Breaking a sweat and gettting back in the game

For many athletes breaking a sweat is as important as eating a balanced meal, but is it really true that if you are not breaking a sweat than you are not training properly?
Training should be regulated on a micro- meso- and macro cycle. This entire means is that your training program should be structured. Each day should have some form of variability. A Micro Cycle can be a four week training program. This is just one of the building blocks of a good training program. Each training day should in turn be different. It is also important to control the amount of exercises and the number of repetition and sets you perform within a training day. It is advised that you perform exercises of different nature within your training program for the best results. By changing the day to day exercises you are exercising different muscle groups and toning your whole body.

A Meso Cycle can be different training seasons, such as the off-, pre- and in-season. The training programs for these seasons will vary according to your specific sport and your personal preferences. In the off-season you will want to build muscle and therefore your repetitions will be less but the amount of weight you push can be heavier. This will also be a good time for YOU to get fit. An endurance activity 3 times a week can aid in accomplishing that goal. I recommend you vary this aspect of your training by doing the following:
Ø Running
Ø Rowing
Ø Boxing
Ø Swimming
Ø Aqua Aerobics
Ø Cycling
Ø Paddling
Ø Or a combination

These exercises will all give you the desired result. Try to do at least 30-60 min of aerobic exercise 3 times a week. If you so desire you may even do this training everyday but vary the intensity from one day to the next, go slow one day then increase your speed the next day. You can even do that on the same day, run fast for 15 min and than slow down for the next or do it vice-versa.

For the pre-season the training should be more sport specific but endurance training can still be done for the first part of the pre-season. Here the focus should be on developing your skills and starting on your anaerobic fitness as well. You can also now increase the number of repetitions you do and decrease the amount of weight used. This is so that you can develop lean muscle mass and decrease the amount of body fat that you may have. Your sport training would now be underway and you will most likely be training more frequently than in the off-season. Depending on what sport you do perform you must also incorporate that into your daily training program so that you can be ready when the time comes.

A Macro- Cycle is a whole planned year training program. It is all the seasons combined.

The benefits of training frequently are vast:
Ø Decrease in blood pressure
Ø Decrease in Resting heart rate
Ø Decrease in Body Fat
Ø Increase in Muscle definition and muscle strength
Ø Increase in general health
Ø Increase in energy
Ø Better sleep regulation
Ø Increase in Aerobic and anaerobic capabilities
Ø Better sporting performance
Ø Physical and Mental awareness
Ø Increase levels of LDL
Ø Decrease levels of HDL
Ø Better sugar regulation
Ø Appetite regulation
It is worth while breaking a sweat when you can as often as you can, your body WILL love you for it!

Regards Chrysilla Stander
Netball and Rugby Enthusiast
Netball and Rugby Player (Provincially)
Netball Coach and Referee

If you need any more information on this Blog do no hesitate to contact me, if you need information on Netball or Rugby I would love to answer your Questions.

Thank you for your time in reading this I really hope that you can take something from it! ☻

The Physiological Adaptations caused by Resistance and Endurance Training

So many of us train because we know it is good for us or because we enjoy it. But do you really know which changes are taking place inside your body besides your muscle just getting bigger or your body getting fitter. I will discuss some of the changes taking place in the body focusing on resistance (weight) training as well as cardiovascular training.

Resistance training

The major adaptations of resistance training is an increase in the cross sectional area of muscle (Brooks et al, 2005), this is when a muscle becomes bigger (hypertrophy) and an increase in strength. This muscle hypertrophy leads to an increase in maximum force generating capacity by these muscles. Another important adaptation is the thickening of bones due to resistance training. Bone tissue becomes stronger through increased deposition of mineral salts and production of collagen fibers (Tortora and Derrickson, 2006). There is also an increased neural function due to resistance training. This is to do with motor units. There is an increase in the electrical activity of the muscle and an increase rate of motor unit stimulation. This means the muscle is able to engage sooner and with more muscle fibers being activated sooner. Some other adaptations according to Brooks et al 2005 include:

1. ­ Increased contractile capacity of muscle
2. ­ Increased anaerobic power
3. Ligament and tendon strenght may increase ­
4. ­Increased capacity to use lipids (fats) as fuel
5. Increased capillary density = more blood and oxygen delivery to muscles
6. Increased stores of glycogen in muscle = more glucose can be produced for energy
7. ­ Increased intramuscular high energy compounds

Cardiovascular training

The major adaptations for cardiovascular training take place in the heart. With cardiovascular or endurance training the cardiac output (amount of blood pumped by heart in liters.min-1) of the heart will decrease. This is due to an incresed stroke volume which is the quantity of blood ejected out of the heart with each beat (Baechle and Earle, 2008). So if the quantity of blood being ejected from the heart each beat is increased cardiac output can then decrease. Due to an incresed amount of blood being pumped during each contraction (stroke volume) the heart will contract less frequently and thus there is a decreased heart rate with endurance training. Some other adaptations according to Baechle and Earle, 2008 include:

1. Increased muscular endurance and aerobic power
2. ­Increased capillary density
3. Increased mitochondrial density = more ATP = more energy
4. Increased metabolic energy stores
5. Increased ligament and tendon strength
6. Decreased % body fat

These are just a few changes that take place in the body following resistance and cardiovascular training and perhaps you can think about it next time you go training.

Best Regards
Shane Scott

References:

Baechle T.R. and Earle R.W. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 3rd Edition. Human Kinetics. USA, 120-130.

Brooks G.A., Fahey T.D. and Baldwin K.M. (2005). Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications. 4th Edition. Mcgraw-Hill. New York, 431-473.

Tortora G.J. and Derrickson B. (2006). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 11th Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc. USA, 188.

Overtraining - Implications and Signs

How often do you see people in the gym slugging away at the weights for crazy amounts of time, two hours or more some times. The saying too much of anything is bad for you applies to training also. Many people are unaware of the signs and implications of overtraining. According to Baechle and Earle 2008, overtraining can be defined as excessive frequency, volume or intensity of training that results in extreme fatigue, illness or injury. This overtraining is often due to a lack of sufficient rest, recovery and perhaps nutrient uptake. Short term overtraining (also called overreaching) is easily reversible with a few days of recovery. If this overtraining carries on beyond a reasonable amount of time (also known as burnout) the effects are much worse. The overtraining syndrome can last up to 6 months and in the worst case scenario overtraining can ruin an athletic career (Baechle and Earle 2008). During strength and power training the effects of overtraining can cause a reduction in performance for weeks or even months according to Baechle and Earle 2008. Overtraining may also suppress the immune system and according to Brooks et al 2005 overtraining is associated with increases in corticosteroid hormones which have a depressive effect on the immune system. Other symptoms of overtraining include:
¯ Desire to train and decreased joy from training
­ In acute epinephrine and norepinephrine
¯ Performance
Mood disturbances- decreased vigor, motivation and confidence, raised levels of tension, anger, fatigue, anxiety and irritability.
These are a few of the effects of overtraining so give these a think and remember to include adequet rest in your training. You only have one body.
Best regards
Shane Scott
References:
Baechle T.R. and Earle R.W. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 3rd Edition. Human Kinetics. USA, 114-117.
Brooks G.A., Fahey T.D. and Baldwin K.M. (2005). Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications. 4th Edition. Mcgraw-Hill. New York, 664-665.

Is your cool-down really that "cool"?

As I said before, your warm up needs to be “the heat”, well likewise, your warm-down needs to be the “cool” thing to do. Both play a vital role in one’s training. You need to do a cool-down after your training session or event not because it’s the “cool thing” to do and because ‘everyone is doing it’, but to benefit yourself and your performance.
One’s cool-down should involve a short bout (5-10 minutes) of low intensity exercise, followed by a session of static stretching. The athlete will start his/her cool-down with the low intensity exercise, to reduce the muscular and body temperature, to bring one’s heart rate back to normal (by decreasing it) and to promote the removal of waste products. It is in the cool-down that static stretching is most effective. Static stretching will restore one’s normal range of motion, as opposed to dynamic stretching which will go beyond normal range of motion, it will help relax the muscle and re-establish homeostasis within the muscle.
An effective cool-down will hold many physiological benefits, one of which is the removal of waste products such as lactic acid which has built up during activity. The low intensity activity will decrease the chance of dizziness and so forth as there is no sudden halt in activity, it makes the close down of activity more gradual which prevents the pooling of blood in the extremities. This part of a training session is also vital in reducing the chance of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
So it is important to do both and effective warm-up as well as a valuable cool-down.

-Caron-Lee