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Training Concepts:
Understanding Terminology
By
Dr Grant Wilkinson D.C, B.Sc, M.Sc *
Introduction
In order to coach or instruct people successfully, first you must have a basic understanding of the mechanisms that occur during sports and exercise. Without it, most of what you are doing is guess work. However, finding information on new training ideas and theories can be very confusing and hard to understand especially for athletes who coach themselves or coaches who have a limited number of experienced counterparts to call on. Therefore, this article is a very brief overview of a few of the terms that are widely used by physiologists and researchers
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic means 'with oxygen'. During aerobic work the body is working at a level that the demands for oxygen and fuel can be met by the body's intake. The only waste products formed are carbon dioxide and water. These are removed as sweat and by breathing out. Aerobic endurance is developed through the use of continuous and interval training. Continuous duration training (i.e. long runs, paddles, rows, etc) is used to improve maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) whilst interval training to can be used to improve the heart as a muscular pump.
Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic means 'without oxygen'. During anaerobic work, involving maximum effort, the body is working so hard that the demands for oxygen and fuel exceed the rate of supply and the muscles have to rely on the stored reserves of fuel. In this case waste products accumulate, the chief one being lactic acid. The muscles, being starved of oxygen, take the body into a state known as oxygen debt. The body's stored fuel soon runs out and activity ceases - painfully. Anaerobic endurance can be developed by using repetition methods of relatively high intensity work with limited recovery.
Now you have a basic understanding of what Aerobic and Anaerobic means, it may help to put it into context in terms of sporting events and time frames. Running is one of the easiest sports to measure physiological capacities and so given below is a rough estimate of Aerobic versus Anaerobic percentage for varying running distances.
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The aerobic threshold is the point at which anaerobic energy pathways start to operate and is considered to be around 65% of maximum heart rate. This is approximately 20 beats lower than the anaerobic threshold.
Anaerobic Threshold
The anaerobic threshold, the point at which lactic acid starts to accumulates in the muscles, is considered to be somewhere between 85% and 90% of your maximum heart rate. This is approximately 20 beats higher than the aerobic threshold.
Anaerobic Endurance
Anaerobic means 'without oxygen'. During anaerobic work, involving maximum effort, the body is working so hard that the demands for oxygen and fuel exceed the rate of supply and the muscles have to rely on the stored reserves of fuel. In this case waste products accumulate, the chief one being lactic acid. The muscles, being starved of oxygen, take the body into a state known as oxygen debt. The body's stored fuel soon runs out and activity ceases - painfully. This point is often measured as the lactic threshold, anaerobic threshold or onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA).
Speed Endurance
Speed endurance is used to develop the co-ordination of muscle contraction. Repetition methods are used with a high number of sets, low number of repetitions per set and intensity greater than 85% with distances covered from 60% to 120% of racing distance. Competition and time trials can be used in the development of speed endurance.
Strength Endurance
Strength endurance is used to develop the athlete's capacity to maintain the quality of their muscles' contractile force. All athletes need to develop a basic level of strength endurance. Some examples of activities to develop strength endurance are - circuit training, weight training, hill running and Fartlek training.
VO2Max
Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you can consume while exercising at your maximum capacity. VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. Those who are more fit have higher VO2 max values and can exercise more intensely than those who are not as well conditioned. Numerous studies show that you can increase your VO2 max by working out at an intensity that raises your heart rate to between 65 and 85% of its maximum for at least 20 minutes three to five times a week.
References:
Principals of Anatomy and Physiology 6th Edition - Gerard J. Tortora & Nicholas P. Anagnostakos
