Watch what you eat for your heart’s sake. Photo by CPL Belinda Mepham

By SGT Rob Orr

Last edition we looked at Frequency and Intensity of training as part of the FITTOR training principal.

This edition we will continue by looking at the time or duration of training and the type of training undertaken

Time

Concept: How long?

Guidelines:

Power, strength and muscle growth training sessions should last no more than 40 minutes per session.

Due to hormonal response and neural fatigue it is recommended (for more advanced weight trainers) that your workout be divided into two sessions a day if longer than 40 minutes of resistance training.

Cardio respiratory fitness requires at least 20 minutes at 60 to 80 per cent Predicted Maximal Heart Rate (PMHR).

This 20 minutes can be completed in installments through out the day (Eg: five minutes in the morning, 10 minutes over lunch and another five minutes after work).

Fat loss should involve at least 20 to 40 minutes at 60 to 80 per cent PMHR
Aerobic / CV endurance requires 20 minutes or more at a 70 to 85 per cent PMHR.

Ensure you have a good training base and are medically fit prior to training at the higher heart ranges.

Type of Training

Concept: What activity?

The type of activity you select must be goal focused.

For example if you wish to decrease your 2.4km run time you need to include an element of speed training.

Being able to run for longer at the same pace does not usually lead to significant decreases in running speed.

A classic example of this point covers those who can keep going but not get faster, ie, fail a 2.4km run yet feel they could still run another 20 minutes.

Guidelines:

Here are some generic guidelines to help:

Metabolic training (these types of training will be covered in more depth in the upcoming endurance running articles)
Aerobic endurance / run farther: long slow distance and long solid distance
Run faster short (50m) to med (3.6km) distance: fartlek (a type of interval training) and interval training

Run faster longer distances (5km+): fartlek, repetition training and tempo / race pace training.

Resistance training

For resistance training compound to complex movement patterns are the priority.

This includes exercises like squats, push ups, lunges, chin ups, etc.

With the type of training selected, you should also be mindful of where you are in your training program and include the principals of training into your selection.

Suggestions:

• Variety: Different training venue / training route, different exercises, different training partner, different time of day, different equipment.
• Specificity: To run faster you need to run, to cycle faster you need to cycle. However to combine with the above principal of variety your run could be on a treadmill, in water, on sand, flat, hilly, cross country, alone, in a group.
• Individuality: What works for one will not necessarily work for you (why some diets work for some but not others). Find out what influences your training and keep the good and find a substitution for the bad.
• Overload: This will be discussed further next edition, suffice to say 'give what you always give get what you always get'
• Recovery: This too will be covered next edition. For now remember that your body needs time to recover from the training stimulus, but that does not necessarily mean do nothing: stay active.
  
  So far we have looked at Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type of training.
  
  Next edition we will conclude with Overload and Recovery.
  
  Remember: To achieve your dreams – you need to wake up.