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Training

A complete overview of training principles, building blocks, scheduling and phasing, completed with scientific articles and real-life tips & examples.

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Training Principles 
Building Blocks 
Training Schedules
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Training principles

 I.  Individual Differences

Because every athlete is different, each person's response to exercise will vary. A proper training program should be modified to take individual differences into account. Some considerations:

• Large muscles heal slower than smaller muscles; 

• Fast or explosive movements require more recovery time than slow movements; 

• Fast twitch muscle fibers recover quicker than slow twitch muscle fibers;

• Women generally need more recovery time than men;

• Older athletes generally need more recovery time than younger athletes;

• The heavier the load lifted, the longer it will take the muscles to recover;

• These are just some of the many differences in athletes. All of these differences will factor into an athlete's training routine. Coaches should also be aware of these differences, and not expect all the athletes on a team to perform the exact same routines;

 II.  Overload

The principle of overload states that a greater than normal stress or load on the body is required for training adaptation to take place. The body will adapt to this stimulus. Once the body has adapted then a different stimulus is required to continue the change. In order for a muscle (including the heart) to increase strength, it must be gradually stressed by working against a load greater than it is used to. To increase endurance, muscles must work for a longer period of time than they are used to. If this stress is removed or decreased there will be a decrease in that particular component of fitness. A normal amount of exercise will maintain the current fitness level.

 III.  Progression

The principle of progression implies that there is an optimal level of overload that should be achieved, and an optimal timeframe for this overload to occur. Overload should not be increased too slowly or improvement is unlikely. Overload that is increased too rapidly will result in injury or muscle damage. Beginners can exercise progressively by starting near threshold levels and gradually increasing in frequency, intensity, and time within the target zone. Exercising above the target zone is counterproductive and can be dangerous. For example, the weekend athlete who exercises vigorously only on weekends does not exercise often enough, and so violates the principle of progression. Many people, who consider themselves to be regular exercisers, violate the principle of progression by failing to exercise above threshold levels and in the exercise target zone. Clearly, it is possible to do too little and too much exercise to develop optimal fitness.

The Principle of Progression also makes us realize the need for proper rest and recovery. Continual stress on the body and constant overload with result in exhaustion and injury. You should not (and can not) train hard all the time. Doing so will lead to overtraining and a great deal of physical and psychological damage will result.

 IV.  Adaptation

The body adapts to stress in a highly specific way. Adaptation is the way the body 'programs' muscles to remember particular activities, movements or skills. By repeating that skill or activity, the body adapts to the stress and the skill becomes easier to perform. Adaptation explains why a beginning exercisers are often sore after starting a new routine, but after doing the same exercise for weeks and months the athlete has little, if any, muscle soreness. This also explains the need to vary the routine and continue to apply the Overload Principle if continued improvement is desired. 

 V.  Use / Disuse

Once you understand the Principle of Adaptation, you understand the need for rest. However, how much rest is enough and how much is too much? The Principle of Use/Disuse implies that you "use it or lose it." This simply means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse. The main problem here is finding the correct balance between stress and rest on the muscles. There must be periods of low intensity between periods of high intensity to allow for recovery. The periods of lower intensity training, or the rest phase, is a prime time for a bit of crosstraining. Cross training allows you to let over stressed muscle groups rest and recover, while still providing cardiovascular conditioning and providing muscle balance by working the muscles that aren't as integral to your sport.

 VI.  Specificity

Related to the principle of adaptation is the principle of specificity. Because the body will adapt in a highly specific way to the training it receives, a strong athletic foundation is needed before specific training methods will work optimally. The Specificity Principle simply states that for these reasons, training must go from highly general training to highly specific training. For example, if you are a sprinter, you may start out with easy running and general strength training before moving on to explosive training in the way of plyometrics or sprinting out of the blocks. If you try to do explosive, high intensity training too soon, you will run the risk of such training being ineffective and possibly resulting in injury. The principle of Specificity also implies that to become better at a particular exercise or skill, you must perform that exercise or skill. To be a good cyclist, you must cycle. The point to take away is that a runner should train by running and a swimmer should train by swimming. There are, however, some great reasons to cross train.

Training:

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ABSTRACTS, NEWS & ARTICLES:

TRAINING PRINCIPLES:

- I. Individual Differences
- II. Overload
- III. Progression
- IV. Adaptation
- V. Use / Disuse
- VI. Specificity

BUILDING BLOCKS:

- I. Strength
- II. Speed
- III. Stamina
- IV. Endurance
- V. Coordination

OVERTRAINING:

- I. The Overtraining Syndrome
- II. How to detect Overtraining?
- III. Overtraining and Chronic Fatigue
- IV. How to avoid Overtraining?
- V. How to cure overtraining?

800m:

- I. Overview

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

- The Effects of training
- Phases of Adaptation
- The Annual Program
- Examples

COMBINING DIFFERENT TRAINING MEANS:

- Preparation of Middle Distance Runners