LIFETIME FITNESS HEALTHY NUTRITION. UNIT 1 - Lesson 9 FLEXIBILITY LEAN BODY COMPOSITION

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1 LIFETIME FITNESS HEALTHY NUTRITION MUSCULAR STRENGTH AEROBIC ENDURANCE UNIT 1 - Lesson 9 FLEXIBILITY LEAN BODY COMPOSITION MUSCULAR ENDURANCE Created by Derek G. Becher B.P.E., B. Ed., AFLCA Resistance Trainer Certification 2009 All rights reserved

2 2 LESSON 9 - PRINCIPLES OF CONDITIONING Several principles exist that must be followed in order to achieve the desired results of a training program. They apply to everyone, and should be learned and utilized so that you can maximize safety and potential in your program. Take time now to review these principles. 1. Progressive Resistance-Overload The body responds and adapts to the physical demands/stressors that it receives. As we learned earlier, if appropriate rest is provided, it will return to a state of homeostasis. But in order to increase the current level of a component of fitness, the body must work at higher levels than it is used to. That is, it must undergo a progressive overload through training. There are various methods of applying overload in a training program: Increase the duration of the workout (aerobic - cycling for 30 minutes instead of 20 minutes) Increase the intensity of the workout (aerobic - working at 75% of your maximum heart rate instead of 70%) Increase the weight used for a particular exercise (increasing your bench press from 80 pounds in the first week to 90 pounds in the third week) Doing repetitions of a particular exercise to failure (until you can do no more repetitions) Use different exercises that the body is unaccustomed to (instead of doing bench presses for the upper body and chest, try the Pec-Dec machine for one day and then return to doing bench presses)

3 3 2. The F.I.T.T. Principle 4 variables must be considered when designing a training program. If the program is properly set up, these variables will interact to help you obtain your fitness goals; if they are not properly accounted for, your desired results will not be achieved, and you may in fact see a decline in performance. These 4 variables are: Frequency - the number of training sessions you have per week. This should be considered for both aerobic and strength training. Intensity - how hard you are working in your training session. We have already learned methods to measure this, and it will be discussed in further detail in the future. Time - the length of a single workout (ie: 30 minutes - 90 minutes maximum). Type - the type of exercise you are performing (weight/machine training; aerobic training - jogging/treadmill, etc.). NOTE: The F.I.T.T. principle will be discussed in greater detail in the next lesson. 3. Ceiling Effect Simply, as you continue and progress in your training program, and your levels of strength and endurance increase, the amount of actual progress you obtain will decrease. In other words, as you approach your potential, increases tend to slow down and tend to be smaller. (YMCA manual, p. 23) This is related to plateaus or a levelling-off that you may experience from time to time in your training. When these occur, a temporary layoff, change of routine, or decrease in intensity may be needed to [prepare the body for] further growth and development. (Ibid.)

4 4 4. Recovery Adequate rest is important in a training program because during a training session, certain tissues are broken down. The training effect [that you are trying to obtain, such as muscular strength] occurs when these tissues are allowed to be rebuilt to a level higher than before. (AFLCA manual, p.86). The general rest period that you should permit following a workout is: Aerobic workout: 24 hours Strength workout: 48 hours (per muscle group; you could work the upper body and the lower body on consecutive days). NOTE: the duration of rest required will depend on a few factors, including the intensity and duration of the workout, the type of nutrition being consumed, and the type of exercise(s) that are performed. 5. Specificity The training effect or result you are trying to achieve is specific to the type of stimulus or training that you place on the body. For example, heavy resistance work with few repetitions[7-10] builds muscle size and strength, while light resistance exercises with many repetitions [12+] builds muscular endurance. (Ibid., p.85) 6. Symmetry The training program must be designed so that an overall balanced development of the body (YMCA manual, p. 23) is achieved, and muscles on both sides of a joint are trained equally. For example, if the quadriceps muscle on the front of the upper thigh is trained frequently, but the hamstring muscle on the back of the upper thigh is not, the leg and knee joint is being developed with an imbalance in strength, giving it an increased likelihood for injury.

5 5 Also, don t focus your strength training attention on solely developing the arms and muscles of the upper body. The legs, abdominal muscles and back muscles must all be given equal attention so that a balanced muscular development can be achieved and maintained. Symmetry also refers to developing all of the components of fitness. In order to obtain a healthy, well-rounded state of fitness, your training should be divided to include the development of muscular strength, muscular endurance, aerobic conditioning and flexibility. Remember, an overall-conditioned participant will achieve greater results than a participant with only specific development. (YMCA manual, p.23) 7. Maintenance Once a training effect has been achieved (measured through specific fitness testing), it can be maintained with a reduction in training, but intensity and duration must remain the same. (Ibid., p.24) For example, an athlete who trains with an off-season, pre-season and mid-season program may train 3 times/week to 2 times/week to once/week for each of the training phases. This helps to minimize burnout and overtraining while still maintaining the acquired levels of fitness. 8. Reversibility If a training program is discontinued completely, the training effect achieved will be lost at 1/3 of the rate it took to obtain it. For example, an improvement in muscular strength that took 2 months to obtain will be lost in about 6 months if training is halted.

LIFETIME FITNESS HEALTHY NUTRITION. UNIT 3 Lesson 4 LEAN BODY COMPOSITION

LIFETIME FITNESS HEALTHY NUTRITION MUSCULAR STRENGTH AEROBIC ENDURANCE UNIT 3 Lesson 4 FLEXIBILITY MUSCULAR ENDURANCE LEAN BODY COMPOSITION Created by Derek G. Becher B.P.E., B. Ed., AFLCA Resistance Trainer