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TERM 4: TRAINING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS Fitness refers to an individual’s ability to perform daily activities with efficiency, without experiencing excessive fatigue. It involves various components of physical fitness, which are divided into health-related and skill-related components, each contrib...

TERM 4: TRAINING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS Fitness refers to an individual’s ability to perform daily activities with efficiency, without experiencing excessive fatigue. It involves various components of physical fitness, which are divided into health-related and skill-related components, each contributing to overall fitness and wellbeing. Variations in these components can impact both physical health and functional capacity. Health-Related Fitness Components: Aerobic Capacity (Cardiorespiratory Endurance): The ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to deliver oxygen efficiently during sustained physical activity. This relies on the aerobic energy system, which uses oxygen to convert carbohydrates and fats into energy (ATP). Activities like long-distance running or swimming engage this system. Muscular Endurance: The ability of specific muscle groups to continue contracting over an extended period, particularly during high-intensity activity. This relies on the anaerobic glycolysis system for short-duration, high-intensity efforts where oxygen is limited. Examples include cycling and repetitive resistance exercises. Muscular Strength: The maximal amount of force that a muscle or group of muscles can exert against a resistance in a single effort. Measured by one repetition maximum (1RM), this is essential for movements like lifting heavy objects or performing a bench press. Flexibility: The range of motion available at a joint, influenced by the elasticity of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Good flexibility reduces injury risk and improves functional movements, such as bending or reaching. Skill-Related Fitness Components: Speed: The ability to perform a movement or cover a distance quickly. Speed involves rapid muscular contractions and the use of the ATP-PC energy system, which provides immediate energy for short bursts of high-intensity movement (e.g., sprints). Agility: The ability to change direction or speed efficiently in response to external stimuli. This is vital in sports like basketball and soccer where quick directional changes are required. Balance: The ability to maintain control over body movements and keep the center of mass over the base of support, both in static positions (static balance) and during movement (dynamic balance). Gymnasts, for instance, rely heavily on balance. Reaction Time: The time taken to respond to a stimulus, such as catching a ball after it’s been thrown or reacting to a starting signal in a race. Coordination: The ability to execute smooth and accurate movements involving multiple body parts, typically relying on the integration of sensory information and motor function. This is crucial in sports that require complex movement patterns like tennis or dance.  Muscular Power: A combination of muscular strength and speed, allowing for explosive movements like jumping or throwing. It is essential in sports like shot put and weightlifting. Energy Systems: Human movement depends on the transformation of chemical energy (from food) into mechanical energy (for muscle contractions). The body stores limited amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy carrier, which is used during all muscle contractions. To sustain physical activity, ATP must be replenished via resynthesis through three distinct energy systems: 1. ATP-PC System (Phosphagen System): Provides immediate energy by breaking down stored phosphocreatine (PC) in muscle cells. This system fuels high-intensity activities lasting up to 10 seconds, such as sprinting or heavy lifting. 2. Anaerobic Glycolysis System (Lactic Acid System): Provides energy for activities lasting from 10 seconds to 2 minutes by breaking down glucose without oxygen, producing lactic acid as a by-product. It is used during activities like 400m sprints or intense cycling. 3. Aerobic Energy System (Oxidative System): Produces ATP through the breakdown of carbohydrates and fats in the presence of oxygen. This system supports prolonged, moderate-intensity activities such as long-distance running or swimming. Each of these energy systems contributes to overall fitness depending on the type, intensity, and duration of activity. Understanding these systems helps tailor training programs to improve specific fitness components. Training Zones: Training zones are used as a guide for athletes to ensure that they are working at the intensities needed to train the required energy systems Training zone - specific intensity range that identifies the dominant energy system in use There are 2 training zones: 1. Aerobic Training Zone ○ This zone is for improving aerobic fitness (with O2). ○ To do this you must work above your aerobic threshold. ○ Your heart rate must be between 60 & 80% of your maximum heart rate. 2. Anaerobic Training Zone ○ This zone is for improving anaerobic fitness (without O2) ○ To do this you must work above your anaerobic threshold. ○ Your heart rate must be above 80% of your max heart rate. *There is a 100% (which is you using your total maximum HR) but this is not sustainable for very long as usually associated with quick, powerful bursts of movement. Calculating Target HR Zone: Training zones rely on the knowledge of an athlete’s maximum heart rate (MHR) to calculate percentages MHR can vary depending on: ○ Gender ○ Age ○ Level of fitness ○ Ethnicity ○ Overall health of the heart Age predicted maximum heart rate = 220 - age View table on following page for more information  Purpose Target zone Intensity Duration Benefits (% of MHR) (mins) High Anaerobic zone 90-100 Less than 5 Develops maximal performance (very hard) performance and speed, and is only recommended for athletes Performance Threshold zone 80-90 2-10 Develops speed endurance (hard) and maximising performance capacity Fitness Aerobic zone 70-80 10-40 Improves aerobic fitness (moderate) by making the heart stronger, enhancing lung capacity and improving efficiency of clearing lactic acid Endurance zone 60-70 40-120 Improve basic endurance (light) and strengthens the body in preparation for more intense exercise Health Recovery zone 50-60 20-40 Aids recovery and Improvement (very light) maintains a healthy heart by maintaining blood flow Training Principles: There are 8 training principles which act as a set of guidelines that athletes must follow to ensure that their training has a purpose, is safe and helps them improve. Specificity: Refers to training that is relevant to the energy systems, specific movements and fitness requirements of an activity. Comprehensive game analysis can help an athlete understand the energy systems, specific movements and fitness requirements they need to train and develop. Individuality: Refers to training that considers the personal needs, goals, fitness level, motivation and skills of an athlete. Progressive Overload: Adaptation - physiological changes due to the increased stress of exercise. Is the planned, gradual increase in training load to ensure that fitness continues to be optimised 10 % rule - changes made to training should not exceed 10% of the previous effort. Variety: Achieved through a change in: ○ Training method ○ Venue ○ Training partner Frequency: Is the number of times training occurs in a given period. Recovery time is specific to the type of training. Intensity: Refers to the magnitude of exertion required to complete movements - simply how hard an athlete trains. Type: Type of training that is used (see ‘Training Methods’ - next topic). Duration: Length of a training session The less intense the activity, the longer the duration can be Training Methods: Fitness training methods are constantly evolving, with new trends emerging each year. This can be overwhelming for someone trying to find the right approach for their individual needs and goals. It's important to remember that what works for one person may not work for another, so experimenting with different methods is key. Guidelines for a training session: 3 main stages ○ Warm up Raising HR Activation of muscles ○ Conditioning Apply training principles and methods ○ Cool down 5-10 minutes of low intensity continuous activity 5-10 minutes of stretching One way to simplify the process is to categorise training methods into broader categories. Five common categories include circuit training, continuous training, interval training, weight training, and fartlek training. Methods of training: Circuit Training: Circuit training combines aerobic exercise and strength training in a series of stations, often with minimal rest between exercises. When designing a circuit you can organise the stations to suit a particular activity or fitness goal. For example, you can target specific muscle groups, you can include weight training activities to increase strength, you can increase the length of each activity to train the aerobic system, or you can include skill-based activities. This method is ideal for those seeking weight loss, overall fitness, and muscle toning. It's a time-efficient way to get a full-body workout. Continuous training: Continuous training is submaximal training completed over a period of time without rest. It focuses on improving the aerobic system by targeting the heart and lungs. It is generally an activity that goes for over 20 minutes. Activities like running, biking, swimming, and jumping rope are commonly associated with continuous training. This method is beneficial for weight loss due to it quickly depleting your carbohydrate stores (meaning your body will start using fat supplies), endurance training, and enhancing athletic performance. You should start training at about 60% of your MHR increasing to around 75%–80% as your level of fitness improves. Interval Training: Interval training involves alternating between periods of high-intensity exercise and rest or low-intensity exercise. It trains the anaerobic energy system and consists of definite periods of work followed by definite periods of rest. This method has gained popularity with the rise of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) studios. Interval training is effective for improving cardiovascular fitness, burning calories, and building muscle. You can have both long interval and short interval training. Long interval training is generally for aerobic training. A work-rest ratio of 1:1 would be used, and each exercise interval would typically be 2-5 minutes at a submaximal pace. In contrast, short interval training helps develop tolerance to lactic acid systems, with intervals generally ranging between 10 seconds and 2 minutes, with a work-rest ratio of 1:3. Other situations may require work-rest ratios of 1:5 or 1:10 to allow for ATP and PC replenishment within the muscle.  Weight Training: Weight training, as the name suggests, involves using weights to build muscle mass and strength. It is usually anaerobic; however, aerobic weight training can be achieved by using very light weights over a long training time. Weight training programmes are usually planned using repetitions (reps) and sets. A ‘repetition’ is a single movement or exercise, whereas a ‘set’ is a given number of repetitions (usually 8–12). How much weight a performer should be using can be calculated using their 1 Repetition Maximum (1 RPM or RM). This is the heaviest weight they can lift all at once for one repetition. Performers must take care when testing repetition maximums, as the weights involved are at the limit of their abilities. This method can be tailored to individual needs and goals, with different exercises and weight loads used to target specific muscle groups. Weight training is essential for improving overall strength, power, and bone density. Fartlek Training: Fartlek is derived from the Swedish term meaning ‘speed play’. Essentially, this training involves many changes of speed. Like interval training, fartlek training is good for athletes requiring changes of pace and sudden bursts of speed. Some advantages of this type of training are that it can be used to improve both the aerobic and anaerobic systems by mixing moderate activity with bursts of speed, and it can be varied to suit the fitness level of each individual performer and the available time they have to train. On the contrary, some disadvantages are the fact that the performer decides on the intensity of work, meaning that it can be hard for coaches to tell if performers are working as hard as they should be.