Training principles

When planning training, the focus is on the endogenous factors, i.e. the parameters that you can influence yourself (e.g. health, training condition, care situation, motivation). The exogenous factors must be accepted accordingly (e.g. genotype, age, gender).

A number of principles must be taken into account in long-term training planning:

Individuality and age appropriateness

Training must be tailored to individual needs and mental and physical requirements. The limits of resilience must be taken into account without compromise, whereby the biological and not the calendar age is decisive.

Optimal load stimulus

The type and strength of the stimuli determine the body's adaptation. Too much is harmful and too little is useless. For untrained people or beginners, it doesn't take much to trigger an adaptation process. But the higher the level, the more specific the training stimuli need to be in line with the goals and the individual requirements.

Continuity

The more regularly training takes place, the faster performance potential develops. Interruptions that are not used for regeneration lead to stagnation or a decline in performance.

Optimising load and recovery

Exercise and recovery form a single unit and must both be planned and implemented with equal care.

Progressive increase in load

If stimuli remain the same over a longer period of time, they only have a maintaining effect. Stimuli must provoke an adaptation in the organism, which is why the load is always increased in order to improve performance. The following sequence is recommended for increasing the load: increase the frequency of training, then increase the load density, before increasing the amount of load and finally increasing the intensity.

Variation of the training load

Similar training stimuli lose their effect over time, which is why the training load must be varied systematically and according to plan. Monotony for the psyche and organs should be avoided.

Periodisation and cyclisation

In order to achieve a specific goal, the build-up of form must be carefully planned. The first step is to develop the general coordination and fitness requirements as well as the exercise tolerance of the musculoskeletal system by means of extensive exercise. Specialised, discipline-specific skills can then be trained on a solid foundation. Training planning is consistently orientated towards individual requirements and the (partial) goals set. The effects of training and the development of performance potential are evaluated through regular assessments. Depending on the results, training planning may need to be adjusted. In general, not everything that is desirable can always be realised during training, which is why priorities/focal points must be set.

Different adaptation times

The various regeneration and adaptation processes require different amounts of time (functional adaptations occur more quickly than structural ones), which must be taken into account to avoid overuse injuries.

Optimal load sequence

Coordination, technique and speed training require a refreshed state/optimum readiness to perform and therefore take place immediately after the warm-up. Strength training is carried out before endurance training.

Phenomenon of regulatory interactions

There is an interaction between coordinative-technical skills and conditional factors (strength and endurance). This is why, for example, speed training should be coordinated with strength training or, even better, combined.

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