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TRAINING GUIDELINES
Exercise is one of the most important factors in the overall health of a n individual. Listed among its
benefits are:
·
Increased capacity for physical work (strength endurance)
·
Increased cardiovascular (heart and arteries/veins) and respiratory efficiency
·
Decreased risk of coronary heart disease
·
Changes in body metabolism, e.g. losing weight
·
Delaying the physiological effects of age
·
Physiological effects, e.g. reduction in stress, increase in self-confidence, etc.
Basic Components of Physical Fitness
There are four all encompassing components of physical fitness and we need to briefly define each
and clarify its role:
Strength
is the capacity of a muscle to exert a force against resistance. Strength contributes to power
and speed and is of great importance to a majority of sports people.
Muscular Endurance
is the capacity to exert a force repeatedly over a period of time, e.g. it is the
capacity of your legs to carry you 10 Km without stopping.
Flexibility
is the range of motion about a joint. Improving flexibility involves the stretching of muscles
and tendons to mainta in or increase suppleness, and provides increased resistance to muscle injury
or soreness.
Cardio-Respiratory Endurance
is the most essential component of physical fitness. It is the efficient
functioning of the heart and lungs.
Aerobic Fitness
The largest amount of oxygen that you can use per minute during exercise is called your maximum
oxygen uptake (MVo2). This is often referred to as your aerobic capacity. The largest amount of
oxygen that you can use per minute during exercise is called your oxygen uptake. The effort that you
can exert over a prolonged period of t ime is limited by your ability to deliver oxygen to the working
muscles. Regular vigorous exercise produces a training effect that can increase your aerobic capacity
by as much as 20 to 30%. An increased MVO2 indicates an increased ability of the heart to pump
blood, of the lungs to ventilate oxygen and of the muscles to take up oxygen.
Anaerobic Training
This means “without oxygen” and is the output of energy when the oxygen supply is insufficient to
meet the body’s long term energy demands. (For example, 100 meter sprint).
The Training Threshold
This is the minimum level of exercise which is required to produce significant improvements in any
physical fitness parameter.
Progression
As your become more fit, a higher intensity of exercise is required to create an overload and
therefore provide continued improvement
Overload
This is where you exercise at a level a bove that which can be carried out comfortably. The intensity,
duration and frequency of exercise should be above the training threshold and should be gradually
