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TRAINING GUIDELINES
Exercise
Exercise is one of the most important factors in the overall health of an individual. Listed among its
benefits are:
x
Increased capacity for physical work (strength endurance)
x
Increased cardiovascular (heart and arteries/veins) and respiratory efficiency
x
Decreased risk of coronary heart disease
x
Changes in body metabolism, e.g. losing weight
x
Delaying the physiological effects of age
x
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 maintain 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 effort that you can exert over a prolonged period of time 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 fitter, 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 above that which can be carried out comfortably. The intensity,
duration and frequency of exercise should be above the training threshold and should be gradually
increased as the body adapts to the increasing demands. As your fitness level improves, so the
training threshold should be raised.
Working through your program and gradually increasing the overload factor is important.
Specificity
Different forms of exercise produce different results. The type of exercise that is carried out is
specific both to the muscle groups being used and to the energy source involved.
There is little transfer of the effects of exercise, i.e. from strength training to cardiovascular fitness.
That is why it is important to have an exercise program tailored to your specific needs.
Reversibility
If you stop exercising or do not do your program often enough, you will lose the benefits you have
gained. Regular workouts are the key to success.
