Sport & Exercise Science BSc/MSci
Performance Enhancing Techniques 4D option BIOL4214
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course will examine how physiological and psychological processes can be manipulated to improve sports performance. It will assess the impact of novel training techniques, nutritional interventions and the role for improved recovery from exercise to support better adaptation to training and competitive performance.
Timetable
This option is assigned to block S2-D. There are normally 3 hours of teaching on Fridays, which may be split over more than one session.
Excluded Courses
None.
Assessment
The course will be assessed by a 2-hour examination (70%) and a poster presentation (30%). For the poster presentation, the content of the poster is worth 75% and the response to questions (defence of the poster) is worth 25%.
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
The aim of this course is to develop an advanced understanding of the physiological and psychological processes that can be manipulated to improve human sporting performance with an emphasis on whole body research.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
■ Evaluate the influence of metabolic substrates on sporting performance and critically assess commonly employed strategies to enhance performance;
■ Evaluate the physiological adaptations to established and novel training strategies and comment on the techniques used to assess their impact;
■ Appraise psychological factors that influence sporting performance and comment on the techniques used to assess these factors and then to manipulate them.