Basic Training Principles
Period 2 - Class Definitions
Overload
In order for the body to increase its fitness, it must be pushed beyond its normal
stress. You can apply overload in duration, intensity, weight lifted, and other ways
to reach adaptation and excel above it.
Progression
A gradual increase in workload over a period of time which results in
improvements in fitness. Proper rest and recovery are also essential.
Diminishing Returns
The diminishing returns principle states that when you first begin working out, it is
easier to see more in return (weight loss, muscle gain, etc.). As you continue
progressing, you will see diminishing returns.
Specificity
In order to improve a specific skill or in a specific sport, athletic training must focus
on those skills. A runner should train by running, a swimmer should swim, and a
cyclist should bike.
Reversibility
Hard earned fitness gains disappear when athletes stop training. Use it or lose it!
You'll lose it faster than you gain it.
Basic Training Principles
Period 5 - Class Definitions
Overload
The overload principle states that for a person to receive maximum physical gains
while working out, they must overwork themselves within reason. Your body will
adapt to continually increased stress.
Progression
In order to progress fitness (body strength, endurance, etc.), you have to have an
optimal level of overload in a systematic time frame so you won't over or
underwhelm your body.
Diminishing Returns
When athletes first start training, their fitness levels improve rapidly. But as
athletes become fitter, improvement occurs less rapidly because athletes are
reaching their genetic limits.
Specificity
The more specific a workout is to an athlete's desired outcome, the better. Track
runners should work on starts and stamina.
Reversibility
When people stop training, their fitness levels begin to disappear faster than they
were gained. Their physical fitness level will decrease unless they maintain a
consistent level of fitness.
Exercise Science Principles of Conditioning
(http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/training/a/Ex-Science.htm)
Get more from your workouts with these exercise principles and guidelines
By Elizabeth Quinn
Sports Medicine Expert
Updated May 16, 2014.
In the study of exercise science, there are several universally accepted scientific
exercise training principles that must be followed in order to get the most from exercise
programs and improve both physical fitness and sports performance. To design an
optimal exercise program, workout or training schedule, a coach or athlete needs to
adhere to the follow six principles of exercise science.
1. The Principle Of Individual Differences
The principle of individual differences simple means that, because we all are unique
individuals, we will all have a slightly different response to an exercise program. This is
another way of saying that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to exercise. Welldesigned exercise programs should be based on our individual differences and
responses to exercise.
Some of these differences have to do with body size and shape, genetics, past
experience, chronic conditions, injuries and even gender. For example, women
generally need more recovery time than men, and older athletes generally need more
recovery time than younger athletes.
With this in mind, you may or may not want to follow an "off the shelf" exercise
program, DVD or class and may find it helpful to work with a coach or personal trainer
to develop a customized exercise program. Some things to consider when creating your
own exercise program include the next batch of exercise science principles.
2. The Principle of Overload
The exercise science principle of overload states that a greater than normal stress or
load on the body is required for training adaptation to take place. What this means is
that in order to improve our fitness, strength or endurance, we need to increase the
workload accordingly. 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 or at a higher intensity.
3. The Principle of Progression
The principle of progression implies that there is an optimal level of overload that
should be achieved, and an optimal time frame for this overload to occur. A gradual
and systematic increase of the workload over a period of time will result in
improvements in fitness without risk of injury. If overload occurs too slowly,
improvement is unlikely, but overload that is increased too rapidly may result in injury
or muscle damage. For example, the weekend athlete who exercises vigorously only on
weekends violates the principle of progression and most likely will not see obvious
fitness gains.
The Principle of Progression also stresses the need for proper rest and recovery.
Continual stress on the body and constant overload will result in exhaustion and injury.
You should not train hard all the time, as you'll risk overtraining and a decrease in
fitness.
4. The Principle of Adaptation
Adaptation refers to the body's ability to adjust to increased or decreased physical
demands. It is also one way we learn to coordinate muscle movement and develop
sports-specific skills, such as batting, swimming freestyle or shooting free throws.
Repeatedly practicing a skill or activity makes it second-nature and easier to perform.
Adaptation explains why beginning exercisers are often sore after starting a new
routine, but after doing the same exercise for weeks and months they have little, if any,
muscle soreness.
Additionally, it makes an athlete very efficient and allows him to expend less energy
doing the same movements. This reinforces the need to vary a workout routine if you
want to see continued improvement.
5. The Principle of Use/Disuse
The Principle of Use/Disuse implies that when it comes to fitness, you "use it or lose it."
This simply means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse.
This also explains why we decondition or lose fitness when we stop exercise.
6. The Principle of Specificity
The Specificity Principle simply states that exercising a certain body part or component
of the body primarily develops that part. The Principle of Specificity implies that, to
become better at a particular exercise or skill, you must perform that exercise or skill. A
runner should train by running, a swimmer by swimming and a cyclist by cycling.
While it's helpful to have a good base of fitness and to do general conditioning routines,
if you want to be better at your sport, you need to train specifically for that sport.
Many coaches and trainers will add additional guidelines and principles to this list.
However, these six basics are the cornerstones of all other effective training methods.
These cover all major aspects of a solid foundation of athletic training.
Designing a program that adheres to all of these guidelines can be challenging, so it's
not a surprise that many athletes turn to a coach or trainer for help with the details so
they can focus on the workouts. One common training method is Periodization
Training that it build upon specific training phases throughout the year.
Training Principles to Improve Athlete Performance
By Rainer Martens
(http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/training-principles-to-improve-athlete-performance)
Specificity Principle
The specificity principle asserts that the best way to develop physical fitness for your
sport is to train the energy systems and muscles as closely as possible to the way
they are used in your sport. Thus, the best way to train for running is to run, for
swimming is to swim, and for weightlifting is to lift. In sports such as basketball,
baseball, and soccer, the training program should not only overload the energy
systems and muscles used in that sport, but should also duplicate similar movement
patterns. For example, in strengthening a quarterback’s throwing arm, design the
exercise to simulate the throwing movement. Warning: This principle can be taken
too far. Ample evidence suggests that cross training, or doing another sport or
activity, can help improve performance (see the variation principle).
Overload Principle
To improve their fitness levels, athletes must do more than what their bodies are
used to doing. When more is demanded, within reason, the body adapts to the
increased demand. You can apply overload in duration, intensity, or both. If you
increase a cross country runner’s long-distance run by five minutes, you’ve added an
overload of duration. If you instead ask the runner to run her normal distance but in a
shorter amount of time, you’ve added an overload of intensity.
Progression Principle
To steadily improve the fitness levels of your athletes, you must continually increase
the physical demands to overload their systems. If the training demand is increased
too quickly, the athlete will be unable to adapt and may break down. If the demand is
not adequate, the athlete will not achieve optimal fitness levels.
Diminishing Returns Principle
When unfit athletes begin a training regime, their fitness levels improve rapidly, but
as they become fitter, the diminishing returns principle becomes law. That is, as
athletes become fitter, the amount of improvement is less as they approach their
genetic limits (figure 13.9). A corollary to this principle is that as fitness levels
increase, more work or training is needed to make the same gains. As you’re
designing training programs, remember that fitness levels will not continue to improve
at the same rate as athletes become fitter.
Variation Principle
This principle has several meanings. After your athletes have trained hard for several
days, they should train lightly to give their bodies a chance to recover. Over the
course of the year use training cycles (periodization) to vary the intensity and volume
of training to help your athletes achieve peak levels of fitness for competition. This
principle also means that you should change the exercises or activities regularly so
that you do not overstress a part of the body. Of course changing activities also
maintains athletes’ interest in training.
Perhaps you’re thinking that the specificity principle and variation principle seem to
be incompatible. The specificity principle states that the more specific the training to
the demands of the sport, the better; and the variation principle seemingly asserts the
opposite-train by using a variety of activities. The incompatibility is resolved by the
degree to which each principle is followed. More specific training is better, but it can
become exceedingly boring. Thus some variety that involves the same muscle
groups is a useful change.
Reversibility Principle
We all know the following adage: Use it or lose it. When athletes stop training, their
hard-won fitness gains disappear, usually faster than they were gained. The actual
rate of decline depends on the length of the training period before detraining, the
specific muscle group, and other factors. A person confined to complete bed rest is
estimated to lose cardiovascular fitness at the rate of 10 percent a week. Smart
coaches and athletes today recognize that maintaining a moderately high level of
fitness year-round is easier than detraining at the end of the season and then
retraining at the beginning of the next.
Individual Differences Principle
Every athlete is different and responds differently to the same training activities. As
discussed in chapter 5, the value of training depends in part on the athlete’s
maturation. Before puberty, training is less effective than after puberty. Other factors
that affect how athletes respond to training include their pretraining condition; genetic
predisposition; gender and race; diet and sleep; environmental factors such as heat,
cold, and humidity; and of course motivation. As discussed previously, it’s essential
to individualize training as much as possible.