Speed Interval Training..

There are many different ways of training that can help improve your speed. Plyometrics and PNF training are ways of helping you become faster. Speed interval training can also help improve your speed.

We practised this method of training to get an idea of how you can do a training session to help you become faster. During this session we did 8x10m, 6x20m, 4x40m and 2x60m after doing a full warm up, drills and practising technique. The main part of this session was done at maximal effort and so that we could work to our maximal potential we had a recovery of approximately 30-45 seconds.

This type of training targets the fast twitch fibres in your muscles which contract quickly but rapidly get tired.
This type of training session can be changed to work the components of fitness that you need to work on but it is best for improving speed.

PNF..

PNF Stretching..

What is PNF Stretching?
PNF also know as proprioceptive neoromuscular facilitation, is a more advanced form of flexibility training that involves both the stretching and contraction of the muscle group being targeted. PNF stretching was originally developed as a form of rehabilitation, and to that effect it is very effective. It is also excellent for targeting specific muscle groups, and as well as increasing flexibility, (and range of movement) it also improves muscular strength.

What is it used for?
This method of training is used for is rehabilitation facilities, by athletes in training, and by people who simply want to work on keeping fit. These exercises also increase range of motion of a joint due to the increase in flexibility. This is done by using a combination of static passive stretching and isometric stretching. The agonist and the antagonist muscle groups of the specific area are alternately contracted and relaxed in order to achieve the benefits of this type of stretching. Flexibility is used to establish a functional range of motion before proceeding to resistive exercises. Also, PNF stretching can help prevent injury or re-injury and can provide a good warm-up for upcoming exercises.

How do carry out PNF Stretching?

• A partner moves the athletes extended leg to a point of mild discomfort. This passive stretch is held for 10 seconds.
• On instruction, the athlete isometrically contracts the hamstrings by pushing their extended leg against their partner's hand. The partner should apply just enough force so that the leg remains static. This is the 'hold' phase and lasts for 6 seconds.
• The athlete is then instructed to 'relax' and the partner completes a second passive stretch held for 30 seconds. The athlete's extended leg should move further than before (greater hip flexion) due to autogenic inhibition activated in the hamstrings.

What guidlines do you have to follow when doing PNF?

1. Leave 48 hours between PNF stretching routines. 2. Perform only one exercise per muscle group in a session. 3. For each muscle group complete 2-5 sets of the chosen exercise. 4. Each set should consist of one stretch held for up to 30 seconds after the contracting phase. 5. PNF stretching is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18. 6. If PNF stretching is to be performed as a separate exercise session, a thorough warm up consisting of 5-10 minutes of light aerobic exercise and some dynamic stretches must precede it. 7. Avoid PNF immediately before, or on the morning of competition.

Circuit Training..

Circuit training is an excellent way to improve mobility, strength and stamina. The circuit training comprises of 6 to 10 strength exercises that are completed one exercise after another. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set time before moving on to the next exercise. The exercises within each circuit are separated by a short rest period, and each circuit is separated by a longer rest period. The total number of circuits performed during a training session may vary from two to six depending on your training level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), your period of training (preparation or competition) and your training objective.

Advantages of circuit training are:

• Develops strength and endurance
• Appropriate form of training for most sports
• Can be adjusted to suit age, fitness and health of the athlete
• Exercises are simple enough to make each athlete feel a sense of achievement in completing them
• A wide range of exercises to select from which will maintain the athlete's enthusiasm

Disadvantages of circuit training are:

• Many exercises require specialised equipment - e.g. gym equipment
• Ample space required to set up the circuit exercises & equipment
• In general can only be conducted where appropriate facilities/equipment are available
• Use of additional equipment requires appropriate health and safety monitoring

What We Did
The circuit that we completed was one to improve muscular endurance. All circuits can be adapted to make them more specific for the type of components of fitness you want to improve.
We had to work for 45 seconds with a 20 second rest period. Each of the 10 stations had to be completed once. Our circuit was;-1. Press-ups (Bicep, Tricep)
2. Squat Jump (All body)
3. Shoulder lift (Bicep)
4. Step up (Quadricep)
5. Sit up (Abdominal muscles)
6. Squats (Quadricep)
7. Wall bar climb (All Body)
8. Berpies (All body)
9. Bench jump (Quadricep, Calf)
10. Pull up (Bicep, Tricep)

The type of circuit we did made our heart rate respond in a very similar way to that of an inteval training session.
You can change it to a CV Endurance session, or what ever components of fitness you need to improve or that a required for your sport or position in that sport.

Plyometrics Training..

Plyometrics is a type of exercise that aims to build explosive strength. Doing these types of sessions means you will be able to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Plyometric training includes high intensity drills such as jumps hops and bounds which results in explosive bursts of power and speed. Most sports activities require the need for intense bursts of energy over successive durations of time. It's no surprise then that athletes train with plyometrics style exercises fine tuned to build explosive energy doing the movements they need most. Plyometric training has been shown to be one of the most effective methods for rapidly improving explosive power. The thing that makes this type of training so effective is that it is stretching muscles at the same time as to which they are contracting, this means that muscles will become much more powerful
Nearly all types of athletes and games players really benefit for plyometric training.

A Typical Plyometrics Training Session

The plyometrics training session that we did was a typical session and consisted of a circuit of;- Hops, Jumps, Press ups and hurdling. We had to work at each of these stations for 1 minute 30 seconds. We also had a good enough recovery between each one because we didn't want to become fatigued so we could work with a full level of energy each time. When doing this session you should not feel too tired but you will notice how hard you have worked your muscles about 2 days later when you begin to feel the delayed onset of muscle soreness, also known as DOMS.
Conclusion
We can see from doing this training session that the stronger and more powerful your muscles are, the easier you will find this session. This session is also very effective and can have a great impact if incorporated into a training programme even once a week.

Advantages & Disadvantages

The adavantages of plyometric training..
1. It is a very effective way to improve your explosive strength.
2. Lots of different sports people can benefit from it.

The disadvantages of plyometric training..
1. You need some special equipment to do it properly.
2. You need to someone to supervise or teach you how to do it properly so it doesn't cause an injury.
3. You can't do plyometric sessions too close together.

This is a video of a world class athlete, Linford Christie, doing an advanced plymetric training session.

Phrase Of The Week..

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone."

Interval Training..

Interval Training is training in a way that you do periods of high intensity work intersperced with specific rest periods. This type of training is more commonly used for building Muscular Endurance, CV Endurance and Speed. So is used for building different components of fitness to the other method of training we have looked at, which was continuous training. During, these training sessions we are aiming to be working above the anaerobic threshold and then let our heart rate drop back down in our rest periods so we have energy to keep working in the anerobic threshold each time. We need to work in this way so we can really test ourselves and push ourselves to become better.
When working above the anaerboic threshold, lactic acid builds up in the muscles. This creates a burning feeling in your limbs, which can often cause people to stop when they are training. Professional athletes, after training as often as they do, build up a tolerance to this feeling and are able to carry on working to the same high level. This is what we are working towards and also the mental determination to keep going whilst experiencing
this 'burn'.
This is a graph to show the way your heart rate will respond to this type of training.

150 Metre Runs..

As a way of seeing how effective interval training was, we did a more traditional method and did 6 x 150m runs.

Procedure;- As this is quite a strenuous exercise we had to warm up by doing a pulse raising activity, like a jog.
                   Then we we had to run 150 metres followed by a 45 second rest interval.
                   The girls had to do 6 of these runs, and the boys had to do 8.

Conclusion;- From this session we can see that the fitter you are, the faster you will be able to run and harder you will be able to push yourself. If you are not so fit, you will feel the 'burn' of lactic acid effecting your performance and not be able to keep up to the speed that you started off with, this is what working on exercises like this will help improve.

Circuit Training

As another way for us to see how effective interval training is, we did another training session which this time was in a totally different style. To test the same method but also a contrast to the other session we had done we did a circuit training session. The circuit involved;- 5 x press ups, 10 x kettle bell swings, 15 x lunges, wall bar climb.

Procedure;- As this was a hard session on our muscles we had to warm up, raising our heart rate and we also had to practise the exercises that we were about to do.
                  Then we had to complete, as fast as we could, as many rounds of the full circuit as we could in 3 minutes.
                  Then we had a minute to slow our heart rate down before we started the next circuit.
                  We had to repeat this 5 times.

Conclusion;- From doing this interval training session i have found it a much more rewarding session. In comparison to the other interval training method we did, i can see that i prefered the circuit training. It is a more interesting way of training and also builds up more of the components of fitness.

Continuous Training..

Continuous Training

Continuous Training is a type of sport training that involves continuous activity without interval. It means training for atleast 15 minutes without have a rest. This method of training is more commonly used for CV Endurance and Muscular Endurance. When we do this particular training we are mostly training in the higher end of the aerobic training zone.
These are the continuous training sessions we have done.

20 Minute Run

As a way of training our CV Endurance we did a 20 minute run. The run we did was at a steady paced speed but we had to make sure that we were working towards the higher end of the aerobic training zone. We could run along any course that we wanted, within a given area, aslong as we didn't stop or walk at all in the 20 minutes.

The advantages of the 20 minute run;- 1. You don't need a coach or someone with you.
          2. You don't need any specialist equipment.
        3. It is very good for improving your CV Endurance.

The disadvantages of the 20 minute run;- 1. It is tedious. Therefor you will quickly get bored of doing it.
                          2. It improves very few of the components of fitness.

After doing this test I feel that it is only a good training session if  CV Endurance is the only component of fitness you want to focus on. I found it quite boring and wouldn't want to do too often.

This is a graph to show how your heart rate will respond to this type of exercise. For this type of run, you are working in the higher end of the 'aerobic training zone' which means you are working with oxygen. People that benefit most and will do this type of exercise most are people who are long distance runners/swimmers/cyclists.



Cross Training

As another way of training our CV Endurance and Continuous Training ability, we did a cross training exercise. We used this method of training because it is completely different to all the other methods we have used and then we can compare it with them.

The advantages of cross training are;-  1. It uses lots of the different components of fitness (Strength CV Endurance, Muscular Endurance ect.)
                             
                                2. It is a very effective way of training.

                                       3. You do not lose concentration and gain focus through the session.
                               4. You gain a sense of acheivement after the session.

The disadvantages of cross training are;- 1. You need a coach to teach you certain work-outs and there to supervise.
                                 2. You need special equipment.

For our cross fit session we created a circuit of;- 5 x Burpies, 10 x Kettle Bell Swings, 15 x Skipping-Rope Skips, 4 x 15m Shuttle Runs. Doing all of that once would complete one circuit. We had to complete as many circuits as we could in 15 minutes.

I found this a very effective way of training as I was very fatigued by the end of the session but was very determined throughout and had a great sense of achievement by the end.

This is graph to show how our heart ratel responded to this type of training session. For this session we were still working in the higher end of the aerobic training zone but in a less steady fashion. The people who benefit most from this type of training are all games players.