As Trekking is a prolonged distance sport, a highly trained aerobic energy system will be required. There are three main energy systems that the body can recall on to supply energy to the working muscles during exercise and everyday activities. Aerobic (main system used for Trekking), anaerobic alactic and anaerobic lactic energy system are the main energy systems involved in exercise yet not only one system will be working at one time as there is a constant continuum were energy systems will over-lap.
A good diet plan will provide a better equipped body for Trekking, however food is not used directly for providing energy as the carbon, hydrogen, protein and nitrogen we get from food is in weak amounts so only a small amount of energy is extracted from food; the energy stored in food is chemically released and then the high energy molecule will then be stored on the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ‘The aerobic system provides the largest amount of energy for resynthesising ATP but at the lowest intensity’1.
This energy system uses oxygen primarily, which breaks down food into carbon dioxide and Water. This system takes several minutes to begin as getting oxygen to the working muscles operates in a complex system to deliver the effects so therefore our body uses its anaerobic system for the first few minutes. Aims of the Personal exercise programme The Trekking expedition will totally exhaust my aerobic capacity so developing my aerobic system into a highly resolute format will be crucial to the success of the expedition.
The Trek will take place over two days in a arable area so certain muscle groups will also needed to be developed to cope the strains of the exercise and the terrain, so the exercise plan will have to adapt a lot and include several components of fitness. The first component will be my VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen the body can utilise during exercise) so the Personal Exercise Plan will include a heavy cardiovascular workout; to help my aerobic system, I will also maintain good aerobic weight lifting sessions to sustain my dynamic strength in my overall build.
With higher cardiorespiratory endurance, you can hike and backpack without getting out of breathe easily and take on more hilly terrain. The term body composition refers to the relative amounts of fat, lean tissue, and water in your body, as well as your fat distribution. With a balanced composition, the body will use energy and water efficiently and reduce joint stress.
Agility and coordination is also needed for hiking and are known as motor skills. The backpack that will be involved in the Trek will hold all items that is needed for a person over two days, including food, water and other supplies which totals extreme weights so good upper body static strength (Static stretch is when a muscle is contracted and held for certain amount of time in a stationary position) will be required to hold this sufficient weight.
Other Components could include balance, core stability and flexibility, which will all be incorporated into my exercise plan. Before I begin my session I will pre-test the components involved in my Personal exercise plan so I can maintain focus on improvement and adaptability in my sessions.
The first pre-test will be the Multi-stage fitness test, which will show my current Vo2 max limits, however, the reliability of the test can only be sustained by keeping the variables limited, so I will not include the final 3 shuttles of my test as they will be excelled by my anaerobic system not the aerobic system, I will also not include a warm-up as the session itself will be progressive and I will not change my diet before-hand as it could effect the reliability of my current fitness levels, such as a high-carb diet will improve my short term success.
I will also conduct a 1-Rep Max limit test to record my current explosive strength limit and other component fitness tests (Vertical Jump power, 1-minute press-ups and sit-ups). Body weight will be my primary issue as carrying dead weight can effect the expedition so a weight lose programme will be conducted in my PEP to also aid my development. The Warm-Up The sport specific warm up is designed to prepare the body and mind optimally for sport. It is relatively short, focused and progressively dynamic. The warm up should be progressively dynamic, with exercises progressing to required speed level.
The exercises should mimic the movements that are required in the sport using gross motor activity of large muscle groups. It will raise the body temperature that then will make joint movement more supple and free, release adrenaline and improve the sport-specific range of movement (SSROM) and also increase oxygen utilisation in muscles. The body temperature at a static level for everyday movement has a degree of 37 Celsius, as a warm-up is included for around 15minutes it will raise to 38 Celsius and finally the optimum level during intense physical exercise is 41 Celsius.
(Galligan Et all 2000) The Warm-up will also include stretching to increase the length of flexibility of the working muscles and tendons; this will prevent risk of injury to muscles, improve performance and aid circulation. There are different methods to stretching and applying the correct one is vital. Static stretching (Appendix 3) should hold an isolated muscle in a contracted state for 10 seconds, however this is not sport realistic so should only be included in a cool-down.
Dynamic stretching will stretch a muscle beyond its normal rotation pattern to achieve better results for explosive competition but can be harmful and over stretching can lead to injury. Passive stretching is the final type of stretch that is most ideal as it involves an external partner to aid the stretch and keep in control of its limits. The joints and muscles must be warm during a stretch as it allows a more degree of movement at a joint. The stretches should aim to be sport realistic that requires a certain degree of movement that will compare to the range of movements within the upcoming activity.