Lesson 5 · Types of training and training methods
Flexibility, strength, and skill and tactical training
Two teams train for the same two hours. One does drills in lines, each player taking a turn, the coach correcting technique. The other plays a modified game with a rule that makes the target skill the only way to score. Both are training the same skill. Only one of them is training the decision that goes with it.
A netball coach spends every training session on shooting drills from fixed spots on the court. Shooting percentage in training rises steadily over eight weeks. In matches it does not move at all.
Write down two reasons why the training improvement did not transfer, and one change you would make to the drill.
- Distinguish static, dynamic, ballistic and PNF flexibility training, and say when each is appropriate.
- Compare free weights, fixed weights, body weight and elastics as ways of applying resistance.
- Explain how drills, modified games and games for specific outcomes develop skill and tactics differently.
- Explain transfer, and why a skill improved in isolation may not appear in competition.
- Assess the relevance of each of these methods for a named sport.
- Flexibility — the range of motion available at a joint or series of joints.
- Static stretching — moving into a stretch position and holding it without movement.
- Dynamic stretching — moving a joint repeatedly and under control through its range, at increasing speed or range.
- Ballistic stretching — using bouncing or swinging momentum to force a joint beyond its normal range.
- PNF — Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, a stretching technique that alternates contraction and relaxation of the target muscle, usually with a partner.
- Free weights — loads not fixed to a frame, such as barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.
- Fixed weights — machine-based resistance in which the movement path is guided.
- Drill — a repeated, structured practice of a skill, usually with the conditions simplified.
- Modified game — a game with an altered rule, space, number of players or scoring system, chosen to make a target behaviour more likely.
- Transfer — the extent to which improvement in training appears in competition.
All four increase range of motion. They differ in how the range is reached, in how much risk they carry, and above all in when in a session they should be used.
| Method | How it is done | Best placed | Strength | Risk or limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static | Move to the point of mild tension and hold, typically 15 to 30 seconds | Cool-down, or a separate flexibility session | Simple, safe, effective for long-term range; needs no partner | Long holds immediately before explosive activity can briefly reduce power output |
| Dynamic | Controlled movement through the range, progressively increasing speed and range | Warm-up, immediately before activity | Raises tissue temperature and rehearses the movement pattern as well as the range | Less effective than static or PNF for producing long-term increases in range |
| Ballistic | Bouncing or swinging momentum drives the joint past its normal range | Rarely; only for trained athletes in sports demanding fast end-range movement | Specific to sports where the athlete genuinely reaches end range at speed | Highest injury risk of the four, because momentum takes the tissue past what the athlete controls; unsuitable for beginners |
| PNF | Stretch, then contract the stretched muscle against resistance, then relax and stretch further; usually with a partner | Cool-down or a dedicated session, when a partner is available | Generally the most effective method for increasing range of motion | Needs a trained partner, takes time, and is uncomfortable; not for use immediately before power activities |
The placement column is where marks are won and lost. Dynamic before, static or PNF after is the working rule, and the reason is mechanistic rather than traditional: dynamic work raises tissue temperature and rehearses the pattern the athlete is about to perform, while a long static hold immediately before a jump or sprint can briefly reduce the muscle's ability to produce force.
Dynamic before, static or PNF after. Ballistic almost never, and only for a trained athlete whose sport genuinely demands fast movement at end range.
Quick check: A coach replaces the squad's pre-match routine of long static holds with controlled leg swings and lunges. The strongest justification is that:
Lesson 3 covered the loading variables, load, repetitions, sets and rest, which decide whether a resistance session builds strength, size or power. This card covers the other half of the decision: how the resistance is applied. The equipment choice does not change the loading principle, but it changes what else the athlete gets.
| Equipment | What it adds | Suits | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free weights | The athlete must stabilise the load themselves, so supporting muscles and balance are trained along with the prime movers | Athletes with sound technique; movements that resemble sporting actions | Requires coaching and supervision; poor technique under load is a genuine injury risk |
| Fixed weights | A guided movement path, so the target muscle is isolated and the load is easy to set and change | Beginners, rehabilitation, isolating a specific weak muscle, training safely without a spotter | Little stabilisation demand, so transfer to sporting movement is weaker; the machine dictates the path rather than the athlete's own joints |
| Body weight | No facility or equipment needed; load is scaled by changing leverage, range or tempo | Large groups, home and school settings, early rehabilitation, movement-quality work | Hard to load heavily enough for maximal strength in a strong athlete, and progression is less finely graded |
| Elastics | Resistance rises as the band stretches, so the load is greatest near the end of the range, which is often where the joint is strongest | Rehabilitation, shoulder and hip work, change-of-direction and speed work, portable programs | Load is hard to quantify precisely, and bands wear and lose tension over time |
The elastics row contains the idea most often missed. A dumbbell's load is roughly constant through the movement, so the hardest point is where the athlete has the least leverage. A band's load increases as it lengthens, which can be matched to a joint's strongest position. That is a genuinely different loading profile, not just a cheaper dumbbell.
Loading variables decide what adaptation you get. Equipment decides what comes with it, stabilisation, isolation, portability, or a load profile matched to the joint.
Odd one out. Three of these are advantages of free weights over fixed weights. Which one is not?
This sub-point is the answer to card 01. A skill practised in isolation and a skill performed in a match are not the same task, because the match version includes a decision, an opponent, fatigue and consequence. Training that removes all four develops something real, but not the thing the athlete needs on Saturday.
| Approach | What it is | Develops | Best used when | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drills | Repeated practice with conditions simplified and often no opponent | Technique, consistency, high repetition volume in a short time | The skill is new, or a technical fault needs correcting under low pressure | Removes the decision, the opponent and the pressure, so transfer to the game can be poor |
| Modified games | A real game with an altered rule, space, player number or scoring system | Skill and decision together, because the modification makes the target behaviour the way to succeed | The skill exists but is not being used, or used at the wrong moment | Less repetition per player than a drill; needs careful design or the modification does not bite |
| Games for specific outcomes | A game designed so that one named tactical outcome is the object of play | Tactical understanding, reading the situation, and applying the right option under pressure | The team's problem is a decision problem rather than a technique problem | Assumes the underlying skills already exist; frustrating and ineffective if they do not |
The design of the modification is the coaching craft. Want more support play in touch football? Award two points for a try scored within three passes. Want a netballer to shoot under pressure rather than from a fixed spot? Play four-on-four in a reduced third with a shot clock. In each case the rule makes the target behaviour the way to win, rather than something the coach has to keep shouting about.
Drills build the skill. Modified games build the decision that selects the skill. A program of drills alone produces athletes who are good in training and unchanged in matches.
Fill the gaps. A stretching technique that alternates contracting and relaxing the target muscle, usually with a partner, is called . A game with an altered rule, space or scoring system chosen to make a target behaviour more likely is a game.
Flexibility, strength and skill training look like three unrelated topics. They are grouped in one dot point because the same question governs all three: does the improvement show up in the sport?
- Flexibility. Increased hamstring range measured on a mat is worth little to a hurdler unless it is available at speed, in the pattern of the hurdle stride. This is why dynamic work sits close to activity and why sport-specific ranges are trained rather than general ones.
- Strength. A larger machine leg-press number does not guarantee a faster first step. Free-weight and body-weight work transfer better because they demand the stabilisation and the coordination that the sporting action demands.
- Skill. A shooting percentage from a fixed spot with no defender is a measure of a task the sport never asks for. Modified games raise transfer because they keep the decision and the pressure in place while still emphasising the target skill.
The general principle behind all three is specificity, which Lesson 6 treats formally as a principle of training. The more closely a training task resembles the competitive task in movement pattern, speed, decision and context, the more of the improvement appears in competition.
Specificity is a spectrum rather than a rule, and there is a real cost at each end. Training that is entirely specific gives the athlete little variety, few chances to isolate and fix a weakness, and a monotony that hurts motivation. Training that is entirely general improves capacities that never surface on Saturday. Good programs run both, and are explicit about which sessions are which.
Two truths and a lie. One of these statements is false. Find it.
Same three-step routine as Lessons 3 and 4: demand profile, matched method, trade-off named.
| Sport and demand | Matched emphasis | Why | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnast: extreme range held under control, often at end range | PNF and static flexibility, plus body-weight strength through full range | PNF is the most effective method for increasing range, and strength must exist at the new range or it is not usable | PNF needs a trained partner and time; range gained without strength at that range is an injury risk rather than an asset |
| Hurdler: high hip range at sprint speed | Dynamic flexibility in the warm-up, sport-specific static or PNF work separately | The range must be available at speed and in the hurdle pattern, which only dynamic work rehearses | Dynamic work alone produces smaller long-term gains in range, so a separate flexibility session is still required |
| Rugby forward: high force in a contested, unstable position | Free weights, with elastics for shoulder and hip health | Free weights demand the stabilisation that a contested scrum or tackle demands | Technique coaching and supervision are essential; a heavy free-weight session performed badly is a real injury risk |
| Junior team whose players have technique but make poor choices | Modified games and games for specific outcomes | The problem is a decision problem, so the training must contain the decision | Fewer repetitions per player than drills, and the modification must be designed carefully or the target behaviour will not appear |
| Beginner learning a new technique | Drills first, with modified games introduced early | A new skill needs volume and correction under low pressure before it can survive a decision | Staying on drills too long produces a skill that never appears in a match, which is exactly the case in card 01 |
Activities · design the practice
For each situation, name the method you would use, justify it against the demand, and state one limitation of your choice.
A gymnast needs more hip range, has a coach available at every session, and is eight weeks from competition.
A 14-year-old beginning resistance training at school, no coach present during the session, no spotter available.
A touch football side whose players can all pass accurately but who consistently fail to support the ball carrier.
A swimmer rehabilitating a shoulder, cleared for light loading, training at home with no equipment.
Match each method to the statement that best describes it.
- Static stretching
- Ballistic stretching
- Elastics
- Games for specific outcomes
- Held without movement, best placed in the cool-down or a separate session
- Uses momentum to force a joint past its normal range, and carries the highest injury risk
- Resistance rises through the range, so the load is greatest where the joint is often strongest
- Play is designed so that one named tactical outcome is the object of the game
Return to card 01. The shooting drill improves training percentage and changes nothing in matches.
Design a modified game to replace it. State the rule, space or scoring change you would make; explain the mechanism, meaning why that specific change makes the target behaviour the way to succeed rather than something the coach has to keep calling for; and name one thing the drill did better that your modified game gives up. Then say how you would measure whether the change worked, and name the trap in measuring it with training shooting percentage.
Lock it in. In one sentence, explain why an athlete can improve at a drill for eight weeks and show no improvement in competition.
Assess the relevance of the different flexibility training methods for athletes in a variety of sports.
Assess requires a judgement against criteria. The four methods — static, dynamic, ballistic and PNF — differ in when they should be used as much as in what they achieve.
Plan: criteria, judge each method, then reach a verdict about selection.
The methods will be assessed against the range of motion gain they produce, their effect on subsequent performance, and their injury risk.
Static stretching, holding a lengthened position, produces reliable long-term range of motion gains at low risk and is highly relevant for sports requiring extreme range such as gymnastics, diving and dance. However, prolonged static stretching immediately before explosive activity temporarily reduces force and power output, so its relevance in a warm-up for power sports is low even though its relevance in a separate session is high. PNF, alternating contraction and relaxation of the stretched muscle, produces the largest range of motion gains of the four, but it requires a partner and careful technique and carries greater risk if performed on a cold or fatigued muscle.
Dynamic stretching, moving controlled through the range at increasing speed, raises muscle temperature and rehearses the movement pattern without reducing force output, so it is the most relevant method for a pre-performance warm-up across almost every sport. Ballistic stretching uses momentum to force range beyond the controlled limit, which can suit athletes in sports where that range is reached at speed under competitive conditions, such as martial arts and hurdling, but its injury risk is the highest of the four and it is inappropriate for untrained or unwarmed athletes.
On balance the methods are not competitors but occupy different positions in the training week. Dynamic stretching is the most broadly relevant because it serves the warm-up need every sport shares; static and PNF are more relevant for developing range in dedicated sessions away from competition; and ballistic stretching is narrowly relevant to a small group of sports and athletes. Relevance is therefore determined by timing at least as much as by sport.
Flexibility methods will be assessed against the range of motion gain they produce, their effect on subsequent performance, and their injury risk. Static stretching produces reliable long-term range gains at low risk and is highly relevant for sports requiring extreme range such as gymnastics, diving and dance, but prolonged static stretching immediately before explosive activity temporarily reduces force and power output, so its relevance in a power-sport warm-up is low even while its relevance in a separate session is high. PNF, alternating contraction and relaxation of the stretched muscle, produces the largest range gains of the four but requires a partner and careful technique and carries greater risk on a cold or fatigued muscle. Dynamic stretching moves controlled through range at increasing speed, raising muscle temperature and rehearsing the movement pattern without reducing force output, making it the most relevant method for a pre-performance warm-up in almost every sport. Ballistic stretching uses momentum to force range beyond the controlled limit, which can suit athletes in sports reaching that range at speed under competition, such as martial arts and hurdling, but carries the highest injury risk of the four and is inappropriate for untrained or unwarmed athletes. On balance the methods are not competitors but occupy different positions in the training week: dynamic stretching is most broadly relevant because every sport shares the warm-up need, static and PNF are most relevant in dedicated sessions away from competition, and ballistic stretching is narrowly relevant to a small group of sports and athletes — so relevance is determined by timing at least as much as by sport.
Explain how skill and tactical development through drills, modified games and games for specific outcomes improves performance.
Explain asks how each activity produces improvement. Describing what a modified game looks like is not an explanation of why it works.
Plan: name the principle, explain each activity's mechanism as a linked pair, then answer the question directly.
Skill improves through correct repetition, and tactical decision-making improves through repeated exposure to the decision under realistic pressure. The three activities differ in how much repetition and how much realism they provide, which is why a program uses all three rather than choosing one.
Drills isolate a movement and remove the variability of the contest, so the athlete achieves a high number of correct repetitions in a short time, which accelerates the motor learning that makes the skill automatic and frees attention for decision-making later.
Modified games alter field size, player numbers or rules to increase how often a particular situation occurs, so the athlete meets the target decision far more frequently than in a full game while retaining opposition and time pressure, which means the decision is practised under conditions close enough to transfer.
Games for specific outcomes apply a constraint or scoring condition that rewards the intended behaviour, so the athlete discovers the tactical solution through play rather than instruction, which produces understanding that adapts to novel situations rather than a rehearsed response that fails when conditions change.
Skill improves through correct repetition, and tactical decision-making improves through repeated exposure to the decision under realistic pressure; the three activities differ in how much repetition and how much realism they supply, which is why a program uses all three rather than choosing one. Drills isolate a movement and remove the variability of the contest, so the athlete achieves many correct repetitions in a short time, accelerating the motor learning that makes the skill automatic and freeing attention for decision-making. Modified games alter field size, player numbers or rules to increase how often a particular situation occurs, so the athlete meets the target decision far more frequently than in a full game while retaining opposition and time pressure, which keeps the practice close enough to competition to transfer. Games for specific outcomes apply a constraint or scoring condition rewarding the intended behaviour, so the athlete discovers the tactical solution through play rather than instruction, producing understanding that adapts to novel situations rather than a rehearsed response that fails when conditions change. Performance therefore improves because the three activities are sequenced along a continuum from repetition to realism, building the skill until it is automatic and then requiring it under progressively more game-like decision pressure.
Look again at card 01. The four things a fixed-spot drill removes are the decision, the opponent, the fatigue and the consequence. Which of the four did you name? Write down the one you missed, and say in a sentence how a modified game could put it back.
Multiple choice · 5 questions
MC 1. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation stretching involves:
- A. bouncing to force a joint beyond its normal range
- B. moving a joint repeatedly through its range at increasing speed
- C. holding a position without movement for 15 to 30 seconds
- D. alternately contracting and relaxing the target muscle, usually with a partner
MC 2. Which flexibility method is most appropriate immediately before a sprint session?
- A. dynamic stretching through the movement patterns of sprinting
- B. long static holds of 60 seconds per muscle group
- C. ballistic stretching to maximise range quickly
- D. partner-assisted PNF for the hamstrings
MC 3. An advantage of fixed weights over free weights is that fixed weights:
- A. train stabilising muscles more effectively
- B. guide the movement path, which makes them safer for a beginner training without a spotter
- C. transfer more directly to sporting movement patterns
- D. can be loaded more heavily than any other method
MC 4. A coach awards two points instead of one for a try scored within three passes. This is an example of:
- A. a drill, because the skill is practised in isolation
- B. ballistic training, because play is faster
- C. a modified game, because a scoring change makes the target behaviour the way to succeed
- D. a fitness test, because the outcome is scored
MC 5. A player's shooting percentage improves in drills over eight weeks but not in matches. The most likely explanation is that the drill:
- A. removed the decision, the opponent and the pressure that the match requires, so transfer was poor
- B. was performed too often to allow adaptation
- C. developed the wrong energy system for netball
- D. increased flexibility rather than skill
Short answer · exam style
SA 1. Understand Band 4 Distinguish between static and dynamic flexibility training, and explain where each should be placed in a training session. (4 marks)
SA 2. Apply Band 5 A coach uses only drills to develop a junior team's skills. Explain why the team's performance may not improve, and describe how modified games would address this. (5 marks)
SA 3. Evaluate Band 6 Assess the relevance of flexibility training and strength training methods for two sports with different demands. Justify each choice and identify one limitation. (6 marks)
📖 Comprehensive answers (click to reveal)
Multiple choice: 1 → D. 2 → A. 3 → B. 4 → C. 5 → A.
Activity 1, indicative answers: 1 → PNF, because it is generally the most effective method for increasing range and a coach is available to act as the partner it requires; supplemented with strength work through the new range, since range without strength at that range is an injury risk. Limitation: it is time-consuming and uncomfortable, and it should not be placed immediately before a power session. 2 → Fixed weights and body weight. The guided path of a machine makes it safe to train without a spotter, and body-weight work develops movement quality at a load the athlete can control. Limitation: fixed weights make little stabilisation demand, so transfer to sport is weaker, and body weight is hard to load heavily enough for maximal strength later. 3 → A modified game, for example two points for a try scored within three passes, or a rule that the ball carrier must be within five metres of a supporting player. The failure is a decision failure, not a technique failure, so the training must contain the decision. Limitation: fewer touches per player than a passing drill, and the modification must be designed carefully or players will simply ignore it. 4 → Elastics and body-weight work. Elastics are portable, load the shoulder progressively through the range, and are standard in shoulder rehabilitation. Limitation: the load cannot be quantified precisely and bands lose tension with use, so progression is harder to record than it would be with weights.
Activity 2, indicative answers: A defensible design is a four-on-four game in a reduced third with a shot clock of five seconds and a rule that a goal counts double if scored after a pass received while moving. The mechanism is that the modification makes the target behaviour the only efficient route to scoring: the shot clock forces a decision under time pressure, the reduced space guarantees a defender is close, and the doubled score rewards shooting from a moving reception rather than a set position. What the drill did better is repetition volume and the chance to correct technique under low pressure, both of which the game gives up. To measure the change, record shooting attempts and conversions in match play, not in training. The trap is that training shooting percentage may fall when the game is introduced, because the task has become harder, and reading that fall as a failure would be a mistake; the measure that matters is what happens in competition.
SA 1 (4 marks): Static stretching moves the joint to the point of mild tension and holds the position without movement, typically for 15 to 30 seconds [1], and is best placed in the cool-down or in a separate flexibility session [1]. Dynamic stretching moves the joint repeatedly and under control through its range, progressively increasing speed and range [1], and belongs in the warm-up, because it raises tissue temperature and rehearses the movement pattern the athlete is about to perform, whereas long static holds immediately before explosive activity can briefly reduce power output [1].
SA 2 (5 marks): Why drills alone fall short [3]: a drill simplifies the task by removing the opponent, the decision, the fatigue and the consequence, so it develops technique but not the selection of the technique [1]; the improvement therefore has poor transfer, because the competitive task is a different task from the one that was practised [1]; performance can improve within the drill and remain unchanged in competition, which is precisely the pattern described [1]. How modified games address it [2]: a modified game keeps the decision, the opponent and the pressure in place while an altered rule, space, player number or scoring system makes the target behaviour the way to succeed [1]; a specific worked example, such as awarding double points for a try scored within three passes to promote support play [1].
SA 3 (6 marks): Three marks per sport, awarded for reasoning. For each: a demand profile [1], a matched flexibility and strength choice justified against that profile [1], and a genuine limitation [1]. For example, a gymnast requires extreme controlled range at end position, so PNF and static flexibility are matched because PNF is the most effective method for increasing range, and body-weight strength through full range is matched because the athlete must control the range they have gained; the limitation is that PNF requires a trained partner and time, and range gained without strength at that range is an injury risk. A rugby forward requires high force in a contested, unstable position, so dynamic flexibility in the warm-up and free-weight strength work are matched because free weights demand the stabilisation a scrum or tackle demands; the limitation is that free-weight work requires technique coaching and supervision, and heavy loading with poor technique is a real injury risk. Two sports with genuinely different demands are required; two similar sports cap the response.
Lessons 3, 4 and 5 complete one dot point: the types of training and their relevance to a variety of sports. You now have five families, anaerobic, aerobic, flexibility, strength, and skill and tactical, and one routine for assessing any of them, which is demand profile, matched method, trade-off.
Lessons 6 and 7 change the question. Instead of asking which method, they ask how any method must be applied for adaptation to occur at all. Before you move on, write one sentence for each of the five families naming the sport you would most associate it with, and why.
Mark lesson as complete
Tick when you've finished the practice and review.