Training Methods Flashcards
What is Interval Training?
Interval training is high intensity work with small rests between exercise and is favoured by sprinters and athletes that use the anaerobic system to do well in their sport.
Advantages:
- Hard work, beneficial
- Burns more calories
Disadvantages:
- Hard to stay motivated as its strenuous
- 48 hours of rest after training is required for the body to fully recover.
Great for: Sprinters Swimmers Sprint cyclists Any high intensity athlete that works at 100% effort.
What is Circuit Training?
A series of high intensity exercises such as press ups, sit ups or bench step ups that vary and can be altered depending on what needs training with usually 30 seconds of rest between exercise.
Advantages:
- Fun and varied with room for alteration and creativity.
- Easy to stay motivated with music etc and doesn’t get boring thanks to the variation within the training.
Disadvantages:
- Not beneficial for some sports (this can be said for all training methods however.)
- Can only target specific areas and sometimes the exercise may lack being a whole body workout.
- Sometimes expensive equipment is required.
Great for: Swimmers Mid-dist runners Gymnasts Anyone
What is Weight Training?
A series of exercises that put strain on certain muscles or muscle groups to improve the muscular strength or muscular endurance within those targeted areas.
Advantages:
- Useful for virtually all sports and can be altered depending on the sport and the athletes preferences.
- You can lift any weight you wish making it approachable for anyone and little skill is required to begin weight training.
Disadvantages:
- If done with incorrect form it can cause muscle damage or joints, ligaments etc may be torn if the exercise is done wrong or people overwork themselves.
- People may become obsessed with how they look and feel compelled to over-train to put on more muscles and look how they feel they should.
- If you are doing free weight exercises then expensive equipment is required or a gym membership so it can be a costly way to train unless doing callisthenics.
Great for: Strongmen Shot putters Javelin throwers Boxers Sprinters
What is Continuous Training?
Usually a prolonged amount of exercise such as cycling or running for 30 minutes or longer that aims to improve the aerobic system and lung capacity as well as aiding the body’s slow-twitch muscles fibres.
Advantages:
- Easily accessible for everyone and little skill is required to begin training.
- Virtually no equipment is required apart from a pair of shoes if it is running. (This may vary if you are cycling or any other endurance event.)
- Good at burning fat after carbohydrates have been expended and burnt off.
Disadvantages:
- Lots of impact on joints and the body especially with running as its a high impact sport.
- People may find it boring and unvaried.
- Only beneficial for a few type of sports and doesn’t help with high intensity exercise.
Great for:
Long-dist runners– 3000m 1500m etc
Cyclists
Endurance athletes
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
Long Distance Runner
Continuous Training (improving the aerobic system and strengthening the slow twitch muscles fibres needed to run for a long time and improve endurance.)
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
Long Jumper
Pylometrics Training (for the explosive bounds of power required to get a good run up and jump far)
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
Rugby Player
Circuit Training (weights and cardio can be mixed in to provide an all round fitness session that preps them for hard work and the variety of exercise used on a rugby pitch.)
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
100m Sprinter
Interval Training (short bursts of high intensity work with rests in between)
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
Strongman
Weight Training
Name a training method that might be useful for a:
Javelin Thrower
Weight Training (for the throw) Interval Training (for the run up.)
Give a disadvantage of circuit training.
It may be expensive and require specialist equipment to set up. Not anyone can partake in a complex circuit training session but exercises can be tailored to not need certain equipment and be cheaper overall.
Give a disadvantage of interval training.
After partaking, an athlete will require 48 hours of rest after training due to the high toll interval training has on the body and to fully recover, two days of rest is very beneficial.
Give a disadvantage of continuous training.
Some people may find it boring and want more variation in their exercise as they find continuous monotonous and linear which it can be. Although this type of training is essential for endurance sports such as long distance running and cycling.
Who and what type of athlete might benefit from interval training, explain why.
A 100m sprinter like Usain Bolt would need to do interval training. It will train his fast twitch muscles fibres and improve his anaerobic respiration system which will allow him to sprint more effectively and efficiently.
Giving him that explosive power when he is about to sprint that will give him the edge over his opponents.
Who and what type of athlete might benefit from continuous training, explain why.
A long distance runner such as Mo Farrah would greatly benefit from continuous training. It will train his aerobic system and allow him to run for long periods of time without fatiguing while training his ratio of slow twitch muscle fibres.
Improving his cardio-vascular endurance is vital for endurance athletes.
