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"I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."

Michael Jordan

This is the discussion icon. Assignment 1: Quote and Reflection

Reflect on the quote above from the six time NBA championship winner and five time NBA Most Valuable Player. Draw connections to your experiences or times you’ve witnessed hard work paying off in a favourable result. Use any of the following sentence stems to begin your reflection:

  • I agree with Jordan because...
  • Jordan’s point about hard work is...
  • Adding to what Jordan said,...

Find your own quote about the same theme of hard work/commitment/determination and results.

Save your quote to your Portfolio.

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These days, personal health and fitness have taken centre stage in the fight against obesity and rising healthcare costs as a result of physical inactivity. Advertisements about fitness clubs and advice about training programs flood the social media landscape and have become part of daily conversation for many. However, when establishing your own training plan, it is important to keep in mind exactly what the end goal is for you personally.

From improving overall personal health to "owning the podium", the fundamental truth is that it takes a well-planned approach, using the core principles of fitness, along with dedication and commitment to produce positive lifelong changes in a person’s overall health and fitness.

Keeping F.I.T.T. - The principle of training

In designing any type of fitness training program, there is a widely used “recipe” or approach taken. It is called the F.I.T.T. principle. Think of the F.I.T.T. principle as a set of rules that must be adhered to in order to benefit from any form of fitness training program.

Long Description

The Quote is The Key! - The 5 Fundamental Training Principles

Coaches and trainers alike rely on well-established sports training principles to design programs for clients and make educated coaching decisions. These principles are generally agreed upon guidelines that are grounded in the sport sciences and hold true in practice and competition. There are 5 fundamental training principles that when used in conjunction with the F.I.T.T. principle of design creates a thorough, individually tailored approach to any training related to physical activity.

Specificity: "What you do is what you get..."

This principle applied to sports fitness training means that demands of the activity must be the focus of training. To become better at an activity/sport you must train the fitness components required for that activity and/or sport. For example, to prepare for endurance activities that require a strong cardiorespiratory system such as running longer distances, swimming, cross country skiing or hiking, training must focus on developing aerobic capacity to meet the demands of the activity along with developing muscular endurance.

In contrast, preparing for activities such as basketball, beach volleyball or springboard diving, which require explosive power and agility, training must focus on muscular strength and anaerobic performance. In contrast, golfers would require little distance work, but also train for power and flexibility.

Progressive Overload: "To get stronger, you’ve got to keep pushing"

This principle refers to continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory system in order to continually make gains in muscle size, strength and endurance.

In simplest terms - In order to run, ski, swim or hike longer you must continually increase the time spent doing the activity to increase your ability to sustain your effort for a longer period of time. If your goal is to get bigger and stronger when strength training, you must continually lift heavier weight and make your muscles work harder than they are used to. If you don't, your muscles will not become any stronger or bigger than they currently are.

Reversibility: "Use it, or lose it!"

The Reversibility Principle states that an individual will lose the effects of training after they stop working out or stop participating in the activity; however, the effect of “detraining” can be reversed when training/ participation is resumed.

While rest periods are necessary for physical recovery, extended periods of rest will actually cause a reduction in physical fitness. The physiological effects of fitness training diminish over time and the body will revert to its previous level of fitness or lack of fitness prior to training.

Detraining starts to occur within a relatively short time period after training ceases. Approximately 10% of muscular strength and 30-40% of muscular endurance is lost after only 8 weeks of inactivity and gains in cardiorespiratory performance begin to decrease from 4 days to within 2-3 weeks of inactivity.

Diminishing Returns: "In the beginning it was minutes faster, now it’s only seconds..."

When you begin a new fitness training program, your fitness level will improve rapidly if you stay with the program; however, as you become more fit, the improvements will not be as acute. In other words, the returns you get from your hard work are “diminished”. That is, as you become more fit, the amount of improvement is less as you approach your genetic limits.

In addition to this principle is the fact that as your fitness levels increase, more work or training is needed to make the same gains. When you first start training, improvements in fitness are large and happen quickly; however, the closer you get to your maximum fitness level, the harder you must work to achieve smaller increases in your fitness levels.

Individual Differences: "What works for some, may not work for all..."

The principle of individual differences simply means that, because we all are unique individuals, we will all have a slightly different response to an exercise program. So, "one size does not fit all" when it comes to exercise and a well-designed training program should be based on our individual differences and how our body uniquely responds to training.

Some of these differences have to do with body size and shape, genetics, past experience, chronic conditions, injuries and even gender. For example, older athletes generally need more recovery time than younger athletes.

With this in mind, if you are looking for very specific results or training to make a provincial sports team, you may or may not want to follow an "off the shelf" exercise program, DVD or class and may find it helpful to work with a coach or personal trainer to develop a customized exercise program.

If you would like to create your own exercise program to meet your individual goals, you will need to include all of these exercise science principles.

Resources

  1. Sports Training Adviser The Specificity Principle for Sports Training
  2. San Diego Figure Skating Communications: The Reversibility Principle
  3. Roy Stevenson: Comeback Trail: Detraining, Retraining and Maintenance of Fitness for Ultra Endurance Runners
  4. verywell is yet another good site to visit

This is the did you know icon. Did You Know?

Did you know you might be guilty of something?

Before moving on answer this quick question. Do you stretch before you exercise? Did you know that it is a common myth to "always stretch before you workout"?

Do the right type of stretches before your workout. There are two main forms:

  • static stretching (holding stretches while your body is at rest)
  • dynamic stretching (stretching while your body is in motion)

Prior to a workout, it is ideal to perform dynamic stretches, such as straight-leg swings and arm circles. While it’s true that you might feel more "stretched" after static stretching, these exercises actually lower the elasticity of the muscles, making it a poor way to prepare for a big bout of activity. Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, prepares your muscles to work and increases their core temperature, making them the perfect moves to get you ready.

Resources

  1. Health: 5 Stretching Myths That Have Got to Go

Long Description

This is the dropbox icon. Assignment 2: Functional Fitness Finder

In this assignment you will research and collect evidence about one functional fitness method. The evidence you collect must include:

  • The components of this method of training
  • The benefits and drawbacks of this method
  • An example of this training being used (eg: provide a link to a video, an article that discusses how to use this method, or a training plan that has incorporated the method)
  • Sports and/or physical activities where this method might be used as an effective basis of training and why
  • An interesting tidbit or fact about this method

You may select from one of the following functional fitness methods:

  • Resistance training
  • Circuit training
  • Cross training
  • Interval training
  • Fartlek training
  • Flexibility training
  • Core training
  • Speed/agility/quickness training
  • Balance training
  • Cardiorespiratory training
  • Plyometrics training
  • Periodization

Make sure you document and cite all the sources you are using in your research.

Use this chart to record your finding.

Save your chart to your Portfolio.

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This is the dropbox icon. Assignment 3: Devising A "Mini" Training Plan

As we have seen through our investigation, there are many different training methods. The method(s) we choose depend on our individual goals, whether it is improving our fitness, a skill, our performance in a sport or improving performance and effectiveness in the workplace. By using the training principles and methods as a foundation we can design or select an individual training program that will help us achieve our specific goals.

Select a physical activity, a sport, or a fitness goal, and decide which training principles and methods would provide the most effective basis for a training program for participants in that sport or activity or for an individual wanting to achieve a personal fitness goal.

Using the F.I.T.T. principles, devise a 4 week mini training plan for a participant in your chosen sport, activity or fitness goal making sure you address all 4 health-related fitness components. In the creation of your plan be sure to choose one or more of the Functional Fitness Methods and the 5 fundamental training principles. Include an explanation of how you have used the 5 principles and your rationale for the Functional Fitness Method(s) you have chosen to include. This assignment will be a good start to the understanding of your final summative assessment for this unit in Activity 9.

Use these examples of F.I.T.T. principle charts to help you devise your mini plan:

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