Module Directory

Building on foundational principles of Applied Physiology, this module evaluates key factors influencing athletic performance, including warm-up interventions, fatigue, and durability.

It further explores the physiological challenges posed by exercising in extreme conditions such as heat, altitude, and cold, examining the body’s adaptive responses to these stressors. By integrating theoretical knowledge with practical application, students will gain the ability to employ advanced methods for predicting performance outcomes and designing evidence-based interventions tailored to the unique demands of training and competition in challenging environments.

This module equips students with the critical thinking and practical skills necessary to support athletes, coaches, and governing bodies in optimising performance and ensuring safety in extreme environments. Through engagement with cutting-edge research techniques, advanced data modelling methods, and a hands-on teaching approach, students will develop expertise in a field of growing importance to global sports performance and human health.

The aims of this module are to:

• Explore the physiological challenges of exercising in extreme environments, focusing on fatigue, durability, and warm-up interventions.


• Develop the skills to design evidence-based strategies to optimise performance and safety in these conditions, using advanced research and data modelling techniques.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of advanced physiological testing methods to assess and monitor the training status, recovery and performance potential of athletes across a large range of sporting disciplines.


2. Apply advanced data modelling techniques to predict performance outcomes.


3. Design evidence-based strategies to optimise performance and minimise risks for athletes training or competing in extreme conditions.


4. Understand the multifactorial nature of fatigue and durability, and identify the factors that ultimately limit performance.


5. Critically evaluate the efficacy of various physiological interventions aimed at enhancing athlete performance, such as different training interventions, altitude training, and heat acclimatisation.

In this module, we will cover the key concepts and practices related to Performance and Environmental Physiology, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of its core principles and applications.

Indicative syllabus

• Introduction to the role of a performance physiologist: examples from different sports


• The physiological factors that limit VO2max and lactate threshold. 


• Physiological adaptations (central and peripheral) to endurance training.


• Fundamentals of female physiology: implications for athletic performance and injury


• Physiological responses and adaptations to exercising at altitude.


• Physiological responses to exercising in the heat/cold.


• Physiological mechanisms underpinning fatigue and methods of recovery (including sex-differences, nutrition, sleep, travel).


• Exercise intensity domains, training intensity distribution, and periodisation.


• Training load monitoring

This module will be delivered via:

• One 1.5-hour lecture per week
• One 1-hour seminar per week
• Four 2-hour practical labs (3x in Sport Science Labs, 1x in IT lab)
• Five 1-hour Voluntary support class
• Four 2-hour Voluntary practical session

Students are expected to undertake weekly reading, undertake pre-session tasks (in specific weeks), actively engage within taught sessions (e.g., contribute to in-class tasks), and undertake weekly independent study tasks to consolidate learning in taught sessions. These diverse methods aim to enhance your understanding and provide opportunities for both theoretical and applied learning.