There are many principles of training. The basic training principles help coaches to design programmes that are specific and safe for an individual athlete. The training principles outlined below will appear to focus mostly on fitness training but the majority will also apply to technical, tactical and psychological training. Overload- For the body’s systems to make these adaptations, they must be overloaded. Just taking part in an activity will not cause any improvements in fitness, as the body will not be stressed to a greater extent than normal.
An example of this is swimming over the Summer period where swimmers swim up to 8 swims in the space of a day, these events will have swimmers training lightly as they cant afford any injuries. Progression- the overload imposed on an athlete must be progressive. If a training programme stays at the same intensity for a whole year, adaptations will only be evident at the beginning, as after this the body will no longer be overloaded. This is shown in both football and swimming. Pre to the season, swimmers will build up there training routines till they feel they can perform with the major competitors.
Reversibility- the adaptations that take place as a result of training are all reversible. Adaptations to endurance training can be lost more quickly than it takes to achieve them while strength gains are lost more slowly. This can happen mainly in football when the season is over. Players are normally given about a month off to recuperate and get over any injuries they might have got over the long year. During this time swimmers may put weight on as a result of not doing regular exercise. Specificity- is the least complex training principle.
In order for a training programme to be effective it must be specific for the sport and position of the performer. This is specific to one position, for example in swimming. A swimmer would use cardiovascular endurance for example they are doing a 1500m race and they need to keep going throughout the race. Recovery- is one of the most overlooked principles of training. It is during the recovery sessions that the adaptations to training take place. Recovery sessions may not necessarily mean complete rest.
Periods of lower intensity activity will allow the body to adapt without increasing the stress placed on it. In swimming these periods are excellent opportunities for work on technique and tactics. The two sports I’m going to be using are Swimming and Football. Swimming and Rugby both contrasts really well because with the principles of training as they both use all of the principles.
For example, with ‘adaptation’, if a swimmer wanted to improve their strength when pushing off the wall they would increase the amount of work they do on their legs i. e. hamstrings, quadriceps, gastrocnemius. e. g. leg curl, leg press and leg extension. And it’s exactly the same for a Rugby player if they also wanted to improve their Power they would work on improving their muscles in their Upper Body e. g. pectorals, deltoids, biceps and triceps, as well as your abdominal muscles to a certain extent. SWIMMING There are different types of swimming; but these principles of training are mainly used for ‘sprint swimming’ middle distance and long distance. I will be explaining assessing and evaluating sprint swimming.
In sprint swimming, these are the four main aspects. You would use strength, speed, power and muscular endurance. Speed – You would use sprinting, (SAQ) speed, agility and quickness, assisted training and also short sprints. Strength – You would use the 25m-sprint test, the ability to move the body as quickly as possible over the given distance. Power – You would use the standing broad jump (this is crucial as a race might depend on how quick your reaction time is) or the standing Vertical jump. Power is the amount of work done per unit of time; it is also a product of speed and strength.
Power can be improved by training but they rely on inheritance of fast twitch fibres. Muscular endurance – is the ability of any given muscle to repeatedly contract, without getting tired. The tests for muscular endurance are the sit up bleep test, press up test and the triceps dip test. Swimming requires both health related and skill related fitness. Muscular endurance and muscular strength both fall into the health related fitness categorise, whereas speed and power are both components of skill related.