Active IQ Level 2 Award in Leading Physical Activity for Adolescents manual (sample)

Manual

Level 2 Award in Leading Physical Activity for Adolescents Version XXX

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Section 3

Physiology – The changes and effects of physical activity in adolescents

The cardiorespiratory system in adolescents The cardiorespiratory system Cardiorespiratory function continues to develop throughout childhood and into the adolescent period. Children and young adolescents have an effective cardiorespiratory system for aerobic exercise, but physical activity professionals must be very aware that there are potentially major risk factors when training young adolescents at high intensities.

Lung volume and peak flow rates Maximum ventilation increases from 40 litres (L) / min at five years of age to more than 110L / min as an adult. This means that children have higher respiratory rates than adults: 60 breaths / min compared with 40 breaths / min for the equivalent level of physical activity.

ACTIVITY

The measure of the amount of ventilation (passage of air in and out of the lungs) required for each litre of oxygen consumed is also higher in children. This means that children have an inferior pulmonary function as their respiratory muscles have to work harder to get air in and out of the lungs – this steadily improves until full growth.

Look at the following article: ‘The Happy Study’: Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated with Hard and Light Intensity Physical Activity but Not Time Spent Sedentary in 10–14-Year-Old Schoolchildren: https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3618292/ • What are the findings of the study?

• Why must we be careful when looking at this study of 135 children?

Cardiovascular function Children have smaller heart chambers with lower volumes than adults. This results in lower stroke volumes (the amount of blood leaving the heart with each beat), both at rest and during physical activity. Chamber size and blood volume gradually increase with body growth. Children and young adolescents compensate to some degree for this smaller stroke volume by having higher maximal heart rates than adults. For a young teenager their maximum heart rate could be more than 215 bpm compared with a 20-year-old whose maximum heart rate is likely to be around 195–200 bpm.

Children’s higher heart rates cannot fully compensate for their lower volume and so their cardiac outputs (the volume of blood pumped from the left ventricle in one minute) are lower than those of adults, which means their cardiovascular function is inferior to that of adults.

Aerobic capacity One would expect the aerobic capacity of a child to increase with age due to the lung and heart capacity increasing. This is true in absolute terms. Maximum ventilation (measured in L/min), increases from 6–8 years in boys and 6–14 years in girls. However, when this is normalised by body weight, little change is observed with age. There is a slight decline after puberty in girls because of the increase in body fat rather than muscle mass, with slight increases at puberty for boys as a result of the increase in muscle mass.

Any absolute difference does not limit endurance performance.

Instead, children lack technique and end up with poor economy in activities such as running. This might be partly due to the fact that in the growth spurts adolescents have disproportionately long legs, meaning that they are biomechanically out of balance and are potentially less coordinated.

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ADOLESCENCE is the period of growth between

CHILDHOOD

EARLY

ADOLESCENCE: AGES 10–15

MIDDLE

ADOLESCENCE: AGES 14–17

LATE

ADOLESCENCE: AGES 16–19 and

SPURT BONE GROWTH

MUSCLE & FAT TISSUE CHANGES

I

AND CONDI S E TIO RI U NS NJ

WTH-REL AT GRO ED

THE GROWTH

ADULTHOOD

- GROWTH-PLATE FRACTURES - SEVER’S DISEASE - OSGOOD-SCHLATTER’S DISEASE - OSTEOCHONDRITIS - SCOLIOSIS - SCHEUERMANN’S DISEASE

INCREASE IN TESTOSTERONE (BOYS) AND OESTROGEN (GIRLS)

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OBESITY STATISTICS 340 MILLION Global obesity has almost tripled since 1975.

Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 were overweight or obese in 2016.

MENTAL

HEALTH

STATISTICS MENTAL HEALTH & SOCIAL ISSUES FOR ADOLESCENTS DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS EATING DISORDERS

One in ten people with a mental health condition are an adolescent.

Half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15–19-year olds.

Emotional disorders were the most prevalent type of disorder experienced by 5–19-year-olds in 2017 (8.1%).

Reduced risk of diseases associated with a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle, e.g. coronary heart disease.

Improved overall fitness and performance.

Improved functional skills.

BENEFITS OF

Social belonging.

SOCIAL MEDIA BODY IMAGE

In 2018, 1 in 3 children leaving primary school were overweight or obese.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND A

Improved confidence and selfesteem.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Supports bone growth.

FOR ADOLESCENTS

ADDICTION

PEER PRESSURE

Weight management.

Improved concentration.

Builds positive relationships.

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Section 3

The current recommended physical activity guidelines for adolescents

Guidelines for flexibility training 1. Young adolescents may not have sufficient motor skills to develop their flexibility with good technique. It is therefore imperative that stretching is encouraged only to the point of feeling the muscle gently pull or lengthen (to the point of ‘mild tension’).

2. As with adults, dynamic stretching should be used when working with adolescents in warm-ups and static stretches in a cool-down.

Static stretching: helps to rehabilitate injuries, improves range of motion of joints and maintains mobility, increases blood flow to muscles, encourages relaxation post-activity.

Dynamic stretching: warms up core muscle temperature, mobilisation of joints and movement preparation for activity. Prepares body specifically for activity, reduces risk of injury, more explosive power. Mentally prepares body for moderate–vigorous activity ahead.

Static stretching: is not good pre-exercise when the muscles are cold, can impair strength and explosive power, needs to be used at the right time.

Dynamic stretching: does not allow you to relax fully post-activity, may aggravate injuries post-session.

Motor skills training in adolescents As the growth of children increases they develop better balance, agility and coordination as their nervous and muscular systems mature. Although practising an activity or skill will improve performance to a certain level, its degree of development depends on the stage of maturation of the neuromuscular system.

Motor skills can be divided into two types: • Gross motor skills – the large muscle movements of the body used while running, jumping, throwing and catching.

• Fine motor skills – the tiny and precise muscle movements used when texting or using a keyboard.

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The legal and professional requirements for leading physical activity sessions

Section 1

How to maintain professional boundaries when working with adolescents As physical activity professionals, we are in a privileged position and will often be in contact with children and young people within a physical environment/setting. Our role is to motivate and encourage them to participate in physical activities, to have fun through building positive relationships and a rapport with the individuals and doing nothing that will harm them.

To maintain these professional boundaries when working with adolescents, we need to consider the relevant legal responsibilities we have and ensure we adhere to them:

Programming safe and effective physical activity for adolescents

• Safeguarding children and vulnerable young adults – safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and vulnerable young adults and protect them from harm.

• Duty of Care is ‘a moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others.’

• In loco parentis is the Latin for ‘in place of a parent’ and refers to the legal responsibility of a person and/or organisation to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent.

As a physical activity professional, it is important to understand and apply safe working practise in relation to each of the following: SAFE WORK AREA AND PRACTICE

Are there current risk assessments in place for the area and activities specific to the age group you are working with? Appropriate adaptations should be used when working with specialist groups.

SITE PROCEDURES

Are you aware of the specific site procedures you are working in and the reporting procedures for the specific age group you are working with? This will include following organisational procedures related to safeguarding, reporting procedures and incidents.

EQUIPMENT

Is there the correct equipment/ size of equipment available for the specific age group you are working with? Ensure equipment is clean and stored at an appropriate height for users.

NUMBERS AND REGISTERS

Have you got a register or signing-in procedure for the specific age group you are working with? Do you have the necessary information about the child or young person, and has parental consent been given for photographs, administering first aid or medication?

STORING AND SHARING OF PERSONAL DATA

Is the personal information provided about the child or young person stored securely? Is confidentiality adhered to so that only authorised staff can access it on a ‘need to know’ basis, in line with Data Protection legislation (GDPR)?

PERSONAL SAFETY Holding appropriate qualifications for the session delivered and only working with participants for which you are qualified and maintaining CPD. Is correct public liability insurance in place? Who is the duty first aider and where is the nearest contact phone and first aid kit?

It is essential that professional boundaries are maintained. There are some key ‘do’s and don’ts’ to ensure all participants and physical activity professionals are kept safe and organisational safeguarding policies and procedures are followed.

DO: DON’T: Ensure you have correct contact details of the child and Store participants’ details on your own personal emergency contact details. phone (if you are self-employed then have a work and personal phone).

Link to participants’ Facebook or other social network sites.

Always use appropriate language and behaviour and challenge any discriminatory or offensive behaviour.

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Use hurtful, disrespectful comments or ignore other participants’ comments.

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