105 of the SEHS glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A biaxial synovial joint whose surfaces are each concave in one direction and convex in the other, allowing flexion, extension, abduction, adduction and circumduction, as at the base of the thumb.
An axis running horizontally from front to back through a joint or the body; rotation about it occurs in the frontal plane, as in abduction, adduction and a cartwheel.
A vertical plane running from front to back that divides the body into left and right parts; flexion and extension occur in it, about the frontal axis.
The cell membrane of a muscle fibre, which carries the muscle action potential along the fibre and into the T-tubules.
The basic contractile unit of a myofibril, the section between two Z lines, containing overlapping actin and myosin filaments.
The progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength and function with ageing, which increases the risk of falls, frailty and disability.
The cytoplasm of a muscle fibre: the fluid around the myofibrils in which phosphocreatine breakdown and glycolysis take place.
A network of membranes around each myofibril that stores calcium ions, releases them when a muscle action potential arrives and pumps them back during relaxation.
A quantity that has size (magnitude) only and no direction, such as mass, distance, speed, time or energy.
A theory of motor learning, proposed by Schmidt, in which performers store generalised motor programmes and rules (recall and recognition schemas) that adapt movements to new situations.
The internally assessed task in which a student designs and carries out an open-ended investigation of their own research question, collects and analyses quantitative data, and writes it up as a report of at most 3,200 words.
A rare but often fatal condition in which a second blow to the head, before the brain has recovered from an earlier concussion, causes rapid and severe swelling of the brain.
A lever in which the load lies between the fulcrum and the effort, such as a wheelbarrow or a press-up; its mechanical advantage is always greater than 1.
The stage of cognitive appraisal in which an individual evaluates the resources and coping options available and judges whether they are enough to meet the demands of the situation.
Data collected by someone else and obtained from an existing source, such as a published database, a results archive or a simulation, rather than measured by the investigator.
Any waking behaviour with very low energy expenditure, at or below about 1.5 METs, while sitting, reclining or lying, such as screen time, desk work and driving.
The process of filtering relevant information from the display and ignoring irrelevant information, so that only important cues are processed further.
A model that orders types of motivation by how self-determined they are, from amotivation through controlled (extrinsic) motivation to autonomous (intrinsic) motivation.
A theory of motivation, developed by Deci and Ryan, proposing that people strive to satisfy needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, and that need satisfaction determines the quality of their motivation and well-being.
A person’s belief in their ability to perform a specific task or succeed in a specific situation, built mainly from past performance accomplishments.
An expectation about a person or outcome that changes behaviour in a way that makes the expectation come true; in sport, confidence leads to more effort and persistence and so to success.
Creating or claiming obstacles to success before a performance, such as withdrawing effort or reporting an injury, so that failure can be blamed on the obstacle rather than on a lack of ability.
The process by which a stable, coordinated movement pattern emerges spontaneously from the interaction of the body's parts with the task and environment, without central direction of each part.
A skill in which the performer decides when to start the movement and controls its rate, for example a javelin throw or a golf putt.
A measurement tool in which individuals answer standardised questions about their own thoughts, feelings or behaviour, usually by rating statements on a scale such as a Likert scale.
The tendency to attribute success to internal causes and failure to external causes, which protects self-esteem but can prevent learning from failure.
The statements, words or phrases individuals say to themselves, aloud or silently, which can direct attention, regulate emotions and influence behaviour; it can be instructional or motivational.
A neuron that carries impulses from a receptor to the central nervous system; sensory neurons make up the afferent division.
A skill made of several discrete skills linked together in a set order to form a larger whole, such as a triple jump or a gymnastics floor routine.
The target value of a regulated variable, such as a core temperature of about 37 °C, around which control systems keep it fluctuating within a normal range.
Heat production by rapid, involuntary contractions of skeletal muscle, triggered by the hypothalamus when core temperature falls; nearly all the energy released becomes heat.
Fatty acids with fewer than six carbon atoms, such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, produced when gut bacteria ferment dietary fibre; they fuel colon cells and help regulate metabolism and inflammation.
A goal to be achieved in the near future, usually within days or weeks, that acts as a step towards a long-term goal and provides frequent feedback and success.
The working memory of the information processing system, holding about 7 ± 2 items for about 20–30 seconds while they are used, and passing rehearsed information to long-term memory.
The digits in a number that carry meaning about its precision, counted from the first non-zero digit; a calculated answer should not have more than the least precise data used.
The proposal that the brain can process only one stimulus and select only one response at a time, so a second stimulus must wait until the first is processed.
The heart's pacemaker: a group of specialised cells in the wall of the right atrium that generates the electrical impulse starting each heartbeat.
The principle that motor units are recruited in order of size, from the smallest low-threshold type I units at low forces to the largest type IIx units at the highest forces.
Striated muscle attached to the skeleton by tendons, under voluntary control, that contracts to produce movement, maintain posture and generate heat.
The mechanism by which contracting skeletal muscles squeeze nearby veins and, with the valves in the veins, push blood back towards the heart.
The framework of bones, cartilage and ligaments that supports the body, protects internal organs, allows movement by providing levers for muscles, stores minerals and produces blood cells.
A learned, goal-directed action or movement performed efficiently and consistently, with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of time and energy.
The habits and conditions that promote good sleep, such as a regular schedule, a cool, dark, quiet bedroom, and avoiding caffeine, alcohol and bright screens before bed.
The explanation of muscle contraction in which myosin heads form cross-bridges with actin and pull the actin filaments towards the centre of the sarcomere, so the sarcomere shortens while the filaments keep their length.
The later, longer part of recovery, lasting minutes to hours, when oxygen is used to remove lactate and meet the raised cost of heart rate, ventilation, body temperature and hormones.
The deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep, with large, slow brain waves, concentrated early in the night; most growth hormone is released during it.
A practical aid for writing goals, in which each goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound; SMARTER adds evaluate and re-adjust.
Non-striated, involuntary muscle found in the walls of hollow organs such as blood vessels, the gut and the airways, controlled by the autonomic nervous system and hormones.
A mineral that is the main positive ion in extracellular fluid; it controls the volume of body water through osmosis and is needed for nerve impulses and muscle contraction.
The physical component of anxiety: the perception of bodily symptoms of arousal, such as raised heart rate, sweating, muscle tension and butterflies in the stomach.
The branch of the efferent division that controls skeletal muscle, mostly under voluntary (conscious) control.
A description of body shape and composition as three rated components: endomorphy (relative fatness), mesomorphy (relative muscularity) and ectomorphy (relative linearity).
A training principle stating that adaptations are specific to the type of training performed: the energy systems, muscle groups, movement patterns, speeds and contraction types used.
The rate at which a body covers distance, equal to distance divided by time (); a scalar measured in metres per second (m s⁻¹).
A skill-related component of fitness: the ability to move the whole body, or a part of it, from one point to another in the shortest possible time.
The speed of a projectile at the instant it is released or takes off; the most important factor for the horizontal distance a projectile travels.
Rotation of a projectile about an axis through its centre of mass; topspin makes a ball dip, backspin makes it rise and sidespin makes it swerve.
An instrument that measures the volume of air inspired and expired over time, producing a trace from which lung volumes and capacities can be read.
A light, porous lattice of bony struts (trabeculae) inside the ends of long bones and other bones; it absorbs and spreads load and contains red bone marrow.
The Sport Competition Anxiety Test, a self-report questionnaire measuring competitive trait anxiety, the general tendency of an individual to feel anxious in competitive sport situations.
A self-report questionnaire that measures how often athletes use the five functions of imagery in Paivio's framework, rated on a 7-point scale.
A self-report questionnaire that measures an athlete’s reasons for taking part in sport, with subscales for three types of intrinsic motivation, types of extrinsic motivation and amotivation.
An injury to a ligament caused by stretching it beyond its normal range, graded from microscopic tearing of fibres (grade I) to a partial tear (grade II) or complete rupture (grade III).
A form of interval training using a few short (about 10–30 s) all-out efforts above the intensity that elicits VO₂ max, separated by long recoveries.
The ability of a body to maintain or regain balance, resisting forces that would disturb its equilibrium; it depends on the height of the centre of mass, base of support, line of gravity and mass.
A measure of the spread of values around the mean of a data set; a small standard deviation means the values lie close to the mean, a large one that they are widely spread.
An estimate of how precisely a sample mean represents the population mean, calculated as the standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample size.
A temporary, changing emotional state of nervousness and apprehension in a specific situation, such as the minutes before a race.
The friction between two surfaces that are not sliding relative to each other; it matches the applied force up to a maximum (limiting friction) of .
A stretching method in which a muscle is lengthened slowly to the point of mild tension and the position is held, typically for 15–60 seconds, without movement.
The conclusion that a difference or relationship in sample data is unlikely to be due to chance alone; in sport science, usually that p is less than 0.05.
A period of submaximal exercise during which oxygen consumption meets the oxygen demand of the activity, so heart rate and oxygen consumption stay roughly constant.
An injury to a muscle or the junction between muscle and tendon, caused by overstretching or a forceful, often eccentric, contraction; graded from mild (grade I) to complete rupture (grade III).
Shaping a body, or adopting a body position, so that fluid flows smoothly around it with little separation or turbulence, which reduces form drag.
The psychological and physiological response that occurs when an individual perceives that the demands of a situation are significant and must be met, especially when they may exceed the resources available.
A small crack in a bone caused by repeated loading, when microscopic damage accumulates faster than the bone can repair it; a cumulative injury common in runners and jumpers.
Any environmental, physical or psychological demand that an individual perceives as requiring a response, such as a final, an injury, a selection decision or a hostile crowd.
A rapid eccentric contraction of a muscle followed immediately by a concentric contraction, which produces more force than a concentric contraction alone because of stored elastic energy and the stretch reflex.
The volume of blood ejected by the left ventricle in one contraction, measured in mL; about 70 mL at rest in an untrained adult.
A partial dislocation, in which the bones of a joint move partly out of their normal position and then return, often spontaneously.
One of the component parts of a motor programme (a subordinate motor pattern), performed in sequence with the others to produce the whole skill, for example the ball toss in a tennis serve.
The sequential use of body segments from the large proximal segments to the small distal ones, each starting as the previous reaches peak speed, to maximise the speed of the end segment or implement.
The rise in performance capacity above its previous baseline that follows recovery from a training stimulus, which guides the timing of sessions and tapers.
A positional term meaning closer to the surface of the body than another structure, for example the skin is superficial to the muscles.
A positional term meaning towards the head or higher up the body than another structure, for example the sternum is superior to the pelvis.
Rotation of the forearm in the transverse plane at the radio-ulnar joints so that the palm faces forwards or upwards, as in the anatomical position.
Drag caused by friction between a fluid and the surface of a moving body; it increases with the surface area in contact with the fluid and with surface roughness. Also called skin friction.
An operation to restore the structure of a seriously injured tissue, such as reconstructing a ruptured ligament with a graft, stitching a ruptured tendon or fixing a displaced fracture.
The volume of sweat lost per unit of time, usually in litres per hour, estimated from the change in body mass during exercise corrected for fluid drunk and urine passed.
The secretion of sweat by eccrine sweat glands, stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system when core or skin temperature rises, so that heat is lost as the sweat evaporates.
A theory that imagery works by helping the performer code a movement as a mental blueprint of its sequence and timing, so it is most effective for skills with a large cognitive component.
The division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for activity and stress (fight or flight), for example by increasing heart rate, force of contraction and blood glucose.
The junction between a neuron and another neuron or an effector cell, across which a signal is passed by a chemical neurotransmitter.
A muscle that assists the agonist in producing a movement or reduces unwanted movement, such as the brachialis helping the biceps brachii to flex the elbow.
The thick, slippery fluid secreted by the synovial membrane into a synovial joint cavity, which lubricates the joint, nourishes the articular cartilage and helps absorb shock.
A freely movable joint in which the bone ends are covered with articular cartilage and separated by a cavity of synovial fluid enclosed in a joint capsule lined with synovial membrane.
The thin membrane lining the inside of the joint capsule of a synovial joint, which secretes synovial fluid into the joint cavity.
An error that shifts every measurement in the same direction by a similar amount, such as an uncalibrated instrument; repeating measurements does not reduce it.
The circuit that carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle through the aorta to all body tissues and returns deoxygenated blood through the veins and venae cavae to the right atrium.
The phase of the cardiac cycle in which heart muscle contracts and pushes blood out of a chamber; ventricular systole ejects blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery.
The highest pressure in the arteries, reached when the left ventricle contracts and ejects blood; about 120 mmHg at rest in a healthy young adult.
The tendency of participants to answer questions in a way they believe will be viewed favourably by others rather than accurately, which reduces the validity of self-report data.