Principles of Training (1)
Now that we've covered the components of both health and skill-related fitness, we're going to move into talking about some general principles of training, and these principles are just general guidelines that apply to anyone attempting to develop their physical fitness. They're related to the body's response to physical activity and exercise, and regardless of whether someone has been very active throughout their life or whether they've been inactive and are just starting to try to develop their fitness, these principles apply. So the first one of these is overload; here we're talking about stressing the body beyond its normal load or intensity. So, for example, lifting heavier weights than normal or sprinting instead of just running or trying to run instead of walk. All those would be examples of overload. The second principle of training is progression. Think about this as starting slowly and building into an exercise program or training session. So, for one example, think about someone who's been inactive or sedentary for a long time. You wouldn't want to have them go out and run 3 miles for a workout, a very first workout. Instead, you might ask them to start with walking, gradually mix in some running, and then over time progress to running at a faster pace, or increase their speed while they're running. Essentially, this second principle of progression is allowing your body to have a chance to adapt to these new stimuli that you're presenting in the form of exercise or physical activity.