
20
Progression
Asyourbecomefitter,ahigherintensityofexerciseisrequiredtocreateanoverloadandtherefore
providecontinuedimprovement
Overload
Thisiswhereyouexerciseatalevelabovethatwhichcanbecarriedoutcomfortably.Theintensity,
durationandfrequencyofexerciseshouldbeabovethetrainingthresholdandshouldbegradually
increasedasthebodyadaptstotheincreasingdemands.Asyourfitnesslevelimproves,sothetraining
thresholdshouldberaised.
Workingthroughyourprogramandgraduallyincreasingtheoverloadfactorisimportant.
Specificity
Differentformsofexerciseproducedifferentresults.Thetypeofexercisethatiscarriedoutisspecific
bothtothemusclegroupsbeingusedandtotheenergysourceinvolved.
Thereislittletransferoftheeffectsofexercise,i.e.fromstrengthtrainingtocardiovascularfitness.That
iswhyitisimportanttohaveanexerciseprogramtailoredtoyourspecificneeds.
Reversibility
Ifyoustopexercisingordonotdoyourprogramoftenenough,youwilllosethebenefitsyouhave
gained.Regularworkoutsarethekeytosuccess.
WARMUP
Everyexerciseprogramshouldstartwithawarmupwherethebodyispreparedfortheefforttocome.
Itshouldbegentleandpreferablyusethemusclestobeinvolvedlater.
Stretchingshouldbeincludedinbothyourwarmupandcooldown,andshouldbeperformedafter3‐5
minutesoflowintensityaerobicactivityorcallisthenictypeexercise.
WarmDownorCoolDown
Thisinvolvesagradualdecreaseintheintensityoftheexercisesession.Followingexercise,alarge
supplyofbloodremainsintheworkingmuscles.Ifitisnotreturnedpromptlyothecentralcirculation,
poolingofbloodmayoccurinthemuscles
HeartRate
Asyouexercise,sotherateatwhichyourheartbeatalsoincreases.Thisisoftenusedasameasureof
therequiredintensityofexercise.Youneedtoexercisehardenoughtoconditionyourcirculatorysystem,
andincreaseyourpulserate,butnotenoughtostrainyourheart.
Yourinitialleveloffitnessisimportantindevelopinganexerciseprogramforyou.Ifyouarestartingoff,
youcangetagoodtrainingeffectwithaheartrateof110‐120beatsperminute(BPM).Ifyouarefitter,
youwillneedahigherthresholdofstimulation.
Tobeginwith,youshouldexerciseatalevelthatelevatesyourheartratetoabout65to70%ofyour
maximum.Ifyoufindthisistooeasy,youmaywanttoincreaseit,butitisbettertoleanonthe
conservativeside.
Asaruleofthumb,themaximumheartrateis220minusyourage.Asyouincreaseinage,soyourheart,
likeothermuscles,losessomeofitsefficiency.Someofitsnaturallossiswonbackasfitnessimproves.