Principles of Training

Stimulus

The first component of successful training is a sufficient amount of exercise to stimulate the musculoskeletal and other body systems. Only when a system is suitably stressed will it be stimulated to adapt to future recurrences of such stress. Exercise stress can be conceptualized in terms of frequency, volume, and intensity of training.

Specificity

A second major component of training is specificity. Even though swimming and biking for 3 hours would provide a similar aerobic stimulus to running, the act of swimming lacks specificity; simply put, you need to practice what you wish to perform. The benefits of cross-training may be covered elsewhere; however, for maximal efficiency of training, you get the biggest benefit to eventual performance by training in the mode of exercise you will eventually compete in. Furthermore, while training in the same mode as the competition, an athlete will also attempt to mimic the speed, range of motion, and typical resistance likely to be attempted on a race day. For example, training for a mountain bike race by spending time riding easy trails will be beneficial for performance; however, if the race is over challenging terrain with obstacles, steep climbs, and fast descents, there would be greater performance gains in general if the athlete had trained at least to some extent on similar terrain. Adaptations in muscle strength, speed, and coordination are partly peripheral at the myocyte cellular level, but they are also central, with “motor memory” developed for the activities the brain, spinal cord, and neurons would otherwise be unaccustomed to.

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