GLOSSARY
A
Acceleration The speed of an object.
Active flexibility Stretching techniques designed to improve soft-tissue
extensibility in all planes of motion by employing the neurophysiological principle
of reciprocal inhibition.
Active-isolated stretching Using agonists and synergists to dynamically move
the joint through a range of motion.
Active warm-up Any submaximal activity that facilitates a 1° Celsius increase
in the body’s internal core temperature.
Acute variables Important components that specify how each exercise is to be
performed.
Agility The ability to change direction or orientation of the body based on rapid
processing of internal or external information quickly and accurately without
significant loss of speed.
All-or-none principle When a muscle fiber is stimulated to contract, the entire
fiber contracts completely.
Altered reciprocal inhibition The concept of muscle inhibition caused by a
tight agonist, decreasing the neural drive of its functional antagonist.
Amenorrheic athletes Female athletes with the absence of a menstrual period
during reproductive ages.
Amortization phase The electromechanical delay a muscle experiences in
the transition from eccentric (reducing force and storing energy) to concentric
(producing force) muscle action.
Anaerobic threshold The point during high-intensity activity when the
body can no longer meet its demand for oxygen and anaerobic metabolism
predominates; also called lactate threshold.
Arthrokinematics Joint motion.
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688 Glossary
Arthrokinetic dysfunction The biomechanical dysfunction in two
articular partners that lead to abnormal joint movement (arthrokinematics)
and proprioception.
Atrophy The loss in muscle fiber size.
Autogenic inhibition The inhibitory action to muscle spindles located within
the agonist muscle by prolonged GTO stimulation.
B
Balance-power Balance exercises performed by hopping from one foot to
another or performing hopping movements on the same foot.
Balance-stabilization exercises Balance exercises that involved little joint
motion of the balance leg.
Balance-strength exercises Balance exercises involving eccentric and
concentric movement of the balancing leg through a full range of motion.
Biomechanics A physics term involving the study of how forces a
ffect a living
body.
Bracing Occurs the abdominal, lower back, and buttock muscles are contracted
at the same time.
Breath control A somatic anxiety-reduction technique focusing on breathing
technique and imagery.
C
Cardiac output The amount of blood the heart pumps per minute.
Casein The predominant phosphoprotein that accounts for nearly 80% of
proteins in milk and cheese.
Concentration Maintaining awareness and focus on relevant cues over a period
of time and shifting focus when necessary.
Concentric contraction Occurs immediately after the amortization phase and
involves a concentric contraction.
Coping A process to manage stress when feeling overwhelmed by demands
placed upon oneself.
Core-power exercises Exercises designed to improve the rate of force
production by the core musculature.
Core Section of the body defined by the structures that make up the LPHC.
Core stability LPHC stability comprised of local or intersegmental stability
(Local Stabilization System), global stability (Global Stabilization System), and
global mobility.
Core-stabilization exercises Exercises that involve little to no motion
through the spine and pelvis.
Core-strength exercises Exercises that involve more dynamic eccentric and
concentric movements of the spine through a full range of motion while the
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athlete performs the neuromechanical activation techniques learned in core
stabilization (drawing-in and bracing).
Corrective exercise training A form of training designed to correct muscle
imbalances, joint dysfunctions, neuromuscular deficits, and postural distortion
patterns developed during the season. This may be a form of training an athlete
may have to start in before starting phase 1 of the OPTTM model.
Corrective flexibility Stretching techniques designed to correct common
postural dysfunctions, muscle imbalances, and joint dysfunctions.
Cumulative injury cycle A cycle whereby an “injury” will induce
inflammation, muscle spasm, adhesions, altered neuromuscular control, and
muscle imbalances.
D
Davis’s law The observation that soft tissue models along the lines of stress.
Drawing-in maneuver A maneuver used to recruit the local core stabilizers by
drawing the navel in towards your spine.
Drive phase The point in the stride in which the foot is first in contact with the
ground.
Dynamic stretching Use of a muscle’s own force production and momentum
to take a joint through the full available range of motion.
E
Eccentric phase This phase increases muscle spindle activity by pre-stretching
the muscle prior to activation.
Eicosanoid Signaling molecules made by oxygenation of 20-carbon essential
fatty acids (EFAs). They exert complex control over many bodily systems,
mainly in inflammation or immunity, and as messengers in the central nervous
system.
Elasticity The spring-like behavior of connective tissue that enables the tissue to
return to its original shape or size when forces are removed.
Elastic limit The smallest value of stress required to produce permanent strain
in the tissue.
Emotion-focused coping A type of coping that focuses on regulating
emotional responses to the problem that causes stress for the individual.
Endomysium The innermost fascial layer that encases individual muscle fibers.
Epimysium The outermost layer of a muscle fiber.
Ergogenic aid Something that aids (enhances) athletic performance.
Ergolytic substance Any substance that has been shown to be detrimental to
exercise performance.
Essential amino acids The amino acids that must come from food since the
body cannot synthesize them from other amino acids.
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Exercise density The combination of v olume, rest intervals, and the length of a
training session.
Exercise selection The process of choosing appropriate exercises for a client’s
program.
External feedback Information provided by some external source.
F
Female athlete triad A syndrome identified by the combination of eating
disorders, amenorrhoea, and decreased bone mineral density.
Flexibility The normal extensibility of all soft tissues that a
llow full range
of motion of a joint and optimum neuromuscular efficiency throughout all
functional movements.
Force An influence applied by one object to another, which results in an
acceleration or deceleration of the second object.
Force–couple Muscle groups moving together to produce movement around a
joint.
Force–velocity curve The relationship of muscle’s ability to produce tension at
differing shortening velocities.
Functional efficiency The ability of the neuromuscular system to monitor and
manipulate movement during functional tasks, using the least amount of energy,
and creating the least amount of stress of the kinetic chain.
Functional flexibility Stretching techniques designed to improve
multiplanar soft tissue extensibility and provide optimum neuromuscular
control throughout that full range of motion, while performing functional
movements that use the body’s muscles to control the speed, direction, and
intensity of the stretch.
Functional strength The ability of the neuromuscular system to produce
dynamic, multiplanar eccentric, concentric and isometric stabilization actions
quickly and efficiently during functional movements.
G
General adaptation syndrome The Human Movement System’s ability to
adapt to stresses placed upon it.
Global core stabilizers Muscles that attach from the pelvis to the spine.
Gluconeogenesis A metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose
from noncarbohydrate carbon substrates such as pyruvate, lactate, glycerol, and
glucogenic amino acids.
Golgi afferents High-threshold, slow-adapting sensory receptors in ligaments
and menisci that are mechanically sensitive to tensile loads and are most sensitive
at the end ranges of motion.
Golgi tendon organs (GTO) Mechanoreceptors located within the
musculotendinous junction that are sensitive to tension and rate of tension change.
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Gravity A force that accelerates an object or mass downward towards the earth’s
center.
Ground reaction force An equal and opposite external force that is e xerted
back onto the body by the ground.
H
Henneman’s size principle The principle that smaller motor units are
recruited before larger, more powerful motor units.
High-glycemic-index carbohydrates Carbohydrates that break down rapidly
during digestion, releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) Training at or above 90% VO2 peak
for bouts lasting for seconds to minutes.
Hip hinge The concept of the hip hinge can be described as the spine remaining
stiff and neutral while movement occurs about the hip joint.
Horizontal loading Performing all sets of an exercise or a body part before
moving on to the next exercise or body part.
Hyponatremia Abnormally low levels of blood sodium.
I
Integrated flexibility continuum The full range of flexibility—corrective,
active, and functional flexibility—that must be addressed to counteract muscle
atrophy and other physical changes due to aging, immobilization, or injury.
Integrated training A comprehensive approach that attempts to improve all
components necessary for an athlete to perform at the highest level and prevent
injury.
Internal feedback Sensory information provided by the body via length–
tension relationships, force–couple relationships and arthrokinematics to
monitor movement and the environment.
Irrelevant cue A distraction; a cue that takes attention away from the task.
J
Joint receptors Receptors in the joints that signal joint position, movement,
and pressure changes.
K
Kinesiology The study of human movement.
Kinesthesia The conscious awareness of joint movement and joint position
sense that results from proprioceptive input sent to the CNS.
Knowledge of performance Feedback that provides i nformation about the
quality of the movement during exercise.
692 Glossary
Knowledge of results Feedback used after the completion of a movement to
help inform the athlete about the outcome of his performance.
L
Length–tension relationship The resting length of a muscle and the tension
the muscle can produce at this resting length.
Limited channel capacity The ability to only hold a limited amount of
information in the mind at one time.
Linear speed The ability to move the body in one intended direction as fast as
possible.
Local core stabilizers Muscles that attach directly to the vertebrae.
Long-slow distance A type of training that maintains a slower speed so the
individual can cover longer distances.
M
Macrocycle Generalized training plan that spans 1 year to show when the
athlete will p
rogress between phases.
Mass The amount of matter in an object or physical body.
Matter A substance that takes up space.
Maximum strength Strength is usually defined as the ability to exert
a force against a resistance. Maximum strength is therefore the greatest
amount of force generated, typically measured during a 1-repetition
maximum (1RM).
Mechanical specificity Refers to the weight and movements placed on
the body.
Mesocycle Generalized training plan that spans 1–3 months and shows which
phases will be required each day of each week.
Metabolic specificity Refers to the energy demand required for a specific
activity.
Microcycle Training plan of specific workouts that spans 1 week, to show which
exercises are required each day of the week.
Motivation The direction and intensity of one’s efforts.
Motor behavior Motor response to internal and external environmental stimuli.
Motor control How the CNS integrates internal and external sensory
information with previous experience to produce a motor response.
Motor development The change in motor skill behavior over time-throughout
the lifetime.
Motor learning The integration of motor control processes with practice and
experience that leads to relatively permanent changes in the body’s capacity to
produce skilled movements.
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Motor unit discharge rate The rate at which motor neurons discharge action
potentials; also referred to as rate coding.
Movement system Includes muscles that attach the spine and/or pelvis to the
extremities.
Multidirectional speed The ability to create speed in any direction or body
orientation (forward, backward, lateral, diagonal, etc.).
Muscle spindles The major sensory organs of the muscle sensitive to change in
length and rate of length change.
Myotatic stretch reflex A motor response in the spinal cord that results
when a muscle is stretched very quickly; the muscle spindle contracts, which in
turn stimulates the primary afferent fibers, causing the extrafusal fibers to fire,
whereby tension increases in the muscle.
N
Neuromuscular efficiency The ability of the Human Movement System to
allow agonists, antagonists, synergists, and stabilizers to work synergistically
to produce force, reduce force, and dynamically stabilize the entire Human
Movement System.
Neuromuscular specificity Refers to the speed of contraction and exercise
selection.
Neuromuscular system A combined system of the nervous and muscular
systems.
Neutral spine A posture in which no exaggeration of any of the normal
curvatures of the spine is present.
Nocioceptors Small-diameter afferents located primarily in articular tissue and
sensitive to mechanical deformation and pain.
P
Paciniform afferents Large, cylindrical, thinly encapsulated, multi-cellular
end organ structures mechanically sensitive to local compression and tensile
loading, especially at extreme ranges of motion.
Percent of maximum heart rate pace The intensity of training an individual
will use based upon their actual or estimated heart rate maximum.
Performance nutrition A combination of strategies to enhance physical and
athletic performance through specific food and nutrient choices, timing, and
quantities.
Perimysium The sheath that binds groups of muscle fibers into fasciculi.
Periodization Division of a training program into smaller, progressive stages.
Perturbation A disturbance in motion that increases the chance of a
breakdown in the HMS.
Plasticity The residual or permanent change in connective tissue length due to
tissue elongation.
694 Glossary
Plumb line A vertical line of reference consisting of a cord with plumb bob
attached to one end.
Plyometric-power training Plyometric exercises are performed as fast and as
explosively as possible.
Plyometric-stabilization training Plyometric exercises designed to establish
optimum landing mechanics, postural alignment, and reactive neuromuscular
efficiency.
Plyometric strength training designed to improve d ynamic joint
stabilization, eccentric strength, rate of force production, and n
euromuscular
efficiency.
Plyometric training Exercises that utilize quick, powerful movements
involving an eccentric contraction immediately followed by an explosive
concentric contraction.
Positive self-monitoring The observation of the positive aspects of a
performance in a systematic way, typically to produce more desirable behaviors.
Posture The independent and interdependent alignment (static posture) and
function (transitional and dynamic posture) of all components of the human
movement system at any given moment.
Power endurance An athlete’s ability to sustain high power output for an
extended period of time. Athletes with exceptional power endurance might be
400-m sprinters, 400-m hurdlers, individual medley swimmers, or wrestlers, for
example.
Power The ability to generate force as quickly as possible. Force × Speed = Power
Principle of Specificity (or Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands [SAID]
Principle) states the body will adapt to the specific demands placed upon it.
Problem-focused coping A type of coping that f ocuses on altering or
managing the problem that causes the stress.
Program design A purposeful system or plan developed to help an individual
achieve a specific goal.
Progressive Relaxation A somatic anxiety-reducing technique involving
tensing and relaxing specific muscles in a progressive manner from one major
muscle group to another until all muscle groups are completely relaxed.
Proprioception The cumulative neural input from sensory afferents to the CNS.
Pulmonary ventilation The process which bring oxygen from the air, across
the alveolar membrane, and into the blood to be carried by hemoglobin.
Q
Qualitative analysis Applying principles of proper technique and combining
them with observations in order to make an educated evaluation.
Quantitative analysis Taking physical m easurements and making
mathematical computations to reach a conclusion.
Quickness The ability to execute movement skill in a c omparatively brief
amount of time.
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R
Race pace The pace in time or % maximum heart rate that an individual will use
for competitive racing.
Rate coding Muscular force can be amplified by increasing the rate of incoming
impulses from the motor neuron after all prospective motor units have been
activated.
Rate of force production How quickly a muscle can generate force.
Reaction time The time elapsed between the athlete’s recognizing the need to
act and initiating the appropriate action.
Reactive strength Reactive strength is a ready response to a stimulus that
would be the necessary strength in response to some sort of stimulus, be it
physical, visual, auditory, etc.
Recovery phase The point in the stride in which the leg swings from the hip
while the foot clears the ground.
Recruitment An impulse transmitted simultaneously over an increasing
number of nerve fibers pulling in increasingly more muscle fibers for the task.
Regression formula A formula used to estimate an individual’s maximal heart
rate to assist in metabolic energy system training programming.
Relationship-oriented A leadership style in which the focus is on developing
interpersonal relationships.
Relaxation Response A cognitive relaxation t echnique in which a p
erson
meditates without a spiritual or religious aspect.
Relevant cue A task-associated piece of information that may signal a need for
action.
Repetition (or “rep”) One complete movement of a single exercise.
Repetition tempo The speed with which each repetition is performed.
Rest interval The time taken to recuperate between sets.
Rotary motion Movement of the bones around the joints.
Routines Rituals that occur before, during, or after games that develop into
habits when performed consistently.
Ruffini afferents Joint receptors that are mechanically sensitive to tissue
stresses that are activated during extremes of extension and rotation.
S
Sarcopenia A decrease in muscle fiber numbers.
Selective attention The ability to focus on relevant cues.
Self-monitoring The observation of oneself in a systematic way, typically to
produce more desirable behaviors.
Self-myofascial release A flexibility technique that focuses on the neural and
fascial systems in the body.
696 Glossary
Self-talk The inner and outer d
ialogue that forms thoughts and shared ideas.
Sensorimotor integration The ability of the CNS to gather and interpret
sensory information to execute the proper motor response.
Serotonin A neurotransmitter in the modulation of anger, aggression, body
temperature, mood, sleep, sexuality, appetite, and metabolism.
Set A group of consecutive repetitions.
Situational awareness The ability to assess environmental surroundings
specifically in competitive environments and make appropriate decisions based
on the situation, often under pressure and time demands.
Speed The velocity at which a movement is executed.
Sports performance testing A systematic approach to problem-solving that
provides the sports performance professional with a basis for making educated
decisions about exercise and acute variable selection.
Stabilization strength The ability of the stabilizing muscles to provide
dynamic joint stabilization and postural equilibrium during functional
activities.
Stretch-shortening cycle An active stretch (eccentric contraction) of a muscle
followed by an immediate shortening (concentric contraction) of that same muscle.
Stride rate The amount of time needed to complete a stride cycle and is limited
by stride length.
Stroke volume The amount of blood pumped with each contraction of the
ventricles.
Structural efficiency The alignment of the musculoskeletal system, which
allows the center of gravity to be maintained over a base of support.
Super-set Performing two exercises back-to-back without rest.
Support phase The point in the stride in which the runner’s weight is carried
by the entire foot.
Synergistic dominance Compensation by synergists for a weak or inhibited
prime mover in an attempt to maintain force production and functional
movement patterns.
T
Task-oriented A leadership style in which the focus is on getting the task done.
Torque A force that produces rotation. Common unit of torque is the Newton-
Meter or Nm.
Total response time The summation of the reaction time and the time it takes
to execute the reactionary movement is of concern.
Training Duration The timeframe of a workout (including warm-up and cool-
down) or the length of time spent in one phase of training.
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Training Frequency The number of training sessions performed over a
specified time period (usually 1 week).
Training intensity An individual’s level of effort, compared to their maximal
effort, which is usually expressed as a percentage.
Training plan The specific outline, created by a Sports Performance
Professional to meet an athlete’s goals, that details the form of training, length of
time, future changes and specific exercises.
Training volume Amount of physical training performed within a specified
time period.
V
Vertical loading Alternating body parts trained from set to set, starting from
the upper extremity and moving to the lower extremity.
Viscoelasticity The fluid-like property of connective tissue that a
llows slow
deformation with an imperfect recovery after the deforming forces are removed.
W
Weight The amount of force that gravity has on the body.
Whey proteins The collection of globular proteins that can be isolated from
whey, a by-product of cheese manufactured from cow’s milk. Whey has the
highest biological value (BV) of any known protein.
Wolff’s law The observation that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt
to the loads under which it is placed.
