Sport Exercise and Nutrition BSc(Hons)

You'll be provided with a foundation knowledge within the area of nutrition, bioenergetics and metabolism. The relationship between what we eat, and nutrition will be explored by looking at the importance of the food groups that make up the diet, the nutritional needs for different population groups and the link between diet and disease. You'll also look at the role of macronutrients in the diet in terms of how energy is provided and metabolised.

Biomechanics is the study of the forces acting on and produced by the body. You'll be supported to develop an understanding of the academic and practical skills required of a sport and exercise scientist, providing you with knowledge to interpret biomechanical principles that govern human motion. Biomechanics is one of the key sport and exercise science disciplines recognised by British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

This module will investigate how people think, feel and behave in a sport and exercise context. You’ll have the opportunity to improve diet, exercise and physical activity levels, and gain an understanding of psychological skills and their influence on sports performance and exercise and dietary behaviour.

In this module you'll explore the specific roles of the coach in the context of youth sport. You'll be provided with opportunities to develop practical skills including communication and demonstration skills. It will also help you gain an understanding of underpinning principles of coaching including models of youth development, positive youth development through sport, and coaching styles.

This module focuses on establishing an understanding of the research process and developing the academic skills required to progress in higher education and successfully complete the course. You'll examine essential areas such as essay and report writing, referencing and the use of Summon in searching for information. You'll explore concepts of research design and the research process and you'll identify where support can be accessed to enable academic progression. This module will also introduce key concepts in Professional Practice to support future career goals.

In the first part of the module you'll learn about the nutritional and metabolic significance of energy and the role of the macro and micronutrients in the body. This will include their function, requirements, dietary sources and the effects of deficiency and toxicity. In the second part of the module you'll apply this knowledge to explore the relationships between diet and disease. This will include looking at the link between diet and diseases of affluence including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Factors influencing the nutritional status of individuals through the life cycle will also be considered, for example during pregnancy through to older adults.

The body is an incredibly advanced and complex machine. Millions of processes occur at any given time, from the cellular level all the way up to whole-body level; and that is just at rest. When the body is ‘challenged’ by physical exertion, our nervous system and muscles become more active, initiating an exciting and intricate series of processes. This module is designed to expose you to classic and contemporary issues in sport and exercise physiology, uncovering both the fascinating way our body reacts to exercise, and how this can be harnessed and trained to improve athletic performance and our general health.

This module will help you further develop the skills and knowledge of research methods you learnt in Year 1, supporting you to produce a more considered research proposal for your final year project. You'll focus on the applications of research methods to different kinds of problems, allowing experiential learning to take place. This will help you to become better equipped to undertake your own research and offer a critique of the research of others.

This module provides the opportunity to gain work experience in an industry placement and develop an understanding of the core purpose and management of the organisation. You’ll complete 100 hours on placement where you'll identify, develop and maintain a role as a working member of the team, appreciating the rights and responsibilities of yourself and the organisation.

You'll be introduced to a variety of methods and approaches that are widely used in sport and exercise psychology when working with population groups. In sport psychology, you'll apply and evaluate sport psychology theory in a practical coaching setting. In exercise psychology, you'll explore why many individuals do not meet current recommended physical activity levels and look at theories of motivating and encouraging them to do so. You'll learn how to conduct, transcribe and interpret an interview in a sport and exercise psychology setting. You'll also consider and evaluate the implications of these approaches.

The sport scientist must combine the knowledge base and evaluative skills of the scientist with the procedural knowledge of the practitioner. This module aims to provide you with a clear understanding of the core skills and theoretical perspectives of sport science disciplines, contextualised within a sports science support programme. An awareness of the multi-disciplinary nature of sports science work and an athlete centred approach are fundamental to this. Through group work you’ll have the opportunity to apply your knowledge to develop an applied programme of support for a client or client group.

This module aims to enhance your understanding and ability to critique the process of metabolic regulation and integration influence how energy is stored and converted during exercise. You'll be taught the biochemical processes at the molecular level linked to metabolism and physiological processes involving the muscular, neuroendocrine, respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Notably, the effect of nutrition on the modulation of these processes will be interwoven throughout the module. A large emphasis will be based on the critique of the research methodologies used within studies, as well as analysing classical and contemporary literature.

What we eat affects our health; for athletes, the optimum diet is essential for optimum performance. Consequently, nutrition is of direct relevance to sport, exercise and health professionals. Throughout this module you'll be encouraged to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to critically evaluate nutritional requirements and to give evidence-based advice to a range of individuals within sport, exercise and health.

The module introduces you to information and skills that provide the framework for making judgements to deliver appropriate remedial and rehabilitation advice throughout all stages of the recovery process. You'll explore the role of the multidisciplinary team in the rehabilitation of the injured participant. You'll also consider common sport and exercise injuries including tennis elbow and Osgood Schlatters disease and their management. The module will complement your previous knowledge of sport and exercise science to consider appropriate exercise programmes safely and effectively in order to restore maximum function.

The role of a strength and conditioning coach is one that is constantly evolving, requiring not only the ability to coach, but also the ability to critically understand developments in the science of strength and conditioning. It is extremely important to have the breadth and depth of knowledge of the scientific principles that underpin effective application of strength and conditioning training interventions in order to optimise and develop training prescription. Fundamentally, it is also crucial that coaches are able to deliver a training programme in a safe and effective way to an athlete, skills which you'll have the opportunity to develop during the course of your degree and this module.