Principles of Training Make your Exercise Program Effective

Principles of Training Make your Exercise Program Effective

Note Taking You will need to make notes for your term test.

Efficient and Safe Training – you should always consider the following items: 1. your previous involvement in physical activity, 2. your present level of fitness, 3. your present health, 4. your past medical history Discomfort– even with safe training it is normal to experience some level of discomfort. Your muscles will initially feel ‘sore’ but your body quickly adapts if you continue to train. Efficiency—you must follow a carefully planned and deliberate training program. This way you will get the best results from the time you spend training.

Three Basic Principles 1. Overload 2. Progression 3. Specificity We will review each principle

Principle of Overload Various systems of the body become stronger and function better if increased demands (overload) are put on them. This means you must push your body beyond what it can easily handle. Example: weight training produces … The amount of overload needed varies by individual. Some will need more stress than others and some will need to work on overloading in different components of fitness (flexibility vs muscular endurance)

Milo of Crotona This ancient Olympic wrestler (532 -516 BC) exhibited qualities similar to Hercules in that he was of massive size and stature, he possessed great strength, and he was an extraordinary athlete. Milo used the overload principle and became the only one in the village strong enough to lift a full size bull! No Bull!!!!!!

Overload Principle The principle of overload may be accomplished by increasing one of three variables. “FITT” 1. Frequency (how often you exercise) 2. Intensity (how hard you exercise) 3. Time (how long you exercise) 4. Type (the specific exercise you perform)

Frequency Exercise must be performed regularly if you are to reach and maintain an adequate level of physical fitness. Should be a daily habit, like brushing your teeth. There is a clear connection between how frequently you exercise and your outward appearance (“looking good”) and how healthy you are (“feeling good”) Three days a week should be a MINIMUM frequency. It will also depend on your fitness goals (cardio vascular training vs muscular strength and endurance)

Intensity Your intensity should be hard enough to demand more effort than usual. This is a very individual decision—too much intensity can cause injury, while too little intensity won’t lead to improvement. It depends on both your present fitness level and your fitness goals. The bottom line is that you need to push yourself or you will not see improvement; however you must also learn how hard your can push yourself.

Intensity Example (cardio vascular fitness) To improve cardiovascular fitness, you must make your heart best faster than it usually does. Intensity is indicated by the number of heartbeats per minute. To make your heart beat faster you might run at a faster rate, making the exercise more intense. Or, you could run up hills. There are many exercises that can improve cardiovascular fitness. Can you come up with examples of how this would work for flexibility or muscular strength?

Time This is simply how long you exercise. In order to be effective, training must take place over a certain length of time. For example, cardiovascular fitness requires you maintain your target heart rate for at least 15 to 30 minutes. Does PE do this for you? Stretches should be held for 30 -45 seconds each. As time of activity increases, it is natural for intensity level to decrease. As a beginner it is best to go at a lower intensity over a longer period of time. Then work on increasing the intensity.

Type refers to the specific type of exercise you do, the components of fitness you are trying to improve, and the specific muscle groups involved. This also refers to specific sport training. The key is SPECIFICITY! Weight training for muscular strength will not improve your cardiovascular fitness. Biceps curls will not make your chest muscles stronger. Jogging for 7 -10 minutes per day will not improve cardiovascular fitness. Jogging for 45 minutes a day will not improve speed.

Principle of Progression As you work harder, your body adapts. As your body becomes accustomed to this workload, you must progressively increase the amount of work for improvement to occur. If you progressively increase the load, fitness will improve and you will decrease injuries. (record your progress) SAFE PROGRESSION—You should slowly and progressively apply stress to the body. Signs you have overloaded the body: you are unusually tired during and after exercise, feel nauseous, and/or feel muscle and joint pains that do not go away. (after a few days) TRAIN SMART, TRAIN SAFE.

Train Smart Know yourself, rest, recover, eat right, and know when to NOT TRAIN

Al Yarr’s Words of Wisdom “One workout will not MAKE and athlete, but one workout can BREAK and athlete!” What does Al mean?

Summary Three Training Principles : Overload, Progression, Specificity Overload—must be beyond what you easily handle. Place overload on the body using by increasing one or more of the overload variables: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type (FITT)

In Class Assignment Questions You can use your notes. You have ten minutes— work on your own! 1. Why must overload be placed on the body to improve physical fitness? 2. Why does overload vary from individual to individual? 3. Why must you progressively increase the amount of work for improvement to occur? 4. Give an example of an exercise or activity we could do in the gym and explain how the specificity principle is involved.

Answers: Page 79 1. 2. 3. 4. The body adapts to the workload placed on it. Therefore, additional overload would need to be added to the various systems of the body so that they become stronger and function better. You must push yourself beyond your “comfort zone”. The amount of overload varies because of individual differences in flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Age, previous involvement in activity, and medical history play a role in the amount of overload needed. By increasing the amount of work slowly, the body has time to adapt or adjust to the overload placed on it, reducing the chance of discomfort and risk of injury. Answers will vary!

Fit Principle Chart Make a chart for 5 health related components of fitness.