Principles of Exercise

Training
 Terminology:
Muscular Strength

• Strength: maximal force that a muscle or

muscle group can generate
– Static strength
– Dynamic strength (varies by speed and joint angle)

• 1 repetition maximum (1RM): maximal

weight that can be lifted with a single effort
– Start with proper warm-up
– Add weight until only 1 repetition can be performed
 Terminology:
Muscular Power

• Muscular power: rate of performing work

– Explosive aspect of strength
– Power = force x (distance/time)

• Power more important than strength for

many activities
• Field tests not very specific to power
• Typically measured with electronic devices
 Terminology:
Muscular Endurance

• Endurance: capacity to perform repeated

muscle contractions (or sustain a single
contraction over time)
• Number of repetitions at given % 1RM
• Increased through
– Gains in muscle strength
– Changes in local metabolic, cardiovascular function
 Terminology:
Aerobic Power

• Aerobic power: rate of energy release by

oxygen-dependent metabolic processes
• Maximal aerobic power: maximal capacity
for aerobic resynthesis of ATP
– Synonyms: aerobic capacity, maximal O2 uptake,
VO2max
– Primary limitation: cardiovascular system
– Can be tested in lab or estimated from wide variety
of field tests
 Terminology:
Anaerobic Power

• Anaerobic power: rate of energy release by

oxygen-independent metabolic processes
• Maximal anaerobic power: maximal capacity
of anaerobic systems to produce ATP
– Also known as anaerobic capacity
– Maximal accumulated O2 deficit test
– Critical power test
– Wingate anaerobic test
 General Principles of Training:
Principle of Individuality

• Not all athletes created equal

• Genetics affects performance
• Variations in cell growth rates, metabolism,
and cardiorespiratory and neuroendocrine
regulation
• Explains high versus low responders
 General Principles of Training:
Principle of Specificity

• Exercise adaptations specific to mode and

intensity of training
• Training program must stress most relevant
physiological systems for given sport
• Training adaptations highly specific to type
of activity, training volume, and intensity
 General Principles of Training:
Principle of Reversibility

• Use it or lose it
• Training  improved strength and
endurance
• Detraining reverses all gains
 General Principles of Training:
Principle of Progressive Overload

• Must increase demands on body to make

further improvements
• Muscle overload: muscles must be loaded
beyond normal loading for improvement
• Progressive training: as strength ,
resistance/repetitions must  to further 
strength
 General Principles of Training:
Principle of Variation

• Also called principle of periodization

• Systematically changes one or more
variables to keep training challenging
– Intensity, volume, and/or mode
–  Volume/ intensity
–  Volume/ intensity

• Macrocycles versus mesocycles

 Resistance Training Programs:
Training Needs Analysis

• First appropriate step in designing and

prescribing appropriate resistance training
program identifies
– Muscle groups to target
– Type of training
– Energy system to stress
– Injury prevention needs

• Specifics of resistance training program

design based on needs analysis
 Resistance Training Programs:
Strength, Hypertrophy, and Power

• Should involve concentric (CON), eccentric

(ECC), and isometric contractions
– CON strength maximized by ECC
– ECC benefits action-specific movements
• Exercise order
– Large muscle groups before small, multijoint before
single joint, high intensity before low intensity
• Rest periods based on experience
– Novice, intermediate lifters: 2 to 3 min between sets
– Advanced lifters: 1 to 2 minutes between sets
 Interaction of Loading & Reps

Strength Power?? Endurance

1 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16..
Repetitions Maximum
Heavy(100%) Moderate (70%) Light (50%)

Resistance
 Resistance Training Programs:
Static-Contraction Resistance

• Muscle force without muscle shortening

• Also called isometric training
• Early evidence showed great promise
– Later evidence did not support early findings
– Isometric training nonetheless still popular

• Ideal for immobilized rehab situations

 Resistance Training Programs:
Free Weights Versus Machines

• Free weights (constant resistance)

– Tax muscle extremes but not midrange
– Recruit supporting and stabilizing muscles
– Better for advanced weight lifters

• Machines
– May involve variable resistance
– Safer, easier, more stable, better for novices
– Limit recruitment to targeted muscle groups
 Resistance Training Programs:
Dynamic Eccentric Training

• Emphasizes ECC phase of contraction

– In this phase, muscle’s ability to resist force greater
than with CON training
– Theoretically produces  strength gains versus
CON

• Early ECC versus CON research equivocal

• More support from recent studies
– ECC + CON workouts maximize strength gains
– ECC important for muscle hypertrophy
 Resistance Training Programs:
Variable-Resistance Training

• Resistance  in weakest ranges of motion,

 in strongest ranges
• Muscle works against higher percentage of
its capacity at each point in range of motion
• Basis for several popular machines
 Resistance Training Programs:
Isokinetic Training

• Movement at a constant speed

– Angular velocity can range from 0 to 300°/s
– Strong force opposed by more resistance
– Weak force opposed by less resistance

• Resistance from electronics, air, or

hydraulics
• Theoretically allows maximal contraction at
all points in range of motion
 Resistance Training Programs:
Plyometrics

• Also known as stretch-shortening cycle

exercise
– Uses stretch reflex to recruit motor units
– Stores energy during ECC, released during CON
– Example: deep squat to jump to deep squat

• Proposed to bridge gap between speed and

strength training
 Resistance Training Programs:
Electrical Stimulation

• Pass current across muscle or motor nerve

– Ideal for recovery from injury or surgery
– Reduces strength loss during immobilization
– Restores strength and size during rehab

• No evidence of further supplemental gains

in healthy, training athletes
 Resistance Training Programs:
Core Stability and Strength

• Core: trunk muscles around spine and

viscera
– Abdominal muscles
– Gluteal muscles, hip girdle
– Paraspinal, other accessory muscles

• Yoga, Pilates, tai chi, physioball

• Proximal stability aids distal mobility
 Resistance Training Programs:
Core Stability and Strength

• May decrease likelihood of injury

• Increases muscle spindle sensitivity
– Permits greater state of readiness for joint loading
– Protects body from injury

• Core musculature mostly type I fibers,

responds well to multiple sets and high reps
 Anaerobic and Aerobic
Power Training

• Train sport-specific metabolic systems

• Programs designed along a continuum from
short sprints to long distances
– Sprints: ATP-PCr (anaerobic)
– Long sprint/middle distance: glycolytic (anaerobic)
– Long distance: oxidative system (aerobic)
Table 9.2
Table 9.2 (continued)
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Interval Training

• Repeated bouts of high/moderate intensity

interspersed with rest/reduced intensity
– More total exercise performed by breaking into bouts
– Same vocabulary as resistance training: sets,
repetitions, time, distance, frequency, interval, rest

• Example
– Set 1: 6 x 400 m at 75 s (90 s slow jog)
– Set 2: 6 x 800 m at 180 s (200 s jog-walk)
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Interval Training

• Appropriate for all sports and activities

• For given sport, first choose mode, then
adjust
– Rate of exercise interval
– Distance of exercise interval
– Number of repetitions and sets per training session
– Duration of rest/active recovery
– Type of activity during active recovery
– Frequency of training per week
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Exercise Interval Intensity

• Determined by duration/distance or % HRmax

• Duration and distance more practical
– One method: Use best time at a set distance, adjust
duration by desired intensity
– Intensity depends on fitness, number sets/reps, etc.
– ATP-PCr system training ~90 to 98% intensity
– Anaerobic glycolytic training ~80 to 95% intensity
– Aerobic oxidative training ~75 to 85% intensity
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Exercise Interval Intensity

• % HRmax a better index of physiological

stress
– HRmax determined by lab test, all-out run
– ATP-PCr training ~90 to 100% HRmax
– Anaerobic glycolytic training ~85 to 100% HRmax
– Aerobic-oxidative training ~70 to 90% HRmax

• Heart rate monitors helpful for recording HR

for duration of workout
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Distance of Interval

• Determined by requirements of activity

• Sprint training: 30 to 200 m (even 400 m)
• Distance training: 400 to 1,500+ m
 Repetitions and Sets per Session

• Largely sport specific

• Short, intense intervals  more repetitions
and sets
• Longer intervals  fewer repetitions and
sets
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Duration of Rest Interval

• Depends on how rapidly athlete recovers

– Based on HR recovery (fitness and age dependent)
– <30 years: HR should drop to 130 to 150 beats/min
– >30 years: subtract 1 beat for every year over 30

• For active recovery between sets, HR <120

beats/min
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Activity During Rest Interval

• Exercise intensity   recovery intensity 

• With better fitness,  intensity or  rest
duration
• Land training: slow or rapid walk or jog
• Swimming: slow swimming or total rest
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Frequency of Training

• Depends on purpose of interval training

• World-class runner: 5 to 7 times/week
• Swimmers: interval training every workout
• Team sports: 2 to 4 times/week
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Continuous Training

• Training without intervals

• Targets oxidative, glycolytic systems
– Can be high or low intensity
– High intensity near race (85 to 95% HRmax)
– Low intensity: LSD training
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: LSD Training

• Long, slow distance

• Train at ~60 to 80% HRmax (50 to 75% VO2max)
– Popular, safe
– However, must train near race pace, too

• Main objective: distance, not speed

– Up to 15 to 30 mi/day, 100 to 200 mi/week
– Less cardiorespiratory stress
– Greater joint/muscle stress, overuse injuries
 Anaerobic and Aerobic Power
Training: Fartlek Training

• Vary pace from sprint to jog at discretion

• Continuous training + interval elements
• Primarily used by distance runners
– Fun, engaging, variety
– Supplements other types of training