Training Guidelines; Exercise - Advantage Fitness 16117100 Owner's Manual

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Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Exercise

Exercise is one of the most important factors in the overall health of an individual. Listed among

its benefits are:

Increased capacity for physical work (strength endurance)

Increased cardiovascular (heart and arteries/veins) and respiratory efficiency

Decreased risk of coronary heart disease

Changes in body metabolism, e.g. losing weight

Delaying the physiological effects of age

Physiological effects, e.g. reduction in stress, increase in self-confidence, etc.

Basic Components of Physical Fitness

There are four all encompassing components of physical fitness and we need to briefly define

each and clarify its role.

Strength is the capacity of a muscle to exert a force against resistance. Strength

contributes to power and speed and is of great importance to a majority of sports people.

Muscular Endurance is the capacity to exert a force repeatedly over a period of time, e.g.

it is the capacity of your legs to carry you 10 Km without stopping.

Flexibility is the range of motion about a joint. Improving flexibility involves the stretching

of muscles and tendons to maintain or increase suppleness, and provides increased

resistance to muscle injury or soreness.

Cardio-Respiratory Endurance is the most essential component of physical fitness. It is the

efficient functioning of the heart and lungs

Aerobic Fitness

The largest amount of oxygen that you can use per minute during exercise is called your

maximum oxygen uptake (MVo2). This is often referred to as your aerobic capacity.

The effort that you can exert over a prolonged period of time is limited by your ability to deliver

oxygen to the working muscles. Regular vigorous exercise produces a training effect that can

increase your aerobic capacity by as much as 20 to 30%. An increased MVO2 indicates an

increased ability of the heart to pump blood, of the lungs to ventilate oxygen and of the muscles

to take up oxygen.

Anaerobic Training

This means "without oxygen" and is the output of energy when the oxygen supply is insufficient

to meet the body's long term energy demands. (For example, 100 meter sprint).

The Training Threshold

This is the minimum level of exercise which is required to produce significant improvements in

any physical fitness parameter.

Progression

As your become fitter, a higher intensity of exercise is required to create an overload and

therefore provide continued improvement

Overload

This is where you exercise at a level above that which can be carried out comfortably. The

intensity, duration and frequency of exercise should be above the training threshold and should

be gradually increased as the body adapts to the increasing demands. As your fitness level

improves, so the training threshold should be raised. Working through your program and

gradually increasing the overload factor is important.

Specificity

Different forms of exercise produce different results. The type of exercise that is carried out is

specific both to the muscle groups being used and to the energy source involved.

There is little transfer of the effects of exercise, i.e. from strength training to cardiovascular

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