PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING
Sport Specific versus General Fitness
Why Train? What to Train For?
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The first questions that you need to ask yourself is
what am I training for? Am I training for general
fitness, or am I training to be better in my sport?
There will be some crossover between the two
types, however, your ultimate goal will drastically
change the way that you approach your training.
Sport Specific Training
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Training that is centered around building muscle
size, strength, power, and endurance in the muscles
that are frequently used during a specific activity.
Uses sport specific movements to develop muscle
memory as well as increase muscles ability.
The human body has an incredible ability to adapt
to an external stimulus. This type of training can
make you bigger, stronger, more explosive, and
able to last longer during practice and competition.
General Fitness Training
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Training that focuses on developing a well rounded
fitness base. General fitness allows the average
person to remain in shape by keeping their muscles
(including their heart) strong and flexible.
Very broad and can include a number of different
workouts. Multi-joint exercises are best, but isolative
exercises can be important too.
This type of training is suited to the average Joe or
Jill, looking to be healthy.
Cardiovascular Health
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Cardiovascular training is extremely important.
Keeps blood pressure and heart rate down.
One of the most important ways to prevent Heart
Disease and Stroke
Burns fat
Increases zest for life!
What type of Cardio?
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High Intensity Training (The H.I.T. Principle)
 Focuses
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on working very hard for a shorter period of
time. This can be used in strength training as well.
 Interval Training: Training hard for 2-3 minutes, then
training lightly for 2-3 minutes up to a maximum of
usually around 20 minutes.
 Interval training is the best way to burn fat, increase
VO2 Max, and develop cardiovascular strength.
Endurance Cardiovascular Training: Cardio activity for
longer than 20 minutes. Usually not overly intense, but
gets heart rate in to optimal fat burning or cardio zone.
Heart Rate Chart
Flexibility
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Flexibility is very important.
Flexibility increases range of motion by stretching
muscles and tendons. It can help to prevent injuries
caused by hyperextension of joints.
Flexibility also allows you to develop more strength
over a greater range of motion (ROM).
Mesocycles of Training
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Anatomical Adaptation
Hypertrophy
Strength
Power
Endurance
Maintenance
Anatomical Adaptation
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Is your body’s adjustment to an external stimulus.
Usually takes 3-6 weeks depending on an
individuals physiology, training schedule and diet.
Individual will notice a fairly drastic increase of
strength during this period.
Should include a large amount of multi-joint, body
weight exercises.
Usually 3 sets of 8-15 repetitions per exercise.
Individual should be training 2-4 times per week.
Hypertrophy
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Muscle Size increased by local muscular exhaustion.
Sarcoplasmic = Fluid
Myofibular = Muscle Fiber Size
Usually involves isolated exercises.
3-4 Sets of 8-12 Reps per exercise
Individual should be training 4-6 times per week.
Video
Strength
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Muscle’s ability to recruit maximum number of
muscle fibers.
Usually involves multi-joint exercises.
4-6 Sets of 1-5 Reps at high weight
Training 3-5 times per week
Power/Agility
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Power: The ability to recruit maximum number of
muscle fibers in a minimum amount of time.
Agility: The ability to move in any direction quickly.
Always multi-joint movements
4-6 Sets of 4-8 Reps
Training 3-6 times per week.
Endurance
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The ability to use muscles for a sustained period of
time.
Multi-Joint or Isolative exercises.
15 or more reps for 3 or more sets.
Training 3 or more times per week.
Maintenance
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This phase is simply maintaining what you have
worked so hard to build. This phase should consist of
3-4 training days per week.
Why is this all important?
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This is probably the most fundamentally important
thing you will learn as an athlete. It is so important
to take your training beyond your regular practices
to develop a better overall fitness level.