Physical training — AQA GCSE Physical Education
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Physical training explained
This section is a course-level aim rather than a single examinable fact.
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You build knowledge of the principles of training (such as specificity, progressive overload, reversibility, recovery and the FITT principles of frequency, intensity, time and type) and of different training methods (for example continuous, interval, circuit, weight, plyometric and fartlek training). You then apply that knowledge across a four-stage cycle: plan a personal programme with realistic goals, carry out the sessions, monitor progress using records such as a training diary or heart-rate data, and evaluate whether the programme met its goals and how it should change. Treat the four stages as connected: monitoring feeds evaluation, and evaluation feeds the next plan.
Your focus
- Explain how the principles of training apply to a personal exercise programme.
- Select and justify training methods suited to a stated goal.
- Describe how a programme is monitored and evaluated to inform future planning.
Physical training exam tips
Examiner Tips
- 💡Learn the four stages as a cycle and practise describing how evidence from monitoring changes a plan.
- 💡For each training method, be ready to state a suitable performer, goal and one advantage and limitation.
- 💡Apply principles such as progressive overload to a specific example rather than listing definitions alone.
Common Mistakes
- Treats the four stages as separate topics; connect them so monitoring evidence feeds the evaluation and the evaluation shapes the next plan.
- Assumes a personal programme must use every training method; select methods that match the individual's goal, fitness and available time.
- Describes principles of training in the abstract without applying them to a named individual's programme; always link each principle to a concrete plan.