Republic of the Philippines

Cagayan State University

www.csu.edu.ph

UNIT 1

Topic 3. UNDERSTANDING PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING

Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

A. understand the principles of programme design/ training;

B. identify the F.I.T.T. training variables;
C. apply each components of the F.I.T.T. principle to fitness components; and
D. recognize the principle of training programme design in developing
components of fitness.

Reading I

Training means exercising regularly to improve skills and fitness. The training that an athlete
does must be appropriate for that person and their sport in order to get the most out of their
training. These days it seems like every athlete has advice on how to train most effectively.
Their ideas and philosophies are often a result of the athletes’ own experiences with training
and racing; quite often these have some merit, however when it comes to training principles,
it’s definitely true that we “don’t know what we don’t know.”

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 1: OVERLOAD

For any adaptation to take place, the human body is required to exert itself beyond the normal
stress levels of training. Put simply, you need to suffer in training in order to progress. This
doesn’t mean every single session you need to be putting yourself in tha ‘pain cave’ but you
will need to check in regularly to ensure you are pushing yourself enough for the body to
reset its current fitness levels. Overloading can be achieved by following FITT.

 Frequency: Increasing the number of times you train per week. For example, instead
of doing the workout twice a week, try doing it for 3 times a week.
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

 Intensity: Increasing the difficulty of the exercise you do. For example, running at 12
km/h instead of 10 km/h or increasing the weight you are lifting with.

 Time: Increasing the length of time that you are training for each session. For
example, cycling for 45 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

 Type: Increase the difficulty of the training you are doing. For example progress from
walking to running.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 2: SPECIFICITY

This put simply means that you’ll get better on what you do. If you want to improve your
running, then run more. If you want to improve your swimming, then swim more. In short,
specific type of exercises for a specific purpose.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 3: PROGRESSION

Progression is a close relative to overload. It relates to short, medium and long term
development of an athlete. In a well-planned program, the athlete should be challenged
regularly to attain new levels of fitness to ensure better performance is given. The higher the
skill of an athlete the more difficult this becomes to raise.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 4: RECOVERY

The adaptation to overload occurs during rest periods. When you are pushing your limits you
are in the process of breaking down your body, during the recovery phase, the body
experiences compensation which results in the body adjusting to new levels of fitness.
Remember you cannot expect to feel recovered for every session.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 5: REVERSIBILITY

Basically, if you stop training then the improvements you have made will be reversed. If you
do not train for a period of time (even as little as a week) you will not be able to resume
training at the point where you left off.
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 6: VARIETY

Vary your training to keep you interested and to give your body a different challenge.
Remember a change is as good as rest.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 7: INDIVIDUALIZATION

Description: The modification of training to account for an athlete’s unique capacity for and
response to training
Concept: A training program should acknowledge differences in an athlete’s capacity for
adaptation from that of their teammates, in order to ensure adherence to training principles
for that individual; this capacity is affected by physiologic (e.g., age, current fitness, training
history), psychologic (e.g., effort, confidence), environmental (e.g., nutrition, lifestyle habits),
and genetic factors
Example: The workout program for a freshman quarterback differs necessarily from that of a
senior lineman on his football team, based on individual differences.

TRAINING PRINCIPLE 8:P ERIODIZATION

Description: The planned systematic and structural variation of a training program over time
Concept: Constant cycling of training variables (activity, rest, frequency, intensity, duration)
within a training program each day, week, and month aims to maintain optimal training
stimulus, address changing goals and individual variability, and avoid overtraining, injury,
and burnout; this is often implemented using microcycles, mesocycles, and macrocycles
(training cycles within training cycles of increasing duration) as a framework (1,4,5).
Example: A lacrosse team’s training program is altered across macrocycles to keep
adaptations aligned with the varying goals of the preseason, in-season, and off-season
Reading II

TRAINING THRESHOLDS AND CALCULATING HEART RATE

Training is effective when it specifically targets the individual athlete. One way of achieving
this is by targeting the most relevant training threshold. For many athletes this involves
calculating a specific WORKING HEART RATE.

RESTING HEART RATE (RHR) – heart rate at rest is best determined right after waking
up in the morning; before sitting up.
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

THEORETICAL MAXIMUM HEART RATE (TMHR) – 220 beats per minute (BPM) is
the highest number of beats that the human heart can attain.

MAXIMUM HEART RATE (MHR) – it is computed by subtracting your age from the
theoretical maximum heart rate.

TRAINING HEART RATE (THR) – the training heart rate zone, determine the intensity
level at which you should exercise.

RECOVERY HEART RATE – it is taken 90 seconds after the training. When the count
falls below the minimum level of the training heart rate, you can apply the overload principle.

A 20-year-old athlete might want to calculate their maximum heart rate in order to accurately
calculate their training threshold:

Maximum heart rate = 220 – 20

Maximum heart rate = 200 beats per minute (BPM)

Once we have calculated the maximum heart rate, we can calculate the training thresholds.
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

Example: A 20-year-old distance runner wants to calculate working intensity within the
aerobic zone:

Maximum heart rate = 200

Lower training threshold of the aerobic zone = 60% of MHR

Lower training threshold = 0.6 × 200

Lower training threshold = 120 BPM

Upper training threshold of the aerobic zone = 80% MHR

Upper training threshold = 0.8 × 200

Upper training threshold = 160 BPM

Therefore the 20-year-old aerobic athlete needs to target their training between 120 - 160
BPM to make the training effective.
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

Learning Activity 3.1

Which principle of training relates to each of the following statements?

1. Training adaptations will relate to the type of training that is performed:

_____________________

2. In order to develop fitness, the body needs to be challenged:

______________________

3. Endurance exercise will primarily develop the long-term energy system:

______________________

4. If individuals stop training, they will start to lose their fitness:

________________________

5. After initial overload, further overload needs to be applied in order to improve

fitness: _________________________

Learning activity 3.2

What does the letters of the acronym F.I.T.T stand for? What do they mean
in relation to a training session?

F stands for: ________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
and means: __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

I stands for: _________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
and means: __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

T stands for: ________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

and means:

T stands for: ________________________

and means: __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

Learning Activity 3.3

Instructions: My physical activity plan. Perform a body workout that

suits in the given activities

THR Picture of
(lower & yourself
Type upper during
Activities Frequency Intensity Time
limits) the
physical
activity
Lifestyle
1 Physical
Activity
Aerobic
2
Activity

Exercise for
3
Flexibility
Exercise for
Strength and
4
Muscular
Endurance
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

SELF-ASSESSMENT

At this point, you are now ready to take the self - assessment for unit
1 topic 3.
Direction: Explain briefly, you can use extra sheet of paper if the space will not
suffice. Attach the extra sheet after.

Rubrics

Areas of 4pts. 3pts 2pts 1pt.

Assessment
Ideas Presents ideas in Presents ideas in Ideas are too Ideas are vague
an original a consistent general or unclear
manner manner
Organization Strong and Organized Some organization; No organization;
organized beg/mid/end attempt at a lack beg/mid/end
beg/mid/end beg/mid/end
Understanding Writing shows Writing shows a Writing shows Writing shows
strong clear adequate little
understanding understanding understanding understanding

1. How does fitness components are being developed using the principles of
training programme design?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Republic of the Philippines
Cagayan State University
www.csu.edu.ph

______________________________________________________
______

2. Explain why Athletes or Sports People are using the principle of training
programme design.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________