In order to make the most out of your training sessions it’s important to plan them. There are a number of principles you should consider in order to ensure the sessions are effective:
- Specificity: the training needs to be focused on the specific parts of the body needed for the sport in question.
- Overload: an individual needs to be prepared to push themselves past their comfort zone and work out more than they would usually.
- Progression: it’s better to start slowly and then increase the amount of exercise by overloading all at once.
- Reversibility: continuous training is vital because as soon as an individual stops training then the fitness is lost.
It’s important to train on a regular basis however it’s also important to train in moderation in order to allow your body to adapt and reduce the risk of injury.
When tailoring a programme for the goals of an individual there are four main areas that need to be brought into play:
- frequency: how often the training takes place
- intensity: how hard the training is
- time: how long the training will take place
- type: which specific types of training will be used
You can remember these by using the acronym FITT.
Another important area is the target zone. This looks at how much aerobic and anaerobic training should be carried out.
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Training session stages
There are a number of stages to a training session, all of which are very important.
- Warm up
- First of all it’s important to increase the heart rate and body temperature.
- The muscles, joints and ligaments are stretched in preparation for the session.
- Skills and techniques can be practised.
- Activity
- This involves fitness training which could involve going over techniques.
- It can also involve skill development which includes drills or team practices
- Modified or Conditioned Games also fall into this section.
- Warm down/Cool down
- This involves some form of light exercise to help the body get rid of waste products produced during the main activity, like carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
- Further stretching helps to prevent the muscles becoming sore or stiff later on.