FITT and SPORT principles
Frequency- How often you work out, this increases throughout the programme
Intensity- How hard you work out, which should increase.
Type- The style of work out, this should change using the tedium principle.
Time- How long you work out, this should lengthen after consistent exercise
Specificity- If the training is specific to your sport, My programme wasn’t nearly specific enough to my chosen sport.
Progression- Making your programme harder every time so you can genuinely improve the performance.
Overload- Work at optimum ability to get the most out of your exercise programme
Reversibility-being able to returning to your original programme after injury.
Tedium- changes the programme to prevent boredom and injuries.
Both the principles work together to create a successful programme. I have applied all of these principles to my programme in different ways to try and make a successful programme:
Frequency- In the programme I have increased the number of training programmes where possible, there are some exceptions because in the summer I had many activities planned, as I was abroad. From three to five or six
Intensity- I have progressively increased the difficulty of the programme.
Type- I have changed the programme types of training so I don’t get bored. There is a variety, from swimming, stretching to various circuits.
Time- the programme work out times have increased, as the programme goes on the work out times have been taking longer, meaning I get more out of them.
Specificity- although there is a range of activities I have made sure that they will all improve my sport and not any other!
Progression- my programme has become progressively harder, this is to make a noticeable improvement in my performance in the sport.
Overload- the programme requires working at optimum ability to improve.
Reversibility: I have not become injured so haven’t needed to change my programme.
Tedium: I have planned my programme to ensure that I won’t get bored during the programme and will have an enthusiasm to complete it!
Warm up and cooling down
Warming up is an essential part of training. It should be structured and always complied to. We warm up to prevent ourselves from sport injuries. There are guidelines that we can use to create a successful warm up. these are:
General warm up
Static stretching
Sports specific warm up
Dynamic stretching
The general warm up should include light physical exercise, the warm up should be designed around the participant, the intensity and the length should be enough to get the respiratory system working and a light sweat. This should take 5-10 minutes.
Static stretching is safe and efficient way of warming up. Static stretching is a very good way for improving flexibility, it is one of the ways I used in my own programme to improve my flexibility. It warms the muscles and relaxes them, which reduces the risk of injury.
Sports specific warm up gets you ready to play the sport. You prepare your body for the specific sport you are about to participate in. during this part of the warm up you should incorporate vigorous exercise. Activities performed in this section should be reflective of the movements performed in the sport.
Dynamic stretching is how to finish the warm up off before commencing the planned activity. This form of warming up should not be done unsupervised by someone who is trained, as it runs a high risk of injury if done incorrectly. Dynamic stretching should only be used when a person has established high flexibility, as it is used for muscle conditioning more than flexibility.
Cooling down is to reduce muscle soreness, it reoxygenates the blood, so reduces the lactic acid in the muscles (lactic acid is what makes your muscles feel stiff after exercise). If we don’t cool down properly it can result in dizziness or faintness.
My programme
My programme diary
Week 1
Week2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Orange circuit
- press ups
- shuttle run
- star jumps
- reverse sit ups
- leg raises
- sit ups
Blue circuit
- step ups
- press ups
- run on the spot
- jumping jacks
- flyer
- trunk twists
Green circuit
- inner thigh lifts
- tub sit ups
- jump on the spot
- press ups
- running round the room
- knee raises.
Results
This table shows the improvement in my muscular endurance. My performance in the sit up test was appalling; I was unable to complete the sit ups in the required position. I scored 0.35 which is below dreadful! But having been working on sit ups I can now do around twenty five to thirty in one minute! Unable to test this in the third week again I tried how many I could complete in one minute. I also did this test with press ups, before the programme I got 15 press ups. On the third week this number had doubled (thirty).
This table shows the results of the improvement in my flexibility through the sit and reach test.
Evaluation
I have definitely noticed an improvement in the results that I have taken before, during and after my programme. Pre programme, my abdominal muscles were nearly non-existent, I couldn’t complete a proper press up, sit ups were a challenge so my muscles were weak. (My tests for press ups have been taken by the ‘knee’ press up method.) My flexibility was good; it always has been. However that doesn’t mean I couldn’t become more flexible (flexibility being necessary in synchronised swimming). After the programme, I have improved abdominal muscles, I can finally complete an entire press up (not too sure how many!) but I can do it now, and can do many more than I could six weeks ago! From this I conclude that merely six weeks of following an exercise programme can improve your fitness in leaps and bounds.
I have achieved my targets, I was aiming to improve my flexibility by reaching an extra 2cm on the sit and reach test, I attained four. I also aimed to improve my muscular endurance in the sit up test by around seven sit ups per minute, I managed ten I expected my press ups to do the same, I also managed ten more in this field. My targets have been blown away by this, I have done far better than I thought that I would!
It was extremely difficult to stick to the programme, over the summer. I tried to complete it daily but sometimes circumstances would not allow the planned or to I was unable to complete it in full. Problems arose from my first week in the programme in which I was scheduled to go camping. This is a problem in itself: exercising in a tent isn’t easy! However the camping trip was very active including kayaking, white-water rafting and climbing so I was still exercising. More inconveniences cropped up throughout the summer. I was touring America for three weeks of the six. This was difficult to exercise in for some days I would be driving for most of the day! My programme is varied, but there is one day that never changes, this is Sunday each one says rest, this is because I have been attending church since I was born and believe it to be a day of rest, so I have assigned it as a day of rest each week. So I obviously found this very difficult.
If I were to begin a new personal exercise programme, I would perhaps create more possibilities for myself by attending a gym regularly; I would also ensure that I had nothing planned for the next six weeks! (Something nearly impossible with the life I live) I would also make my programme much more specific to the sport of synchronised swimming, as my programme is too general. I would try harder, to stick to it as some days if I was tired through time difference or heat exhausted I would decide to just have the day off, I shouldn’t have done this, I must strive harder to stick to it daily.