A range of physiological monitoring procedures will be demonstrated, which may be used to support athletes in laboratory and field settings, such as tests to measure V¿O2max, lactate threshold, maximal intensity exercise, neuromuscular performance and body composition. More specifically, students will be directed to sources such as e-books, online journals, audio lectures, podcasts and video clips of standard physiological monitoring tests to gain an understanding of the reasons and limitations for physiological monitoring and the validity, reliability, specificity, and advantages/limitations of the physiological monitoring tests. Students will be given the opportunity to engage in group and individual discussion issues, reflection questions, and formative assessment, to enhance their understanding of key concepts and to develop a critical awareness of theoretical constraints that underlie practical application. Students will also be given the opportunity to communicate asynchronously and synchronously with an athlete (or athletes), to obtain information from them that can be used to inform the development of a test battery.

Students will be provided a prerecorded lab-based video containing a battery of physiological tests. Students will be required to plan and provide critical rationale for a selection of physical tests from within the video, by referring to the physiological determinants and metabolic demands of the sport, the needs of the athlete, and the specificity, validity, reliability, advantages, and limitations of each test undertaken. The report should contain two parts (1) an “athlete-friendly” report, and (2) a scientific report, analysing, diagnosing, and critically evaluating the set of data derived from physiological monitoring tests on an athlete. The outcome of this report meets LO1 and LO2.

Students will follow a guided study programme and access support material via Blackboard. Students will be required to access additional support material independently. Each activity will commence with tutor developed introductory material, using a range of formats. This material will then be followed by a series of weekly tasks that will deliver the learning outcomes of the activity. These tasks will be carried out individually, or as part of a small group. The assessments set within the module will allow students to demonstrate understanding and critical analysis skills via content and task related activities drawn from the module topic areas. In addition to core tasks, further additional reading, optional tasks and specific preparation for the module assessments will be required.

1. Plan, design and critically justify physiological monitoring tests relevant for an athlete or group of athletes. Analysis, application, communication, knowledge and understanding, learning, problem solving

Analysis, application, communication, knowledge and understanding, learning, problem solving.


2. Analyse, diagnose and critically evaluate physiological monitoring test results, and disseminate findings in an appropriate format. Analysis, knowledge and understanding, communication

Analysis, knowledge and understanding, communication

Tanner, R., & Gore, C. (eds). Australian Institute of Sport. (2013). Physiological tests for elite athletes. (2nd ed.). Human Kinetics.
Coombes, J., & Skinner, T. (2014). ESSA’s student manual for health, exercise and sport assessment. Elsevier.

Access to an appropriate PC, with accompanying software including Office 365 (MS Teams, One-Drive, Word, PowerPoint, Excel et al.), Adobe, and Java software. Access to appropriate reading materials, which can be accesses through the Staffordshire University library resource pages.

The overall aim of the module is to investigate a range of physiological monitoring procedures, which may be used to support athletes in laboratory and field settings. Specifically, techniques for monitoring physiological performance will be evaluated, such as methods of assessing aerobic and anaerobic capability (e.g., via V¿O2max, lactate response, maximal intensity exercise), muscular strength and power, and body composition. You will be required to recognise the underlying scientific rationale for employing physiological tests through, for instance, applying knowledge about energy requirements and physiological determinants of a particular sport. You will also be required to develop a critical and analytical appreciation of the practicality, specificity, reliability, validity, and the advantages and limitations of specific physiological monitoring tests. This module will be as applied and as practical as possible, despite it being online. For instance, not only will you gather knowledge about an athlete (or group of athletes) via researching scientific material, but you will also gather information via video and online communication with the athlete. The test battery with the athlete will be conducted live, which you will be able to watch in real time. There will also be edited video clips available for subsequent viewing. Finally, you will analyse and evaluate the results obtained from the physiological monitoring tests, critiquing the relevancy of the data, their limitations, usefulness, meaningfulness for the athlete and coach, their application and their validity. You will need to be able to disseminate your findings to both a scientific audience and to the athlete.