Fitness and principles of training

Components of fitness

• Health-related: cardiovascular endurance (stamina), muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition.
• Skill-related: speed, agility, balance, coordination, power and reaction time.

Fitness tests

Cooper 12-minute run or multi-stage fitness test (endurance), sit-and-reach (flexibility), 30 m sprint (speed), sit-ups in one minute (muscular endurance), standing broad jump (power), Illinois agility run.

Principles of training

• Specificity: train for the needs of your sport.
• Progression: increase the workload gradually.
• Overload: work harder than normal, using FITT – Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type.
• Reversibility: fitness is lost if training stops.
• Rest and recovery: the body adapts during rest.

Methods of training

Continuous training (long runs), interval training (work and rest periods), fartlek (speed play – changes of pace), circuit training (stations), weight training, and plyometrics (jumping for power).

A training session

Warm-up (raise pulse, stretch, sport-specific drills) → main activity → cool-down (light jogging and stretching to remove waste and reduce stiffness).

Check yourself

1. Which component of fitness does the sit-and-reach test measure?
2. What does FITT stand for?
3. Give two purposes of a warm-up.