotion during specific skills.
Lauer's developed the three Rs; react, relax, and refocus. People who struggle with emotional control first need to react; recognize the negative emotion, feel it, but don't let it control you. Next they need to relax, or calm down; using deep breathing, self-talk, or imagery to respond positively. Lastly, refocus and return to play (Gill & Williams, 2008).
NOW WHAT:
First off I will have a meeting with the athlete, sit down with him and discuss how he feels during competition. I would like to understand how and what he is feeling; physically and emotionally. This will allow me to put a plan of attack together to help this junior tennis player learn to cope and redirect negative emotion and stress towards positive action/performance.
First, I will teach him how to recognize that he is losing control of his emotions. The ability to recognize this is the first step in taking action to overcome and being able to react. I will teach the athlete to acquire feedback from his body, physically and emotionally. This could mean being able to notice muscle tension, fear, sickness, heartbeat, fatigue, etc...
Once he able to notice these "red flags," I will teach him ways of relaxing, the second R. Breathing exercises are the simplest and most effective relaxation techniques, slow, deep breathing (Gill & Williams, 2008). Its an effective way to control respiration rate, heart rate, and body temperature. Some of these physiological responses are more difficult than others to control, but deep breathing can contribute to all. For muscle tension, teaching this athlete to use progressive relaxation to assist in the release of tension is a popular method used by athletes. The progressive tensing and relaxing of tense muscle groups helps release the tension, relaxing the muscle(s) (Gill & Williams, 2008). Meditation and autogenic training are other methods that may be used to to relax, however, they are more difficult to use and learn. Which with a young athlete, deep breathing and progressive relaxation may be easiest to teach and most effective methods to use.
Lastly, teaching the athlete to refocus, after reacting/noticing the stress or loss of control and relaxing, and return to play immediately, and using the redirected control towards positive play. Using a verbal cue, word or phase, that the athlete will use as a "switch" to forget about the past event and focus on the play at hand or upcoming.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, being able to use the three Rs was my main focus for this athlete. Being able to react, relax, and refocus during competition is vital for this athlete to play at his potential. For him to be able to control his emotional ups and downs throughout play using various techniques, simple yet effective techniques, were the main focus for an athlete his age, and as he develops, teach him more difficult relaxation techniques. This athlete allows himself to lose control of his emotions which decreases performance, based on the anxiety cycle. Also, according to the emotional intelligence model, being able to identify, redirect thought, understand, and monitor his emotions, he can return to play, more importantly, positive play.
REFERENCES:
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Jones, M. V. (2003). Controlling emotions in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 17, 471-486.
Taylor, J. (1992). Coaches are people too: An applied model of stress management for sports coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 4(1), 27-50.
A junior tennis player is experiencing emotional ups and downs during competition, and when the competition becomes toughest, late in tournament play, he rarely plays up to his potential. Young players that have promising talent and ability in sport may be receiving added stress from their coach, parents, or themselves (Taylor, 1992). With this added pressure/stress, they have a difficult time focusing on the task/competition at hand. Even though they are physically capable of out playing everyone they face, they allow added stress to effect their emotions. This is usually caused by the lack of the ability and experience to manage and cope with these emotions and stresses (Jones, 2003). Being able to learn to adapt on the fly and cope, will allow this athlete to eventually play at his potential.
SO WHAT:
First off, this athlete, being a junior competitor, more than likely has difficulty coping with stress and emotions while in competition. His lack of knowledge and experience dealing with these issues makes it difficult to let go and move on.
My initial analysis of this athlete is that he's allowing his arousal levels to get too high, which narrows his focus. According to Gill and Williams (2008), when arousal levels increase beyond the optimal level, emotional control is needed. Most strategies for stress management involve relaxation methods. Also, overarousal initially increases either physiological arousal and cognitive worry can quickly create a negative thought-anxiety cycle; worry and increases in arousal create a negative cycle that decreases performance (Gill & Williams, 2008). Mayer and Salovey's model of emotional intelligence includes 4 branches: (1) emotional perceptions and expression, (2) emotional facilitation of thought, (3) emotional understanding, and (4) emotional management. These skills allow a person to benefit from being able to control emotion during specific skills.
Lauer's developed the three Rs; react, relax, and refocus. People who struggle with emotional control first need to react; recognize the negative emotion, feel it, but don't let it control you. Next they need to relax, or calm down; using deep breathing, self-talk, or imagery to respond positively. Lastly, refocus and return to play (Gill & Williams, 2008).
NOW WHAT:
First off I will have a meeting with the athlete, sit down with him and discuss how he feels during competition. I would like to understand how and what he is feeling; physically and emotionally. This will allow me to put a plan of attack together to help this junior tennis player learn to cope and redirect negative emotion and stress towards positive action/performance.
First, I will teach him how to recognize that he is losing control of his emotions. The ability to recognize this is the first step in taking action to overcome and being able to react. I will teach the athlete to acquire feedback from his body, physically and emotionally. This could mean being able to notice muscle tension, fear, sickness, heartbeat, fatigue, etc...
Once he able to notice these "red flags," I will teach him ways of relaxing, the second R. Breathing exercises are the simplest and most effective relaxation techniques, slow, deep breathing (Gill & Williams, 2008). Its an effective way to control respiration rate, heart rate, and body temperature. Some of these physiological responses are more difficult than others to control, but deep breathing can contribute to all. For muscle tension, teaching this athlete to use progressive relaxation to assist in the release of tension is a popular method used by athletes. The progressive tensing and relaxing of tense muscle groups helps release the tension, relaxing the muscle(s) (Gill & Williams, 2008). Meditation and autogenic training are other methods that may be used to to relax, however, they are more difficult to use and learn. Which with a young athlete, deep breathing and progressive relaxation may be easiest to teach and most effective methods to use.
Lastly, teaching the athlete to refocus, after reacting/noticing the stress or loss of control and relaxing, and return to play immediately, and using the redirected control towards positive play. Using a verbal cue, word or phase, that the athlete will use as a "switch" to forget about the past event and focus on the play at hand or upcoming.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, being able to use the three Rs was my main focus for this athlete. Being able to react, relax, and refocus during competition is vital for this athlete to play at his potential. For him to be able to control his emotional ups and downs throughout play using various techniques, simple yet effective techniques, were the main focus for an athlete his age, and as he develops, teach him more difficult relaxation techniques. This athlete allows himself to lose control of his emotions which decreases performance, based on the anxiety cycle. Also, according to the emotional intelligence model, being able to identify, redirect thought, understand, and monitor his emotions, he can return to play, more importantly, positive play.
REFERENCES:
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Jones, M. V. (2003). Controlling emotions in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 17, 471-486.
Taylor, J. (1992). Coaches are people too: An applied model of stress management for sports coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 4(1), 27-50.
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