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Presentation
Presentation
The curricular unit Health and Physical Fitness highlights the coach's role in promoting health, safety, injury prevention and well-being in sports training. It examines the relationship between training load, individual characteristics, growth, maturation, fatigue, sleep, illness, injury, environmental factors and psychosocial demands, assessing their impact on the ability to train, compete and develop. Students are prepared to interpret relevant information, adapt training decisions, prevent injuries and communicate with athletes, families and professionals. The distinction between the coach's responsibilities and those of healthcare professionals is emphasised, with no inclusion of diagnosis, treatment or independent rehabilitation. The unit integrates knowledge from Physiology, Biomechanics, Psychology and Training Methodology to address challenges in health and sustainable performance.
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Class from course
Class from course
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Degree | Semesters | ECTS
Degree | Semesters | ECTS
Bachelor | Semestral | 2.5
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Year | Nature | Language
Year | Nature | Language
3 | Mandatory | Português
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Code
Code
ULHT495-3-1081
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Prerequisites and corequisites
Prerequisites and corequisites
Not applicable
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Professional Internship
Professional Internship
Não
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Syllabus
Syllabus
Health, physical fitness and sustainable performance. Athlete analysis and long-term athletic development. Training load, adaptation and fatigue. Monitoring readiness and data literacy. Injury prevention in training. Session adaptation and identification of warning signs. Gradual return to sport. Recovery and sleep quality. Well-being, mental health and career sustainability. Managing training in demanding contexts and schedules. Evidence-based decision-making and professional communication.
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Objectives
Objectives
Explain the relationship between training, physical fitness, health, risk, availability, and sustainable performance. Analyse the needs of each athlete, considering sport, age, training history, growth, maturation, experience, health, and context. Critically select and interpret indicators of load, fatigue, recovery, and readiness, recognising limitations and the need for context. Propose injury prevention strategies and adapt training in response to fatigue, pain, illness, breaks, or changes in availability. Recognise warning signs, justify changes to training, and explain principles of gradual return while respecting professional boundaries. Integrate sleep, recovery, psychological well-being, prevention of overtraining, and career sustainability into training decisions. Seek, analyse, and synthesise scientific evidence, communicate recommendations clearly, and collaborate with athletes, coaches, and teams.
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Teaching methodologies
Teaching methodologies
This module adopts an active weekly preparation, with prior access to guided readings, supplementary materials and practical cases, encouraging critical reflection. Classes emphasise contextualisation of topics, student participation and discussion, application to real problems, practical monitoring and adaptation, and the systematisation of core concepts. Methods such as case studies, evidence-based debate, professional decision-making simulations, critical analysis of tools, collaborative solution-building and review tasks are prioritised. Both lecturer and peers provide formative feedback, and responsible use of generative AI is encouraged for independent study. No compulsory written submissions are required, reinforcing active and collaborative learning.
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References
References
American College of Sports Medicine. (2025). ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (C. Ozemek, Senior ed.; 12th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. French, D. N., & Torres Ronda, L. (Eds.). (2022). NSCA's essentials of sport science. Human Kinetics.
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Assessment
Assessment
Instrumento
Natureza
Ponderação
Frequência escrita
Individual
50%
Trabalho de revisão/síntese crítica da literatura
Grupo, com avaliação individual diferenciável
30%
Avaliação oral contínua de preparação e aplicação dos conteúdos
Individual
20%
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Mobility
Mobility
No
