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This system is mainly concerned with producing movement through muscle contraction. This section explores the different types of muscles in our body and their involvement in sporting activities.

The skeleton is the central structure of the body and is made up of bones, joints and cartilage. The skeleton provides the framework for muscles and gives the body its defined human shape.

The cardiovascular system is made up of three main parts - the heart, the blood vessels and the blood that flows through them.

The respiratory system transports oxygen from the air we breathe, through a system of tubes, into our lungs and then diffuses it into the bloodstream, whilst carbon dioxide makes the opposite journey.

Depending upon whether the body uses oxygen or not in order to perform physical activities determines if the activity is aerobic (with oxygen) or anaerobic (without oxygen).

During exercise the body systems respond immediately to provide energy for the muscles to work. After regular and repeated exercise, these systems adapt to become more efficient.

To help people understand the different types of movement in sport, specific terminology is used so that it is clear exactly what types of movements have taken place in order to analyse that movement.

Health, fitness and exercise are essential to the sporting and life performance of humans. The relationship between the three is cyclical.

Training means exercising regularly to improve skills and fitness. The training that an athlete does must be appropriate for that person and their sport in order to get the most out of their training.

There are a number of different ways of training that can improve health and fitness necessary for a range of activities. Warming up and cooling down are essential parts of a training session.

Physical activity comes with risks. Athletes may get injured. Some may have conditions or lifestyles that make participating riskier, and others may take risks by taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Skills are learned through high quality practice. They enable athletes to perform effectively. Skills range from basic to complex and can be open or closed depending on the sport.

Performers need guidance to acquire and improve their skills. Visual, verbal, manual and mechanical guidance are used in different situations and to support performers in a range of different ways.

Feedback is crucial to learning and refining skill and can be achieved in numerous ways. Feedback comes from the feel of a performance, the outcome of an action and can be both positive and negative.

To succeed and perform their best, athletes need to use their minds as well as their bodies. Mental techniques help to control emotions, manage stress and improve participation and performance.

Setting SMART targets helps participants to improve and optimise their performance, plan their training, keep focused, stay motivated, track their progress and achieve long and short term goals.

Participation in physical activity is influenced by social factors such as social groupings, family and friends as well as personal factors such as age, gender, disability and ethnicity.

Sport requires people to follow written and unwritten rules to make it fair. It expects people to behave responsibly to ensure respect, fairness and safety. In this way, it promotes social values.

Sport is not just about participation. It is also part of the commercial world, managed and marketed to make money. Sponsorship and the media are now significant influences on sport.

Physical activity is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Linked to other positive lifestyle choices, it promotes good physical health and contributes to people’s emotional and social wellbeing.

Many people in our society lead inactive lifestyles due to passive job roles, leisure activities and, sometimes, a lack of opportunity. Sedentary lifestyles can cause poor health.

People need to manage the quantity, type and proportion of foods that they eat as part of a healthy lifestyle or, for sportspeople, as part of a training and performance regime.

An exam is designed to find out how much you understand about a subject. There are some key techniques that you can learn to help you do as well as possible for each type of exam question.

You will be taking a theory exam for part of your GCSE PE course and the paper will contain a range of questions across all the subject content that you have studied.

To help athletes to improve, coaches and performers need to observe and analyse athletes’ movements during performance. They use this data to monitor progress and provide effective feedback.

Having identified an athlete’s strengths and areas for improvement, coaches and performance analysts use the data to develop training programmes that improve the athlete’s skills and fitness.

Coaches and performers use performance analysis technology to develop and improve the strategies and tactics that athletes use during team and individual performances.

Athletes use a personal exercise programme (PEP) to ensure their training develops the specific skills and fitness they require for their sport. This is designed to suit their individual needs.