Principles of Training

Specificity

Training must be tailored to the specific demands of your sport, including skills, muscles and energy systems, to produce the desired fitness and performance improvements.

An example of Specificity

A basketball player wants to improve on their dunking, this can be done through plyometric box jumps instead of long distance running since it isn't relevant to that sport.

Progressive Overload

Training that gradually increases the physical demand on the body over a certain period of time to force it into adapting and improving fitness levels. It is also linked to the FITT principles.

An example of Progressive Overload

This could be done through increasing the amount of weight being lifted over a number of repetitions or increasing the amount of sets in an exercise to increase the volume and challenge the muscles.

Reversibility

The 'use it or lose it' principle, meaning that the physical adaptations and improvements that are gained through training are lost when training stops or reduces in intensity or duration.

An example of Reversibility

When training stops for a footballer during post season, their aerobic capacity would decrease, meaning that their VO2 max would also decrease, hindering their performance.

Tedium

The state of boredom and monotony that can occur in a training programme if it lacks variety, leading to a decrease in motivation and plateau in fitness improvements.

An example of Tedium

An athlete varying their training programme/routine, through combining weight training and interval training on different days to keep training engaging and motivational.

FITT standards for?

Frequency

Intensity

Time

Type

Frequency

How often someones engages in a training programme/exercise within a specific time frame, usually a week.

An example of Frequency

Someone may train 3-5 times per week to improve their aerobic capacity and cardiovascular endurance.

Intensity

How hard someone is working during an exercise or training session.

An example of Intensity

Lighting lighter weights for more repetitions to build up more muscular endurance.

Time

The duration of each exercise session, such as how many minutes you spend training.

An example of Time

Someone's plan being 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week or potentially one longer session per week of 40 minutes.

Type

It specifies the kind of exercise or activity you are performing, which should match the goals of your fitness plan.

An example of Type

A footballer could implement plyometric training to improve their explosive power, alongside an aerobic exercise.