Training Methods
When you play a sport, you want to do the best you can. Training improves your performance.
Selecting the appropriate training methods to incorporate in your training program is important
for a number of reasons.
First, a focused, structured, individualized training program can increase your breathing rate
and your efficient use of oxygen. It can also help your body work at a higher level of exercise
for a longer time because it helps it get rid of lactic acid. It also helps your body convert more
fat to energy (that is lipid metabolism). Third, it also leads to physical changes in the muscles,
helping them to be more tolerant to the stresses caused by prolonged exertion, particularly by
strengthening the connective tissue between muscle fibers so that they experience fewer
microtraumas.
An important concept we need to keep in mind when we are talking about using training most
effectively is our ‘aerobic ceiling’ or ‘VO2max’. When you exercise, for example, by running or
cycling, you breathe at a rate that gives your body enough oxygen to allow you to continue
doing the activity without too much distress. During this time you are running or cycling
‘aerobically’, that is, with oxygen.
You know you are cycling aerobically because you have enough air left over to speak. If you
work harder still and put in more effort still, for example, you go up a hill at the same rate, you
reach a point where you just cannot take in enough air to meet the needs of your muscles. The
point at which this first happens is your aerobic ceiling or VO2max. This is when you stop
speaking.
If you go on increasing your rate further, you will be running or cycling
‘anaerobically’, that is, without oxygen. VO2max is "the maximum amount of oxygen you can
take in and use."
some factors that affect your training.
There are various questions you can ask about your training; how hard should you train, how
often and how long? We examine these questions in this section.
How hard should you work when you train? This is called your ‘training intensity’. Is harder
training better? The optimal training intensity depends on the individual person. It is train often
at above this level; you are more likely to be injured. Training at a lower level helps you keep
general cardiovascular health but you will not optimize your personal performance for high level
aerobic events.
How long should an exercise session last? The ideal duration for a training session is
difficult to say because it, too, depends on the individual person and on the intensity with which
the person exercises. Thirty minutes of training at 85% maximum heart rate may be of more
benefit than 15 minutes. Training for sixty minutes, however, may not give you twice the
advantage. This is because there is a point at which the negative effects of exercising come
into play when doing it at a high level. When you know the goal of your training, for example,
to run 20 km or cycle 80 km, it is best to look at the duration of the planned event, and to train
at the same level of anticipated performance for approximately that duration and gradually
increase your efficiency for achieving that goal.
How long should you train? What is the most effective training frequency? It seems that
most people get maximum aerobic conditioning that is, they increase VO2max, with 3 training
sessions each week. The days you take off allow muscles and ligaments to repair and reduce
the risk of cumulative physical stress.
The 3 days rest each week maximize aerobic
conditioning equally in any combination, for example, 3 days in a row with 4 rest days or
alternating days.
When you are talking about the frequency of training, you need to focus on the intensity of the
training. If you keep the intensity the same, you can lower the frequency and duration of the
training you need to maintain your aerobic fitness level. However, if you reduce the intensity
of the training and still do it with the same frequency, your fitness level will drop.
how can you select the types of training that are most useful for you ?
There are several different training methods that can be used to improve ability in different
sports. How can you decide which methods will work best for you? What you need to do is to
look at the intensity and duration of energy use in your chosen sport. The different types of
training involve activities that last for different periods of time. Anaerobic exercise lasts for a
brief duration while aerobic exercise lasts much longer.
Anaerobic exercise usually lasts less than 60 seconds. Weightlifting and sprinting are examples
of this. If these events last more than 10 seconds, lactic acid can build up and reduce muscle
performance. Training that focuses on anaerobic activities improves your tolerance to and
removal of lactic acid and helps your muscles get energy from anaerobic conditions.
Aerobic training improves the delivery of oxygen to the muscles. It increases how well the
heart pumps the blood and how well the muscles extract oxygen from the blood. It also
improves how well glucose is converted into energy. Slow long distance work is good training
for aerobic, endurance events.
As your level of exertion increases, there is a slow buildup of anaerobic metabolism in your
muscles. At 85% VO2max, the "anaerobic threshold" for most individuals, there is an abrupt
increase in anaerobic metabolism throughout the entire muscle. In most training programs you
need a balance of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises.
what types of training should you do ?
There are various types of training methods you can use to obtain the required improvement in
fitness. These methods include

Weight or resistance training

Plyometric training

Circuit training

Interval training

Aerobic or continuous training

The types of training methods are as follows:

Weight or resistance training Weight or resistance training focuses on building up
strength, power or local muscular endurance by exercising muscle against a
resistance. The muscles contract to lift a weight such as a barbell, a dumbbell or an
item that offers resistance.

Circuit training Circuit training is an approach to training that can be used to develop
several aspects of fitness. Circuits can be designed to include many types of activities
and equipment that may be specific to a certain activity or sport.

Plyometric training Plyometric training can be used to develop fast muscle fibre so
that you can get power, particularly in the legs. It’s based on the idea that a shortening
muscular contraction is much stronger if it immediately follows a lengthening
contraction of the same muscle. Muscle fibres transfer energy more quickly and
powerfully when they move in this way. It’s like stretching fully a coiled spring and
then letting it go; energy is released rapidly as the spring recoils. Individuals can use
activities such as hopping, depth jumping and bounding. Pylometric training should be
implemented under supervision, since the technique and strength necessary to do the
activities is broken by periods of rest to minimize injury.

Interval training Interval training is used to improve both aerobic and anaerobic
fitness. It refers to having periods of intense physical activity between periods of
recovery, to allow longer periods of training time at your peak performance levels.
Doing ten 80-metre sprints in ten seconds with a 60 second recovery is an example.
In training for sprints, for example, the exercise intensity or maximum effort should
remain unchanged and the recovery period should be at least three times longer than
the training interval.
You can also use interval training for longer events. If you are training to run 10 km
run in 40 minutes, you could begin by running 1 km in 4 minutes, have 4 minutes rest,
then run another and gradually build up from this. This type of training is usually
alternated with other training methods, for example, you may run like this two nights a
week and spend the third session taking a longer, slower run.

Continuous training Continuous training refers to aerobic activity performed at 60 to
90% VO2max for at least half an hour with a minimum of three training sessions per
week. This training improves aerobic capacity. Examples of this are aerobics, gym
circuit classes, cycling and swimming and running and jogging. When done at the
lower end of this range, it is often referred to as long, slow distance (LSD) training.
This level of training is ideal for those starting off an exercise program, those wishing to
maximize burning calories for weight loss and as an option for an active "rest” day in a
weekly aerobic training program.
This level of exertion can be maintained for hours at slightly less intensity than used in
competitive events in the past, and is particularly suited for endurance event training. It
is thought to have a preferential beneficial effect on the slow twitch muscle fibers (as
opposed to the fast twitch fibers used in sprint interval training).
You can improve your performance in any sport by developing an effective training
program. You can select the most appropriate training methods to incorporate in your
training program by following these steps.