44 of the SEHS glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A statistical test that compares two means, using their difference, the spread of the data and the sample sizes to calculate t, which is compared with a critical value to judge significance.
A simple method of judging exercise intensity by the ability to speak: at moderate intensity a person can talk but not sing, and at vigorous intensity they can say only a few words without pausing.
A planned reduction in training load, mainly volume, for about 1–3 weeks before an important competition, to remove accumulated fatigue while maintaining fitness.
A framework of six areas of the learning environment (task, authority, recognition, grouping, evaluation and time) that coaches and teachers structure to create a mastery motivational climate.
A cell that has specific receptors for a particular hormone, so that the hormone changes its activity; cells without the receptor do not respond.
A population group, such as children and adolescents, older adults or pregnant individuals, whose physiological, psychological or social characteristics require exercise to be adapted.
Features of a task that shape movement, including its goal, rules, equipment, playing area and number of players.
A goal orientation in which a person judges success and competence in a self-referenced way, by mastering skills, improving on their own previous performance and giving maximum effort.
A painful condition of a tendon, usually caused by repeated overloading, in which the tendon’s structure is disorganised and its capacity to tolerate load is reduced.
A strong cord of dense, regular, collagen-rich connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone, transmitting the force of contraction and storing and returning elastic energy.
A 13-item self-report questionnaire (7 task and 6 ego items), the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, that measures dispositional task and ego orientation in sport, each scored from 1 to 5.
A reproductive (androgen) hormone released mainly by the testes, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis, bone formation and erythropoietin production.
A treatment used during rehabilitation to relieve pain, support tissue healing or restore function, such as massage, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hydrotherapy, taping or progressive exercise.
The increase in energy expenditure above the resting level caused by digesting, absorbing and storing food, about 10% of daily energy expenditure.
A sensory receptor that detects temperature; central thermoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect blood temperature and peripheral thermoreceptors in the skin detect skin temperature.
The homeostatic regulation of core body temperature, in which the hypothalamus balances heat production and gain against heat loss to keep core temperature at about 37 ± 1 °C.
The application of heat for recovery or treatment, such as hot packs, hot-water immersion or a sauna, causing vasodilation and increasing blood flow and tissue elasticity.
A lever in which the effort lies between the fulcrum and the load, such as the biceps flexing the elbow; its mechanical advantage is always less than 1, favouring speed and range.
The conscious desire to drink, generated by the hypothalamus in response to a rise in plasma osmolarity or a fall in blood volume.
A technique in which an athlete recognises a negative thought, interrupts it with a trigger such as the word "stop" or a physical action, and replaces it with a planned positive or instructional statement.
An appraisal in which an individual perceives that the demands of a stressful situation exceed their resources, so it is seen as a potential source of harm or loss.
Training at or just below the intensity of the lactate inflection point, continuously or as long intervals with short recoveries, to raise the pace that can be sustained.
The volume of air breathed in or out in one normal breath; about 0.5 L at rest in an adult, rising to 2–3 L in heavy exercise.
The turning effect of a force about an axis, equal to the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the axis to the force’s line of action; measured in N m.
The volume of air in the lungs after a maximal inspiration, equal to vital capacity plus residual volume; about 6 L in a young adult man.
The overall stress a training session or period places on an individual, combining intensity and volume; often quantified as session RPE multiplied by duration in minutes.
The general rules that guide the design of a training programme so that it produces the desired adaptations safely, including specificity, progressive overload, recovery, variety, reversibility and periodisation.
A range of exercise intensity, defined by heart rate, speed, power, RPE or blood lactate, within which training produces a particular set of adaptations.
A relatively stable and enduring characteristic of an individual that predisposes them to think, feel and behave in a consistent way across different situations.
A relatively stable personality characteristic; a general tendency to perceive situations as threatening and to respond with high state anxiety.
A view of personality as a set of relatively stable, enduring traits that are consistent across situations and can be measured and used to predict behaviour.
A model, proposed by Lazarus and Folkman, in which stress results from the interaction between a person and their environment, determined by the person's appraisal of the demands and of their resources to meet them.
The influence of previous experience of learning or performing a skill on the learning or performance of a new skill.
A test of a skill in a new situation or a variation of the practised task, used to show whether learning can be adapted beyond the conditions of practice.
A horizontal plane that divides the body into upper and lower parts; rotation, pronation and supination occur in it, about the longitudinal axis.
Tiredness and disturbed sleep caused by the demands of a journey itself, such as long sitting, early starts and dehydration, with or without crossing time zones; usually resolves after sleep.
A lipid made of one glycerol molecule joined to three fatty acids; the main form of fat in food and the body's largest energy store.
A regulatory protein strand lying along the actin filament that covers the myosin-binding sites when the muscle is relaxed.
A regulatory protein complex on the actin filament that binds calcium ions and, by changing shape, moves tropomyosin away from the myosin-binding sites on actin.
Irregular flow of a fluid in eddies and swirls in which the layers mix; it occurs at higher speeds and behind blunt or rough objects.
A chronic disease in which blood glucose is persistently high because of insulin resistance and, later, insufficient insulin production by the pancreas; strongly linked to inactivity and excess body fat.
A slow-twitch, slow oxidative muscle fibre with many mitochondria, high myoglobin and a dense capillary supply, which contracts slowly with low force but is highly resistant to fatigue.
A fast-twitch, fast oxidative glycolytic muscle fibre that contracts quickly and forcefully with moderate fatigue resistance, using both oxidative and glycolytic pathways to resynthesise ATP.
A fast-twitch, fast glycolytic muscle fibre with a large motor neuron, high phosphocreatine and glycogen stores and few mitochondria, which produces the greatest force and speed but fatigues quickly.