Training is not what you do but the effect it has on your body.

How do I train for my projects and how do I coach my clients for their objectives? 

Today I want to talk more about what training actually is and its principles.

Some of you might know what I am talking about when I say: I have spent a lot of time just ‘training for training’. Not having a clear objective. 

What happens when you follow a random training plan? 👉 Well, quite logically you get random results.

So what are the principles of training you use when you decide to train for a project or a race?

Whether it is to run a marathon, ultra trail race, climb an 8a rock route or climb Everest the training plan should always flow around these basic principles👇:

🟢Overload

🟢Progression

🟢Recovery

🟢Specificity

🟢Detraining

🟢Individuality

Ok that sounds like science. What do they mean? 

What happens in the body during and after training?

👉 In short, as a result of how your body responds to training stimulus and external stress the adaptive responses occur. These are present first as fatigue and if the stimulus (training) is repetitive the adaptations in your body enable the greater resistance to that same stimulus…you get stronger💪!

Training can only work optimally if it is tailored to YOU and tailored as closely as possible to your GOALS. Unfortunately, the effects of training do not last forever. As we all know, training break or injury bring quickly the loss of fitness.

So what happens when we exercise or train for a specific target? 

During the exercise body goes through a stress and responds to it with a predictable pattern in an attempt to restore to its prior, internal steady state. With enough rest, recovery and proper nutrition the body will return to its homeostasis and, for a specified time period, has increased physical and adaptive capabilities.

However, there are different body systems that respond to stress (training) with a different timing. The metabolic system (relating to energy production) and neuromuscular system (relating to mechanical and chemical processes). Neuromuscular system usually requires a greater amount of time to recover than the metabolic system.

Overload

The training load should be greater than (at least) at rest to get any reactive response from the body of the athlete. In simple words, you need to ‘suffer’ in training to get results. It doesn’t not mean beating yourself every single session but you need to make sure you are pushing yourself enough to get a positive response from training.

Progression

As we keep training the body adapts and ideally gets stronger. We need to keep increasing the load to get any further possible gains. The longer your career is the more difficult it gets to elicit new gains.

Specificity

Specific exercise will cause specific adaptations which create specific training effects and specific training capabilities. Simply put, if you want to get better in running, run more. If you want to get better in uphills, running flat will only have limited impact on that specific uphill fitness.

Recovery

After the training the anabolic phase usually happens. The body tries to restore to its steady state and we expect it to actually adapt to the training and get stronger. Body will need adequate time to recuperate. The recovery times will vary according to your age, training age, your fitness level and type of training. You don’t need to feel recovered for every session - it is OK and normal to train tired. But by proper planning of training and recovery you can get more from training.

Detraining

‘If you don’t use it, you will lose it’. If you interrupt the training, this will result in a loss of function specifically in the body systems that are not trained. Long-term process can only be acquired and maintained through consistency.

Individuality

Each athlete will respond to training differently based on his/her age, training age, fitness level and genetics. One size does not fit all unfortunately. This the point we can make the biggest mistakes and where training can become more art than science. 

So when you are trying to put together your next training block, consider these principles. If you struggle to understand these concepts or are worried to mess it up and get random results, get in touch.

🌀How do you apply these principles to create a structured, periodised training plan? I will talk about in the next week’s post. Stay tuned.

Next: Periodization