Training Principles

Question 1

Training Principle: Specificity (SAID Principle)

Answer 1

• The adaptations to the body are specific to the stimulus.
• The body will adapt to the specific demands placed upon it.
• To improve in a specific discipline, the training movements and exercises should resemble the movement patterns of that discipline.
• Specificity also refers to the adaptations to the physiological systems arising from a training program.
• One cannot assume that the metabolic power used in running will be the same for cycling or swimming.

Question 2

Training Principle: Progressive Overload

Answer 2

• With progressive overload, over time the body adapts to a stress so an increasingly greater stress is needed to invoke the same physiological response.
• To create overload, the stress may increase in intensity, duration or frequency.
• In triathlon, cardiovascular capacity is increased by forcing the body to swim, bike or run for progressively longer distances or at faster velocities.
• Supercompensation only occurs if the athlete is allowed to recover between stimuli.
• If overload is planned, systematic and progressive, it can lead to improved performance.
• There is the risk of exposing the body to too much stress without allowing it time to recover.
• Overreaching is a state of constant physical, mental and emotional exhaustion that can lead to a decline in performance.
• Illness, injury, apathy and depression are often other signs and symptoms of overtraining syndrome.

Question 3

Training Principle: Individuality

Answer 3

• Principle of Individuality: Both the amplitude and rate of change are specific to the individual.
• Everyone responds differently to the stress of training.
• A coach must tailor a training plan to an individual athlete’s needs to produce a maximal response.
• Coaches must also use caution when comparing one athlete to another in training.

Question 4

Training Principle: Reversibility

Answer 4

• Principle of Reversibility: Adaptations can be lost if the stimulus is too infrequent.
• If a stress is not elicited frequently enough, adaptations will be lost and the body may revert back to its previous condition.
• After a week’s complete inactivity, changes begin to occur in the body that result in fitness losses.
• For the athlete and coach, this emphasizes the need for consistent training as even a short period of time away can lead to significant reductions in capacity.
• There are many ways to avoid the negative effects of reversibility.

Question 5

Measuring Exercise Intensity

Answer 5

• Exercise intensity is measured in a variety of ways.
• No single method of measurement provides a complete picture of the intensity experienced by the athlete.
• The athlete or coach should use more than one measurement when planning training sessions or evaluating performance results.

Question 6

Exercise Intensity: Rate of Perceived Exertion

Answer 6

• The rate of perceived exertion, or RPE, is a psycho-physical method of quantifying how an athlete experiences exercise intensity.
• It links physical signs, such as difficulty breathing, with a psychologically perceived scoring scale.
• The revised Borg Scale, which will be used in this course, more closely reflects the metabolic (lactate) and ventilator response during progressive training intensities.
• Beginner athletes may not be able to accurately estimate their RPE. Therefore, for beginner athletes, RPE may benefit from combining RPE with another intensity measure.

Question 7

Exercise Intensity: Heart Rate

Answer 7

• Heart rate is one of the most common measures of cardiovascular fitness.
• Absolute heart rate or a relative percentage of heart rate can be used as a measure of training intensity.
• Factors that affect heart rate: illness, emotional stress, medications, body temperature, sleep, dehydration, low glycogen levels, caffeine, heat and humidity.

Question 8

Exercise Intensity: Maximum Heart Rate Measures

Answer 8

Maximum Heart Rate
Your maximum heart rate (MHR) is the highest number of beats per minute (bpm) that your heart can produce. MHR is determined in one of two ways: a field test or a lab test.

In a field test, an athlete maintains a maximal sustained effort for a short period of time. This test should be repeated two or three times to obtain the highest heart rate.

The lab test is the most accurate method to measure maximum heart rate and is usually performed while being supervised by a professional. This stress test is performed by running on a graded treadmill or using a bicycle ergometer.

Heart Rate Reserve
Heart rate reserve is a term that describes the difference between the measured or predicted maximum heart rate and resting heart rate.

[Heart rate reserve = Max heart rate - resting heart rate][HRR = HRmax – RHR]

The Kavonen formula can be used to estimate maximum heart rate.

Question 9

Exercise intensity Measures

Answer 9

BLOOD LACTATE THRESHOLD
Blood lactate levels can be used to establish training intensities.
The result is a lactate index with associated heart rates. These values are used to recommend training intensity based on heart rate zones.
FUNCTIONAL (LACTATE) THRESHOLD HEART RATE
A field test can be performed to estimate the heart rate at which the athlete reaches a predicted lactate threshold, which we will refer to as functional threshold heart rate.
The results of this test can be used to assign training intensities based on a percentage of heart rate at the predicted lactate threshold.
It is important to note another common term for this measurement is lactate threshold heart rate.
PACE
Pace is the time required to cover a particular distance and is therefore related to speed or velocity.
Coaches can assign a specific pace or a relative percentage of race pace as a measure of training intensity.
POWER
Power is defined as work (force multiplied by distance) performed per unit of time.
Power is a common method of measuring intensity for cyclists and is expressed in watts (force, or how hard the athlete pushes on the pedals) multiplied by angular velocity (cadence).
Functional threshold power is the exercise intensity at which the athlete reaches a predicted lactate threshold.
A relative percentage of functional threshold power, or an absolute power value, can be used as a measure of training intensity for cycling.
MET
Metabolic Equivalent of Task or METs is a measure of exercise intensity based on oxygen consumption. It is typically expressed relative to rest (1MET).
Some training technologies estimate METs as part of the quantitative data.

Question 10

Exercise Zones

Answer 10

Zone 1 - Use for warm-up, cool down, recovery and technique. Main source of energy derived from aerobic energy metabolism.

Zone 2 - Use as a basic component of all endurance training as part of long sessions. Promotes aerobic capacity and endurance. Main source of energy derived from aerobic energy metabolism.

Zone 3 - Use as a component of progressive training, especially time trials and repetitions. Source of energy begins to shift from aerobic to anaerobic energy metabolism.

Zone 4 - Use for race pace training for middle distance (up to 2 hours) in the form of time trials and repetitions. Small component for training >2 hours. Promotes muscular endurance and lactate threshold endurance. Source of energy derived from aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism.

Zone 5 - Use for speed training with short recovery and short repetitions at close to maximum pace. Promotes lactate threshold endurance, muscular endurance, speed endurance, anaerobic capacity and power. Uses aerobic energy system with a larger dependence on anaerobic energy metabolism.
Note: Exercise can be performed above this zone, but only for extremely brief periods of time.

Question 11

Determining Training Session Objectives

Answer 11

Endurance
Endurance is the capacity to perform an activity for an extended period of time without a decrease in performance. This is perhaps the most crucial priority for every triathlete.

Endurance + Speed (Anaerobic Endurance)
Speed drills and intervals can be incorporated into endurance training sessions to increase cardiovascular training effects such as lactate clearance. This combination of training priorities is commonly referred to as anaerobic endurance.

Speed
Speed is the ability to cover a distance in a short period of time and is directly related to strength. Speed training improves anaerobic power and endurance and, when combined with strength training, increases power. Endurance and speed training is generally for field athletes.

Strength + Speed (Power)
As you may recall, power is defined as the rate of work over a period of time. Therefore, power is the combination of strength and speed. Compared to the other biomotor abilities, power has a small contribution to total training for the endurance athlete.

Strength
Strength is the ability to produce or resist force. Training this ability along with endurance improves performance by creating muscular endurance and power while also strengthening stabilizing muscles, such as the core.

Endurance + Strength (Muscular Endurance)
Once the athlete builds a foundation of aerobic endurance, resistance can be incorporated into the endurance training sessions in limited duration to build strength. This combination is commonly referred to as muscular endurance. According to Bompa, this “represents the main physiological foundation athletes’ performances rely on.”

Question 12

Summary

Answer 12

• The principles of training include specificity, progressive overload, individuality and reversibility.
• The training variables are intensity, duration and frequency.
• The methods to measure intensity include: RPE, heart rate, pace, lactate threshold, power and METs. It’s important to use more than one measure of intensity when planning training.
• This course will use five intensity zones ranging from easy to very hard.
• The training session goal will focus on improving performance in endurance, strength, speed or a combination of these abilities, as well as developing tactical and technical skills.