Training for Performance

Chapter 21: Training for Performance

Copyright Information

• Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without prior written consent.

Lecture Outline

• Training Principles

• Components of a Training Session: Warm-up, Workout, and Cool-Down

• Training to Improve Aerobic Power

• Injuries and Endurance Training

• Assessments for Aerobic Power

• Training for Improved Anaerobic Power

• Training to Improve Muscular Strength

• Concurrent Strength- and Endurance-Training Programs

• Nutritional Influence on Training-Induced Muscle Adaptations

• Training for Improved Flexibility

• Year-Round Conditioning for Athletes

• Common Training Mistakes

Training Principles

• Overload:
    - Defined as the increased capacity of a system in response to training above the level it is accustomed to.
    - Important to note: Too much overload leads to overtraining or overreaching.

• Specificity:
    - Refers to the specific muscles involved and the specific energy systems that are utilized during training.
    - Example: Training for a sprinter involves high-intensity sprints, whereas training for a marathoner includes long-distance runs that primarily utilize aerobic metabolism.

• Reversibility:
    - Refers to the loss of training effects when training is stopped.
    - Significant reduction can occur within two weeks of cessation of training. For instance, studies show significant reductions in $ext{V} ext{O}_2 ext{ max}$ within this period.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Energy Systems in Sports

• Energy Systems:
    - ATP-PC System: Contributes primarily to short intensity activities lasting up to 10 seconds.
    - Glycolytic System: Engaged during high-intensity activities lasting between 20-60 seconds.
    - Aerobic System: Fuels prolonged activities, especially in endurance sports.

• Training Program Example: Tailoring training to match the anaerobic and aerobic demands of specific sports is essential.

Training Sessions

• Objectives of Sport Conditioning:
    - To improve performance by enhancing muscle force/power output, muscular efficiency, and muscle endurance.

Components of a Training Session

1. Warm-up:
      - Increases cardiac output and blood flow to skeletal muscle.
      - Raises muscle temperature and enzyme activity.
      - Potentially reduces the risk of exercise-induced muscle injuries.

2. Workout:
      - Represents the main training session, following training principles like overload, specificity, and reversibility.

3. Cool-down:
      - Aids in returning blood "pooled" in muscles back to central circulation.

Training to Improve Performance

• Different performances require distinct training strategies based on specificity:
    - Aerobic Performance: Training directed at events lasting longer than 3-5 minutes.
    - Anaerobic Performance: For events lasting less than 60 seconds.
    - Strength Performance: Focus on maximal force production and muscular endurance.
    - Flexibility Performance: Aimed at enhancing range of motion.

Training to Improve Aerobic Power

1. Training Methods:
      - Interval Training
      - Long, Slow Distance
      - High-Intensity Continuous Exercise (Pace Tempo)

2. Goals of Aerobic Training:
      - Improve $ext{V} ext{O}_2 ext{ max}$, lactate threshold, and running economy.

Interval Training

• Involves repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise separated by brief recovery periods:
     - Work Interval: Defined by either distance or time.
     - Rest Interval: Light activity (e.g., walking).
     - Training Outcomes: Improvements in $ext{V} ext{O}_2 ext{ max}$, running economy, and lactate threshold may be superior to low-intensity intervals.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

• Historical context: Established by Roger Bannister when he broke the 4-minute mile in 1954.

• Advantages: Time-efficient, effective for anaerobic systems, can enhance mitochondrial volume with sessions as short as 30 seconds.

Long, Slow Distance Training

• High-volume, low-intensity exercise popularized in the 1970s.

• Target intensity is approximately 50-65% of $ext{V} ext{O}_2 ext{max}$.

• Primarily aims to increase aerobic capacity through volume.

• Training duration often greater than event or competition

• However, short-term, high-intensity training is better for improving VO2 max

• turtle pic

High-Intensity Continuous Exercise

• Typically conducted above lactate threshold and increasing VO2 Max

• Target intensity between 80-100% of VO2 max for most athletes.

• Monitoring can be achieved via heart rate tracking.

Determining Intensity and Duration for Training

pic

Altitude Training & Exercise Performance at Sea Level

• Altitude training may not always improve aerobic performance at sea level

  • Lower training intensity at altitude may result in de-training

• Live-High, Train-Low

  • Spend sleeping and resting time at altitude

    • Increases RBC volume and oxygen transport capacity of blood

  • Train at lower altitude

    • Allows higher intensity of training sessions

• Does LHTL increase performance at sea level?

  • Does increase performance in some athletes but not all

  • LHTL may impact elite athletes less than trained subjects

Enhancement in Endurance Performance: What are the physiological limits?

• Although many physiological factors contribute to endurance performance, three key elements of success include:

1. a high VO2 max;

2. superior exercise economy/efficiency; and

3. a high lactate threshold and critical power

• The genetic makeup of an individual is referred to as a “genotype” and genetics plays an important role in determining VO2 max

Influence of Genetics

• Genetics plays an important role in how an individual responds to training

  • High responders vs. low responders

  • Can only reach genetic potential

• Anaerobic capacity is more genetically determined than aerobic capacity

  • Training can only improve anaerobic performance to a small degree compared to aerobic training

    • Mostly by improving pH buffering

  • Dependent largely on fast (IIx) fibers … (% fiber type)

    • Determined early in development

Assessments for Aerobic Power

• VO2 max: Best predictor of success in endurance activities, ideally measured through direct laboratory tests with a metabolic cart.

• Direct criteria include:
    - Plateau in $ext{V} ext{O}_2$ with increasing work rate.
    - Respiratory exchange ratio of ≥1.15.
    - Heart rate within ±10 beats/min of age-predicted max.
    - Blood lactate concentration >8 mmoles•L–1.

Influence of Genetics

• Genetic predispositions (high responders vs. low responders) impact training outcomes; notably, anaerobic capacity is more genetically determined than aerobic capacity.

• Individuals labeled as "genotype A" have lower initial $ext{V} ext{O}_2 ext{max}$ and respond minimally to training, while "genotype E" has higher potential.

Enhancement in Endurance Performance: What are the physiological limits?

• Individuals labeled as “genotype A” (bottom line) possess a relatively low VO2 max in the

  untrained state and often, these individuals are also “low responders” to exercise as training

  improves VO2 max by 5% or less.

• Individuals with the ideal

  genetic makeup required for

  champion endurance athletes

  (Genotype E) possess an

  elevated VO2 max in the

  untrained state and are “high

  responders” to exercise training

  as training can often increase

  their VO2 max by 50%.

Influence of Gender and Initial Fitness Level

• Men and women respond similarly to training

  • Differences are generally due to body size/composition

  • Exercise prescriptions should be individualized

• Training improvement is usually greater in individuals with lower initial fitness

  • 50% increase in VO2 max in sedentary adults

  • 10–20% improvement in normal, active subjects

  • 3–5% improvement in trained athletes

    • May be an important difference

• 

Avoiding Injuries with Endurance Training

• Most injuries stem from overtraining, which can be mitigated by following the 10 percent rule for training load increases.

  • Short-term, high-intensity exercise

  • Prolonged, low-intensity exercise

• Other factors increasing injury risk include strength and flexibility imbalances, inadequate footwear, and poor training surfaces, Malalignment, Disease (arthritis)→ only increases if excessive running also higher arthistus in sedentary ppl

• 

Direct Testing of Maximal Aerobic Power

• VO2 max is considered the best test for predicting success in endurance events

  • Other factors are also important

  • Better predictor in heterogeneous groups

• Most accurate means of measurement is direct testing in laboratory (metabolic cart)

  • Specificity of testing

    • Should be specific to athlete’s sport

      • Runners tested on treadmill

Exercise Test Protocol to Directly Determine VO2 max

• Should use large muscle groups (i.e., legs)

• Optimal test length 10–12 minutes

  • Start with 3–5 minute warm-up

  • Increase work rate to near maximal load

  • Increase load stepwise every 1–4 minutes

• Criteria for VO2 max

  • Plateau in VO2 with increasing work rate

    • Rarely observed in incremental test

  • Respiratory exchange ratio (equal/greater than)_>1.15

  • HR in last stage +- 10beats x min -1 of age-predicted HRmax (keep in mind that HRmax may be wrong)

  • Blood lactate concentration of >8mmoles xL-1

Assessment of running performance

• You will recall from Chapter 19 that Maximal Aerobic Capacity is not the only determinant of success

  • VO2max may be best in predicting performance among a

    heterogeneous population, however it does not predict well within a

    more homogeneous population (like elite endurance athletes)

  • 

Laboratory Tests to Predict Endurance Performance

• Peak running velocity

  • Highest speed that can be maintained for >5 sec

• Lactate threshold

  • Exercise intensity at which blood lactate begins to systematically increase

    • Direct measurement with blood samples and Estimation by ventilatory threshold

• Critical power

  • Speed at which running speed/time curve reaches plateau

Measurement of Peak Running Velocity to Predict Performance

• Peak running velocity

  • Tested on treadmill or on track

    • Progressively increasing speed on treadmill (every 30 sec.)

  • Highest speed that can be maintained for >5 sec

• Excellent predictor of 5 km run performance

  • Strong correlation

    • r =-0.97

  • May also be a good predictor of 10-90 km race performence, but less studied (intervals)

  • image

Use of the Lactate Threshold to Evaluate Performance

• Lactate threshold estimates maximal steady-state running speed

  • Predictor of success in distance running events

• Direct determination of lactate threshold (LT)

  • 2–5 minute warm-up

  • Stepwise increases in work rate every 1–3 minutes

  • Measure blood lactate at each work rate

  • LT is the breakpoint in the lactate/VO2 graph

image

• Prediction of the LT by ventilatory alterations

  • Ventilatory threshold (Tvent)

    • Point at which there is a sudden increase in ventilation

    • Used as an estimate of LT

2images

Measurement of Critical Power

• Critical power

  • Running speed at which running speed/time curve reaches a plateau

  • Power output that can be maintained “indefinitely”

    • However, most athletes fatigue in 30–60 min when exercising at critical power

• Measurement of critical power

  • Subjects perform series of timed exercise trials to exhaustion

• Prediction of performance in events lasting 3–100 min

  • Highly correlated with

    • High VO2 max

    • high LT

Critical Power

• Critical power is defined as the running speed (i.e., power output) at which the running speed/time curve reaches a plateau.

• 

Tests to Determine Exercise Economy

• Higher economy means that less energy is expended to maintain a given speed

  • Runner with higher running economy should defeat a less economical runner in a race

• Measurement of the oxygen cost of running at various speeds

  • Plot oxygen requirement as a function of running speed

  • Greater running economy reflected in lower oxygen cost

Estimating Distance Running Success Using LT and Running Economy

• Close relationship between LT and maximal pace in 10K m race

  • Race pace at 5 m•min–1 above LT

• Predicting performance in a 10K race

  • Measure VO2 max

    • Plot VO2 vs. running speed

  • Determine lactate threshold

    • Plot blood lactate vs. VO2

  • VO2 at LT = 40 ml•kg–1•min–1

    • VO2 of 40 ml•kg–1•min–1 = running speed of 200 m•min–1

  • Estimated 10K m running time

• 10,000m ÷ 205 m•min–1 = 48.78 min. to complete race

• 2images

Training to Improve Anaerobic Power

• Target training protocol for the ATP-PC system:

  • Focus on short, high-intensity bursts (5-10 seconds).

    • 30 yard dashes for football players

  • 30-60 second rest intervals

    • little lactic acid is produced, so recovery is rapid

• Glycolttic systems

  • short 20-60 seconds, high intensity work intervals

  • May deplete muscle glycogen levels

    • may alternate hard and light training days

Contribution of the ATP-PC system, anaerobic glycolysis, & aerobic metabolism during max effort

Strength-Training Principles

• Includes Isometric(force without joint movment), Dynamic, and Isokinetic(includes variable resistance excersise) exercises, emphasizing progressive overload to improve strength across different muscle types.

General Strength-Training Principles

• Focus on a range of repetitions (8-12 RM) tailored to the athlete’s level.

• Considerations for optimal strength gains include frequency, volume, intensity, and exercise specificity.

Resistance Training Guidelines

• Table 21.3 illustrates variations in training protocols for maximizing strength gains versus muscular endurance.

• Note differences in approaches, rest intervals, and repetitions based on training experience (novice, intermediate, advanced).

Nutritional Influence on Training-Induced Muscle Adaptations

• Carbohydrate Availability: Influences endurance adaptations, with strategies including dietary restriction or training with low glycogen reserves to enhance mitochondrial formation.

• Protein Availability: Essential for muscle protein synthesis; timing and amount around workouts are vital for recovery and gains.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

• DOMS arises from microscopic tears in muscle fibers or connective tissue, usually 24-48 hours post-exercise.

• Treatment includes RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and anti-inflammatory medications (e.g., ibuprofen).

Year-Round Conditioning for Athletes

• Emphasizes the structured approach to athlete conditioning consisting of off-season, preseason, and in-season phases to control fitness and performance.

Tapering

• Involves a short-term reduction in training load before competition to enhance performance, allowing for recovery and glycogen resynthesis.