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Training Guidelines
Exercise
Exercise is one of the most essential factors in the overall health of an 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 define each
and clarify its role briefly.
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 sportspeople.
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 stretching muscles and tendons to
maintain or increase suppleness and provides increased resistance to muscle injury or soreness.
Cardio-Respiratory endurance
is an essential component of physical fitness. It is the efficient
functioning of the heart and lungs
Aerobic Fitness
The largest amount of oxygen 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 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 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 essential.
