sports science

Hormones

Compounds made in the body that act as chemical messengers, telling cells what to do

Glycogen

A ‘giant’ molecule used for carbohydrate storage in the muscle and liver, consisting of large numbers of glucose units linked together to form an insoluble matrix of readily available carbohydrate

Triglycerides

A fat storage and transport molecule, consisting of glycerol bonded to three fatty acids

Blood lactate

A by-product of intense exercise, indicating that insufficient oxygen is available to fuel that exercise and leading to muscular fatigue

Stretch-shortening cycle (SSC)

A movement that involves an eccentric muscle contraction immediately followed by a concentric contraction

Eccentric

A muscle exerting force when lengthening

Concentric

A muscle exerting force when shortening

Elastic energy

Energy stored in the connective tissue

Medicine ball

A weighted ball that can be thrown and caught for training purposes

Counter-movement jump

An example of an SSC, in which you squat and then jump up as high as possible

Adduct

To move a limb towards the centre of the body

Abduct

To move a limb away from the centre of the body

Fast twitch muscle fibres

Muscle fibres that are able to contract at high forces and speeds but that fatigue easily

Avulsed tooth

A tooth that has been completely knocked out of the mouth, with both tooth and root intact

Tooth crown

The white part of the tooth that is visible in the mouth

Tooth root

The yellow part of the tooth, anchoring tooth to bone, that is not normally visible in the mouth

Temporomandibular joint

The hinge mechanism just in front of the ear(s), which allows the lower jaw to open and close