Training planning
Proper planning is necessary to achieve the set training goals. We differentiate between three levels:
Long-term training planning
The development of performance and exercise tolerance takes time and is divided into basic, advanced and high-performance training. Each of the three phases has its own characteristics in terms of the implementation of the training principles, the choice of content and the use of methods and resources.
Long-term training planning can consider and structure an athlete's entire career. Basic training, fundamental training and advanced training are carried out in the promotion of young talent. All phases of youth development cover approximately 3 years and take place during childhood and adolescence. In terms of content, the focus is on building enthusiasm for exercise, training and competition. At the beginning of the three phases, there is hardly any sport-specific training; specialisation only increases in the course of youth development. The promotion of young athletes is followed by two further long-term training phases. Firstly, the athlete is prepared for high-performance training and participation in national and international competitions over a period of approx. 2-3 years. The aim of high-performance training is then to bring out the athlete's individual peak performance.
Medium-term training planning
At this level, the path to the goal is defined and described. The planning horizon is usually one year or one season. The procedure for medium-term training planning is as follows:
1. Overarching goals (annual and seasonal goals)
2. Create a requirements profile (target value)
3. Determining the current situation (actual value) and creating a performance profile
4. Determine development potential (actual/target value comparison)
5. Define annual planning concept
6. Define sub-goals and create annual / seasonal plan
7. Draft training diary
8. Define evaluation tools and criteria for assessing training and competition performance
These eight steps should result in an annual or seasonal plan from which you can see exactly which highlights there will be and how the development of performance should be increased towards these highlights.
Short-term training planning
Short-term training planning is used to determine the content, goals and methods of a microcycle (2-14 days). The individual training sessions are worked out based on this structure.
Annual planning
An athletically acquired form cannot be consistently maintained at the same high level. To ensure that the athlete is in the best possible athletic shape at a defined point in time (competition), a year-round workload is divided into subsequent periods:
Preparation phase (general and specific)
The start of training is greatly expanded in this phase. It emphasises general physical training and lays the foundation for the performance that will be achieved later. Later on, increasing specialisation prepares for the upcoming competition situation (from extensive to intensive and finally explosive).
Competition period
The training in this section is primarily characterised by the execution of the competition exercises themselves. The proportion of general exercises is not completely neglected, but is kept to a maximum to stabilise form
Transition phase
It is the bridge from the previous to the current training cycle. As an active recovery phase, it has an important function within the entire training phase.
Parameters of training control
During training, the training plan is implemented and the organism is confronted with suprathreshold stimuli. A distinction is made between training types, training content, training methods and training resources:
Type of training
Orientation of the training:
Conditioning training (e.g. strength, endurance training)
Technical training (e.g. jump throw, header, hurdles training)
Tactics training (e.g. attack, defence, counter-attack training)
Training content
Activities/exercises performed during training:
Generally developing exercises are those that are used regardless of the type of sport (e.g. forest runs, exercises on strength machines)
Specialised exercises contain elements of the competitive discipline and place discipline-specific demands on the body (e.g. medicine ball throws for throwers, technique training under facilitating or aggravating conditions such as swimming with fins or paddling)
Competition exercises are largely or completely identical to the discipline (e.g. sprints over shorter or longer distances than in competition, fights with a sparring partner, over- or under-count situations in game sports)
Training methods
Procedures with which the training content is implemented:
Methods in fitness training (e.g. endurance, interval, repetition methods, pyramid training, plyometric training)
Methods in technique training (e.g. holistic method, partial method, visualisation, mentally accentuated methods)
Methods in tactics training (e.g. exercises with a reduced number of players in sports games, route selection training in orienteering)
Training aids
Facilities, equipment or measures that enable training:
Organisational training resources (e.g. circuit, station training)
Material training equipment (e.g. dumbbells or barbells, weight machines, weight cuffs or weight waistcoats, mountain bikes, hurdles, jumping mats, fins)
Informative training aids (e.g. series images, audiovisual media, video feedback, heart rate monitors, route analyses for orienteering)
Training structure
In order to structure the optimum training load, the following concepts must be considered when organising training:
Training frequency: number of training sessions per week
Stimulus density: load/recovery ratio of a training session
Exercise volume: sum of exercise stimuli (distance, number of repetitions/series, added resistance, etc.)
Stimulus duration: Duration of a training stimulus or exercise series
Intensity: Strength of the training stimulus, degree of effort (e.g. km/h, Borg value, percentage of VO2max, percentage of maximum strength) and quality of execution (e.g. explosive, slow and controlled)