These 4 words are shortened down to the word “FITT” so that it is easy to remember.
S – Specificity – for this you need to understand the game / event, the actions used in games / event should also be used in practice but faster so that when you come to a game or event then you will be able to carry out the specific skill at a fast pace.
P – Progression – training at the same intensity wont help you progress at all, so you need to increase the difficulty, this will help you progress further into your events / games
O – Overload - Putting a demand on yourself creating a more intense training session therefore, extending your body’s normal fitness level.
R – Regression / reversibility – this is when I person does not train for a while and their fitness levels start to drop, to keep this from happening I will need to train regularly
T – Tedium – this is another word for boredom, I must keep my training sessions fun so that tedium doesn’t start to kick in.
For short we use the word “SPORT” so that it is easier to remember
I need to make sure I look at all of these before I design my training sessions, so that I don’t get bored and know how much to push myself before I have to stop.
There are many ways to train, these ways contain: circuit, continuous, interval, weight, fartlek and cross training
Circuit training is an excellent way to build strength and stamina. The circuit training layout is usually 6-10 or more activities, each activity is done for a certain amount of repetitions or amount of time and then you move on to the next activity which is also a set amount of time or repetitions.
Interval training is when the athlete runs hard over any distance up to 1k and then has a period of easy jogging. The stresses put upon the body cause an adaptation including strengthening of the heart muscles and improved oxygen uptake. This leads to improved performance, in particular within the cardiovascular system.
Continuous training is when you don’t stop at all while you are training, this could be something like shuttles and this puts more stress on the body causing strengthening of the muscles and is good anaerobic training.
Weight training is simply training with weights to improve your strength; this can be short repetitions with heavier weights or quick repetitions with lighter weights. This could be included into a circuit training course.
Fartlek training is running at a slow but not to slow pace and then speeding it up for a certain amount of feet or metres and then slow down again, this improves your aerobic and anaerobic running.
Cross training is the combination of exercises to work various parts of the body. Cross training is excellent for endurance, weight lossand flexibility. An athlete may lift weights in order to build muscle and increase upper body strength, things that running cannot provide.
For circuit training you could use the following circuit and what the exercises exercise:
- Press ups - arms
- Sit ups - abdominals
- Shuttles - legs
- Star jumps - legs
- Squats – abdominals and legs
- Pull downs – arms
- Step ups - legs
- Burpees – abdominals, quadriceps, triceps and biceps
This is an example of what a circuit diagram should look like:
Sit ups- muscle’s used: abdominals. How: lie on back with your knees up, lift head towards knees, keeping back straight, then lower and repeat.
Shuttles – muscles used: legs. How: Run to the 10m mark first, touching the floor and running back to the start line. Then run to the 20m line and back. Finally run to the 30m line and back and then repeat.
Step ups – muscles used: hamstrings. How: Stand behind a platform or step, weights in hand. Place the right foot on the step, transfer the weight to the heel and push into the heel to come onto the step. Concentrate on only using the right leg, keeping the left leg active only for balance. Slowly step back down and repeat all reps on the right leg before switching to the left.
Squats – muscles used: abdominals and legs. How: With your hands flat facing forward under your shoulders, start with your feet together extended behind you. Staying on your toes, bring your knees upwards in the direction of your chest, in a comfortable manner. Once your feet have landed up by your chest, thrust them back smoothly to the starting position before repeating. Begin with small movements, and increase the movement size as you get fitter.
Star Jumps – muscle’s used: quadriceps, soleus. How: stand straight, jump and pull arms out to shoulders.
Burpees – muscle’s used: abdominals, quadriceps, triceps and biceps. How: Lie face down on hands and knees, push legs back in one jump (so in a press up position), bring knees back in, keep arms still.
Pull downs – muscles used: back muscles and biceps. How: Sit facing the weight stack. Place the pin in at approximately 75 percent of your own body weight. Hold the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip, Hold a naturally curved lower back and look up at the bar. Keep this position throughout the exercise. Pull bar down until it reaches your chest and then slowly let back up, then repeat
Press ups – muscle’s used: triceps, pectorals, trapeziums, deltoids. How: face down on the floor, raise body onto toes and hands, push down, keeping bottom in and body straight, raise and lower.
This is what I did for my 6 week training program:
Week 1
October 23rd 2006
6 x 70 metres – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
5 x 200 metres – 1 minute rest between each
5 minute rest
6 x 60 metres – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
20 metre shuttle runs – continuous
I found this week quite easy because I had enough rest between each part.
Week 2
October 31st 2006
6 x 100 meters – 20 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
5 x 50 meters – 20 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
5 x 30 meters uphill – 20 seconds rest
I found this week easier than last but it was still quite hard as I didn’t have much rest.
Week 3
November 7th 2006
3k time trial
10 minute rest
30 meters shuttle runs – continuous
5 minute rest
5 x 60 meters sprints – 30 seconds rest between each
November 9th 2006
10 x 30 meters uphill – 20 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
5 x 50 meters sprints – 20 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
40 meter harness running – the walk back is the rest
I found this week to be quite hard because I didn’t get much rest on each one.
Week 4
November 14th 2006
800 meters time trial
5 minute rest
5 x 200 meters – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
75 meter hurdles – 10 seconds rest between each
November 16th 2006
10 x 30 meters uphill – walk back rest
5 minutes rest
6 x 70 meters – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minutes rest
20 meters shuttle runs – continuous
I found this week quite easy because I haven’t done that much, I think it would have been better if I had have done a little more of each activity or had less rest.
Week 5
November 21st 2006
10 x 30 meters uphill – 10 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
5 x 50 meters sprints – 10 seconds rest between each
5 minute rest
70 meter harness running – the walk back is the rest
I found this training session quite hard as I didn’t have enough rest
Week 6
November 28th 2006
3k time trial
10 minute rest
40 meters shuttle runs – continuous
5 minute rest
5 x 60 meters sprints – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minutes rest
6 x 200 meters – 30 seconds rest between each
5 minutes rest
6 x 70 seconds – 30 seconds rest between each
This week I found really hard as I had loads to do with not enough rest between each one.
Before I did my exercises I had to do a warm up so that I didn’t pull a muscle or injure myself.
A warm up is to prepare the body for exercising, by doing this you accomplish a faster blood flow to the muscles and you stretch the muscles and tendons so that you are ready to do your exercise without injuring yourself while ding it.
I also had to do a warm down after I had finished my exercises so that I don’t get blood building up in my legs and to get rid of the lactic acid.
Before I started my training I had to make sure that I was going to be safe, so I made sure it wasn’t icy and if it was wet I made sure I put the right footwear on so I didn’t slip while my training was being carried out.
Altogether I think I have improved after my training, I think the training sessions went well because I didn’t have any complications such as rain or ice therefore it went smoothly.