TRAINING PRINCIPLES FUNCTIONAL UNIT PRINCIPLE GENERAL OR MULTILATERAL PRINCIPLE CONTINUITY PRINCIPLE PROGRESSION PRINCIPLE OVERLOAD PRINCIPLE RECOVERY PRINCIPLE (ADAPTATION) INDIVIDUALITY PRINCIPLE MOTIVATION PRINCIPLE SPECIFICITY PRINCIPLE TRANSFERENCE PRINCIPLE EFFICIENCY PRINCIPLE REVERSIBILITY PRINCIPLE INTRODUCTION Physical exercise is considered as a whole thing that applies to the athlete in a global manner: physical, intellectual, technical and tactical. Our body functions as a system in which any effort has a general implication. Functional unit principle Training has to be considered as a global thing that has consequences and applies to the person as a whole entity: physical, mental, social, intelectual We should consider our body as an inseparable unit. Every organ and system are related. That s why we need to pay attention to the improvement and development of cardiovascular and respiratory system, endocrine system, our food supply and movement. Hereby, considering the athlete as a whole, this principle will lead as to comprehend the others. General or multilateral principle. Out training must seek the armonious improvement of every basic skill, so once we have settled a basic fitness, we can focus on one or several specific skills. Studies show that every skill is improved by working on a generic workout. It s easier to work when the athlete already has good basic skills, therefore he/she is in better
condition to work on a specific type of training. So, to sum-up: general training guarantees a better specific training. Continuity Principle There has to be a relationship between work and rest so the adaptation is optimal. After workout, out body needs to recover and rest. Interrupting trainings (because of an injury, sickness, giving-up ) will have a consequence in decreasing the training curve. So, a quick improvement, will follow by a quick downhill. If the improvement is achieved gradually and slowly, will keep steady for long. About work, rest and recovery: - Long rest periods do not train. - Short recovery periods do over-train. - Proportional recovery periods will allow the adaptation phenomena to occur. Progression principle Sports training is based on the progressive increase of the effort as you increase the functional capacity of the athlete: - If you keep the training load at an intermediate level, there will be a point in which no improvement will follow, due to a stop in the athlete s capacity (his/her body has no enough challenge). - There lies the necessity of bringing in new external forces (larger and larger), so we can reach the limits in athlete s capacity, so we can get improvement. - Progressive over load is based on volume (quantity: how much repetitions/sets/kg ) and quality (intensity: work and recovery periods ). Overload principle This has to do with previous thing, but: - Increasing the load is not enough. There is a time in which, in order to force the body to adjust to specific effort, effort intensity must prevail, so energetical metabolism can be activated. First years of training, volume (quantity) is what really matters when looking for a good performance, but as years go by, and the athlete becomes better and better, volume s importance is no longer, but intensity takes its place. Recovery principle (adaptation) When doing physical effort (training or competition), our body reacts with a slight functional capacity decrease.
Grosser- Zimmermann says adaptation process lie on an optimal effort and optimal recovery. So, we need to consider: - Stimulus need to have a minimum duration and intensity so they can provoke adaptation. - Recovery, attending to those stimuli and to the functional capacity of the individual, will need some time so the body can result with overcoming or adaptation. - This overcoming time depends on the type of exercise and the training load. So, for a speed workout, you will need at least 24 hours of recovery and 48 to overcome. In an anaerobic endurance workout, recovery is at least 48 hours and 72 hours for adaptation. Individuality principle Every person has unique morphophysiological characteristics, with unique capacity, physical development, age So, if we apply the same stimuli to different people, we ll observe: - Every person has a different effort capacity. - Every person has a different adaptation and recovery capacity. Therefore we need to adapt the workout to the individual needs of each person. Now, when training gets more specific and the athlete has to overcome specific and intense efforts, a strict individualization is needed. Motivation principle To support the training is necessary to exercise the will. If there is no will or willingness to do things, there will be a kind of rejection of the activity. With a possitive attitude, you are more ready to overcome the difficulties (motivation). R Burke considered that the improvements through physical activity are more specific when it stimulates the athlete voluntarily. Specificity principle Once the basic general training is settled, the specific conditions according to the particular characteristics of each sport (prerequisite) should be developed. The principle of specificity is based on the biological functional and morphologic changes of the organs, systems which will provide the main part of the effort. Transference principle
Learning certain habits is facilitated by the acquisition of others. For example, in general training, some skills get benefic from others, but for specific training, this relationship may be positive, negative or neutral. There will be an improvement or positive influence if both activities need similar movements. So, when exercises or specific loads and techniques in a sport are similar to a new activity (moreover, the adaptation characteristics: biomechanic, morphologica, and functional), that s positive transference. An example of negative influence would be when you want to improve the speed, and a long time is dedicated to the endurance workouts. Efficiency principle This principle poses: when can we consider that we work effectively? For the training to be effective it is necessary to consider the principles we already talked about so far. The coach must know different systems and working methods and know how to apply as well. Also he/she has to be able to prepare a perfect planning, organize and control the training. Knowing when and how it should be applied each one of the systems and methods. Sports training to be effective must apply to the efforts of a proper and timely manner, otherwise, there will be a pause or a decrease in the level of performance. Any training or workout can be ineffective, when the organism, due to tiredness or lack of recovery, is unable to give answers to the stimulus that affects it. 7 Principles of Exercise and Sport Training By Marty Gaal When you approach your multisport training, the best way to answer your questions is to better understand the principles behind the work you are putting in to improve. These are seven basic principles of exercise or sport training you will want to keep in mind: Individuality athletic age, and mental state. Everyone is different and responds differently to training. Some people are able to handle higher volumes of training while others may respond better to higher intensities. This is based on a combination of factors like genetic ability, predominance of muscle fiber types, other factors in your life, chronological or Specificity
Improving your ability in a sport is very specific. If you want to be a great pitcher, running laps will help your overall conditioning but won t develop your skills at throwing or the power and muscular endurance required to throw a fastball fifty times in a game. Swimming will help improve your aerobic endurance but won t develop tissue resiliency and muscular endurance for your running legs. Progression To reach the roof of your ability, you have to climb the first flight of stairs before you can exit the 20 th floor and stare out over the landscape. You can view this from both a technical skills standpoint as well as from an effort/distance standpoint. In order to swim the 500 freestyle, you need to be able to maintain your body position and breathing pattern well enough to complete the distance. In order to swim the 500 freestyle, you also need to build your muscular endurance well enough to repeat the necessary motions enough times to finish. Overload To increase strength and endurance, you need to add new resistance or time/intensity to your efforts. This principle works in concert with progression. To run a 10-kilometer race, athletes need to build up distance over repeated sessions in a reasonable manner in order to improve muscle adaptation as well as improve soft tissue strength/resiliency. Any demanding exercise attempted too soon risks injury. The same principle holds true for strength and power exercises. Adaptation Over time the body becomes accustomed to exercising at a given level. This adaptation results in improved efficiency, less effort and less muscle breakdown at that level. That is why the first time you ran two miles you were sore after, but now it s just a warm up for your main workout. This is why you need to change the stimulus via higher intensity or longer duration in order to continue improvements. The same holds true for adapting to lesser amounts of exercise. Recovery The body cannot repair itself without rest and time to recover. Both short periods like hours between multiple sessions in a day and longer periods like days or weeks to recover from a long season are necessary to ensure your body does not suffer from exhaustion or overuse injuries. Motivated athletes often neglect this. At the basic level, the more you train the more sleep your body needs, despite the adaptations you have made to said training. Reversibility If you discontinue application of a particular exercise like running five miles or bench pressing 150 pounds 10 times, you will lose the ability to successfully complete that exercise. Your muscles will atrophy and the cellular adaptations like increased capillaries (blood flow to the muscles) and mitochondria density will reverse. You can slow this rate of loss substantially by conducting a maintenance/reduced program of training during periods where life gets in the way, and is why just about all sports coaches ask their athletes to stay active in the offseason. The principles of specificity, progression, overload, adaptation, and reversibility are why practicing frequently and consistently are so important if you want to improve your performance. Missed sessions cannot really be made up within the context of a single season. They are lost opportunities for improvement. Skipping your long ride on weekend A means you can t or shouldn t go as far as originally planned on weekend B (progression & overload). Skipping your Monday swim means your swimming skills and muscles won t be honed or stressed that day (specificity). Missing a week due to a vacation sets you back more than one week (adaptation and reversibility). Apply these principles to your training to get a better understanding of your body and how to achieve success.
Marty Gaal, CSCS, is a triathlon and swim coach in Cary, N.C. You can read about One Step Beyond and his services at www.osbmultisport.com. (http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/multisport-lab/articles/7-principles-of-training-082812. aspx)