The stage of cognitive appraisal in which an individual judges whether a situation is relevant to their goals and well-being, and whether it represents harm, a threat or a challenge.
86 of the SEHS glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A framework proposed by Allan Paivio in 1985 that classifies the functions of imagery along two dimensions, cognitive or motivational and specific or general, used to choose the right type of imagery.
The symmetrical curved flight path of a projectile acted on by gravity alone, in which the rise and the fall are mirror images of each other.
The division of the autonomic nervous system that dominates at rest and conserves energy (rest and digest), for example by slowing heart rate through the vagus nerve.
Breaking a skill into its subroutines and practising them separately before combining them, including progressive part (chaining) and whole–part–whole practice.
The pressure exerted by one gas in a mixture of gases, proportional to its share of the mixture, written pO₂ for oxygen and pCO₂ for carbon dioxide.
The part of the total pressure of a gas mixture caused by oxygen, equal to the total pressure multiplied by the oxygen fraction; it falls with altitude and drives oxygen diffusion into the blood.
Pain around or behind the kneecap, made worse by running, squatting or stairs, caused by excessive load on the joint between the patella and the femur; also called runner’s knee.
Reaching the highest level of performance at the planned time of the most important competition, through the organisation of training and a taper.
A person’s own judgement of how competent they are at an activity, including their belief about how able other people think they are; also called perceived competence.
The change in a value expressed as a percentage of its original value: (new − original) ÷ original × 100; positive for an increase and negative for a decrease.
The absolute difference between two values divided by their mean and multiplied by 100; used to compare two values when neither is a starting or reference value.
The difference between a measured value and the accepted or true value, expressed as a percentage of the accepted value; a measure of the accuracy of a measurement.
The value below which a given percentage of a population falls; for example, 5% of people have a dimension smaller than the 5th percentile value.
The close, continuous link between perceiving information in the environment and moving, in which perception guides action and action creates new information to perceive.
The observable execution of a skill at a particular time, which is temporary and fluctuates with factors such as fatigue, arousal, motivation and conditions.
A graph of performance against practice trials or time, used to track progress and infer learning; common shapes are linear, negatively accelerated, positively accelerated and plateau.
A self-referenced goal that specifies a measurable standard representing an improvement on the individual’s own previous performance, independent of other competitors.
The natural variation in a performer's movement from one attempt to the next, which in the ecological view is often functional, helping adaptation to changing conditions.
The planned division of a training programme into cycles with different aims, volumes and intensities, so that the athlete peaks at the most important competitions while fatigue is managed.
The tough fibrous membrane covering the outer surface of bone, except at joint surfaces, carrying blood vessels and nerves, anchoring tendons and ligaments and containing bone-forming cells.
Fatigue originating at or beyond the neuromuscular junction, where changes in excitability, calcium release, fuel supply or cross-bridge function reduce force for the same neural drive.
All the nerves and receptors outside the brain and spinal cord, which carry information between the central nervous system and the rest of the body.
Equipment worn by an individual to reduce the risk or severity of injury, such as helmets, mouthguards, shin guards, pads and eye protection.
The individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that are relatively stable over time and across situations, shaped by an interaction between genetic traits and the environment.
A model by Holmes and Collins with seven elements (physical, environment, task, timing, learning, emotion, perspective) used to make imagery as functionally equivalent to real performance as possible.
The overlapping stages of tissue repair after injury: inflammation (the first few days), repair or proliferation (days to weeks, new collagen and capillaries) and remodelling (weeks to months, tissue strengthened and realigned).
The three stages a learner passes through when acquiring a motor skill, cognitive, associative and autonomous, described by Fitts and Posner.
The division of a skill into a sequence of functional parts: preparatory, force production, critical instant, and follow-through for discrete skills or recovery for continuous skills.
The energy system that resynthesises ATP anaerobically from phosphocreatine in the sarcoplasm; it has the highest rate of ATP resynthesis but lasts only about 10 seconds at maximal intensity.
A high-energy phosphate compound stored in muscle that is broken down by creatine kinase to resynthesise ATP rapidly without oxygen, for about 10 seconds of maximal effort.
Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure above resting levels, including activity at work, at home, for transport and in leisure time.
The assessment and treatment of injury and movement problems by a trained physiotherapist, using exercise, manual therapy, education and therapeutic modalities to restore function.
A small trial run of an investigation's method, carried out before the main data collection, to check that the procedure, equipment, timings and ranges work and to refine them.
A small endocrine gland below the hypothalamus that releases hormones such as ADH, FSH, LH and growth hormone, many of which control other endocrine glands.
A uniaxial synovial joint in which one bone rotates within a ring formed by another bone and a ligament, allowing rotation only, such as the atlanto-axial and radio-ulnar joints.
A change in performance or symptoms caused by a participant's belief that they have received an active treatment, when the treatment given has no active effect.
An imaginary flat surface dividing the body into two parts, in which a movement takes place; the three planes are the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes.
A movement at the ankle in the sagittal plane that points the foot downwards, away from the shin, as when standing on tiptoe or pushing off in sprinting.
The liquid part of the blood, about 90% water, in which nutrients, hormones, carbon dioxide, electrolytes, proteins and waste products are dissolved and transported.
A period during learning when performance stops improving despite continued practice, shown as a flat section on a performance curve.
Explosive exercises such as jumps, hops, bounds and throws in which a rapid eccentric stretch of a muscle is followed immediately by a powerful concentric contraction, to develop power.
A 33-item self-report questionnaire, the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2, that measures how athletes perceive the task-involving (mastery) and ego-involving climate created by their coach.
Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation: a stretching method that combines a passive stretch with an isometric contraction of the stretched muscle, followed by a further stretch, to gain extra range of motion.
A distribution of training intensity in which about 75–80% of training is at low intensity, very little at threshold intensity, and the rest at high intensity.
A large group of plant compounds in foods such as tart cherries, berries and cocoa with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, used to try to reduce soreness and speed recovery.
A carbohydrate made of many monosaccharide units joined in long chains, such as starch in plants and glycogen in animals; often called a complex carbohydrate.
A control mechanism in which a change triggers a response that increases the change further until an outside event stops it, as in blood clotting and childbirth.
Transfer in which learning one skill helps the learning or performance of another, usually because the skills share movement patterns, information or principles.
A positional term meaning towards the back of the body, also called dorsal, for example the scapula is posterior to the ribs.
A mineral that is the main positive ion inside cells; it is needed for nerve impulses, the contraction of skeletal and heart muscle, and fluid balance inside cells.
The rate of doing work or transferring energy, ; measured in watts (W), where 1 W = 1 J s⁻¹.
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to exert a large force in a short time, combining muscular strength with speed of contraction.
The pivoting of an attached myosin head, powered by energy previously released from ATP, that pulls the actin filament towards the centre of the sarcomere.
Lowering core and skin temperature before exercise in the heat, for example with ice slurry, ice vests or cold-water immersion, so that more heat can be stored before it limits performance.
A meal eaten about 1–4 hours before exercise, high in carbohydrate and low in fat, fibre and protein, to top up liver glycogen and blood glucose without causing digestive discomfort.
The process of identifying, before a person starts an exercise programme, any medical conditions or risk factors that require medical clearance or a modified programme, often using the PAR-Q+.
A consistent, practised sequence of thoughts and actions carried out before a skill, which directs attention to task-relevant cues and helps control arousal.
A food component, usually a type of fibre, that is selectively used by beneficial gut microorganisms and so gives a health benefit, for example inulin in onions, garlic and oats.
A ring of smooth muscle where a capillary branches off an arteriole, which contracts to close the capillary and relaxes to open it, controlling blood flow into a capillary bed.
How close repeated measurements of the same quantity are to one another, and the fineness of the scale or resolution of the instrument used.
A preventive exercise programme, performed by uninjured individuals, that targets the muscles, joints and movement patterns most at risk in a sport to increase their tolerance of force and lower injury risk.
The first phase of a movement, in which the performer gets into the best position to produce force, for example by taking a stance, lowering the centre of mass or moving a limb back to increase its range.
The stage of cognitive appraisal in which an individual judges whether a situation is relevant to their goals and well-being, and whether it represents harm, a threat or a challenge.
Data collected first-hand by the investigator for the purpose of the investigation, for example by measuring participants in a laboratory or in the field.
A biomechanical principle stating that a body moves in the direction in which impulse is applied, so force must act in the intended direction of motion, through the centre of mass if no rotation is wanted.
The influence of a skill learned earlier on the learning or performance of a skill learned later, which may be positive or negative.
A situational factor in need achievement theory: the person’s estimate of how likely they are to succeed at a task, from 0 (certain failure) to 1 (certain success).
Live microorganisms that, when taken in adequate amounts, give a health benefit to the person who takes them; found in some yoghurts, fermented foods and supplements.
Coping strategies that aim to alter or remove the stressor itself, such as problem solving, removing the source of stress, seeking information, planning and increasing effort.
A self-referenced goal that focuses on the technique, strategy or behaviour needed to perform a skill well, such as keeping the head still during a putt.
A reproductive hormone released mainly by the corpus luteum after ovulation, which prepares the uterus for pregnancy and raises core body temperature by about 0.3–0.5 °C in the luteal phase.
A relaxation technique, developed by Edmund Jacobson, in which each major muscle group is tensed and then relaxed in turn, so the individual learns to recognise and release muscle tension.
A training principle stating that training must demand more of the body than it is used to, and that this demand must rise gradually as the body adapts so that improvement continues.
An object or body that has been launched into the air and then moves only under the influence of gravity and air resistance, such as a thrown ball, a javelin or a long jumper after take-off.
The movement of a projectile through the air after release, determined by its velocity and height at release and by the forces of gravity and air resistance acting during flight.
Rotation of the forearm in the transverse plane at the radio-ulnar joints so that the palm faces backwards or downwards.
A receptor in a muscle, tendon or joint that detects body position, movement, muscle length or tension and sends this information to the central nervous system.
A macronutrient made of chains of amino acids joined by peptide bonds; it provides material for the growth and repair of tissues and forms enzymes, some hormones and transport molecules.
A forward (anterior) movement of a body part in the transverse plane, such as the shoulder blades sliding forwards around the ribs at the end of a punch.
A positional term meaning closer to the trunk, or to the point where a limb attaches to the trunk, than another structure, for example the elbow is proximal to the wrist.
The delay in responding to a second stimulus that arrives while a first stimulus is still being processed, which significantly slows the response to the second stimulus.
A theory that imagining a movement produces very small electrical activity in the muscles involved, similar in pattern to real movement, which strengthens the neural pathways for that movement.
The circuit that carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs and returns oxygenated blood through the pulmonary veins to the left atrium.
Specialised conducting fibres in the ventricle walls that spread the impulse rapidly through the ventricular muscle, so that the ventricles contract together from the apex upward.
The improvement in a person’s performance that results from the higher expectations that another person, such as a teacher or coach, holds for them.
A three-carbon molecule produced when glucose is broken down by glycolysis; it is oxidised in the mitochondria when oxygen is available or converted to lactate.