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Only a planned exercise schedule can help you improve your sport performance. You have to design your training in relation to the 'weak-point' of your body. It includes exercise skill, cardiovascular fitness or muscular strength.
Component of good performance: Skill and Fitness
Proper exercise skill is the key factor to good performance. You have to include specific skill training at least once a week in your training schedule. In this training session, only the refinement of skill is focused.
Physical fitness is another important factor. It consists of cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength.
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Cardiovascular fitness |
Muscular Strength |
| Indication |
If you feel shortness of breath or rapid heart rate during exercise, or you want to participate in an endurance sport like marathon or rowing. |
If you feel tired easily, or you want to improve your agility or speed. |
| Recommended training prescription |
* Aerobic exercise : running, aerobic dance, cycling, and swimming, etc.
* The exercise heart rate should be 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. (Please refer to Your First Exercise Lesson for details).
* The duration of training should be around 20-30 minutes, excluding the time of warm up and cool down. |
* Resistance training : gym machine-work, dumbbell, elastic and band, etc.
* Resistance: able to perform 8-15 repetitions with maximum effort.
* Repetition: 8-15 repetitions per set, total 3 sets. |
| Guidelines of Exercise Progression |
* Increase the length of time you exercise for before you increase the frequency or intensity.
* Once you begin to feel that the 45-60 minute training sessions are getting too easy to perform, then it is time to increase the frequency of training per week from 3 times to 4-5 times per week. It is advisable to reduce the duration of each training session down to 25-30 minutes per session so that you can accommodate 1-2 days of additional training.
* Once you are exercising 45-60 minutes per day for 5 days per week, then it's time to increase the training intensity. Your exercise heart rate should be kept around 70-80% of your maximum heart rate. At the beginning of progression, you may reduce your exercise duration from 45 minutes to 30 minutes, or reduce 1 training session per week.
* Table 1 showed the 3 phases for progressing your cardiovascular training. |
* When you are able to lift a weight between 8-15 times, you can increase the amount of weight you use in your next session.
* Start out with a weight that you can lift only 8-10 times. Keep using that weight until you become strong enough to lift it 12-15 times. Then, add more weight again.
* The amount of weight you use depends on your own level of fitness.
Other cues of progression:
* Make moves a bit different for the same group of muscles.
* Change the move to use only one arm or one leg at a time.
* Add a balance challenge, such as using fitball or inflatable disc. |
| Table 1 : Guidelines to Progress the Cardiovascular Training |
| Training Phase |
Week |
Frequency
(Session/Wk) |
Intensity
(% Maximum Heart Rate) |
Duration
(Minutes) |
| Adaptation Phase |
1 |
3 |
40-50 |
15-20 |
| 2 |
3-4 |
40-50 |
20-25 |
| 3 |
3-4 |
50-60 |
20-25 |
| 4 |
3-4 |
50-60 |
25-30 |
| Improvement Phase |
5-7 |
3-4 |
60-70 |
25-30 |
| 8-10 |
3-4 |
60-70 |
30-35 |
| 11-13 |
3-4 |
65-75 |
30-35 |
| 14-16 |
3-5 |
65-75 |
30-35 |
| 17-20 |
3-5 |
70-85 |
35-40 |
| 21-24 |
3-5 |
70-85 |
35-40 |
| Maintenance Phase |
24+ |
3-5 |
70-85 |
30-45 |
How to make up your own schedule?
A proper training schedule helps maximise training effectiveness. Before you start making up your schedule, please read the following Basic Principles of Training.
1. Specificity: Plan your training according to (1) the energy system, (2) muscle group and (3) movement pattern required in the sport. For example, training for rowing has to include (1) aerobic training; 2) upper back, shoulder, lower back and quadriceps strengthening, and (3) shoulder, back and knee extension patterning.
2. Progressive Overloading: You have to overload your body if you adapt to the recent training intensity. Your body must be exposed to a load to which it is not normally accustomed.
3. Rest day: Arrange rest days in your training schedule. If you are not a beginner, you can have low intensity exercise in the rest day.
Preparation for event
If you plan to participate in a sport event, you may want to design your own pre-event training schedule. It can be divided into 3 training phases.
| 3 Phases of training |
Training Items |
Phase duration |
| 1. Transition |
* Muscular training for specific muscle groups
* Aerobic training: perform low intensity, long duration exercises.
* Participate in others sports or leisure activities.
* Specific skills training
* Maintain your target body fat content |
8 weeks |
| 2. Adaptation |
* Muscular training: Progressive training on specific muscle groups with higher training intensity. 3 sessions a week.
* Aerobic training: Increase duration of training gradually.
* To train your Energy Release System by higher intensity exercise, such as sprinting. It improves your speed and agility. 1-2 sessions a week.
* Practice specific skills and tactics. |
8-10 weeks |
| 3. Pre-Event |
Initial (3-8 weeks pre-event)
* Maintain the same level of aerobic training as in Adaptation.
* Increase intensity of strengthening for specific muscle groups.
* Anaerobic Training: Perform high intensity short duration exercise, such as accelerating sprint in short distance.
* Skill Training.
* Participate in other sport event that is having similar nature.
Later (2 weeks pre-event)
* Reduce the frequency and duration of aerobic training.
* Maintain anaerobic training, around 1-2 sessions a week.
* More rest days.
* Refine your skills. |
6-8 weeks |
Overtraining Syndrome
You may suffer from the following disorders if you increase your training too rapidly.
* General achiness, mild leg soreness
* Pain in muscles and joints
* Reduced appetite
* Insomnia
* Headache
* Insatiable thirst, dehydration
* Lower resistance to common illness, colds, sore throat , etc.
If you have the above symptoms, you are possibly overtraining yourself. The solutions are to rest and drink a lot of water. You have to re-schedule your training and reduce the amount of activities using the same muscle groups repeatedly. You may also seek help from massage therapist. If your body has no improvement, you have to consult your doctor for further investigation.
Conclusion:
Skills and fitness are the basic components for good performance. In order to enhance your training effectiveness, you need to have your own training schedule, which is directed to your 'weak-point'. Remember not to progress too rapidly. A gradual progression that allows adaptation of your body is the key.
Raymond H C Tsoi, Registered Physiotherapist
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