PHYSICAL TRAINING

Carmen Contreras Ortiz

1.Training
Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies.Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, and performance. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of technology (also known as technical colleges or polytechnics). In addition to the basic training required for a trade, occupation or profession, observers of the labor-market recognize as of 2008 the need to continue training beyond initial qualifications: to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People within many professions and occupations may refer to this sort of training as professional development. Physical training concentrates on mechanistic goals: training-programs in this area develop specific skills or muscles, often with a view of peaking at a particular time. Some physical training programs focus on raising overall physical fitness. Interval training is a type of discontinuous physical training that involves a series of lowto high-intensity exercise workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods.[1] The highintensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods may involve either complete rest or activity of lower intensity. It can be described as short periods of work followed by rest. The main aim is to improve speed and cardiovascular fitness. It can refer to organization of any cardiovascular workout (e.g., cycling, running, rowing, etc), and is prominent in training routines for many sports. It is a technique particularly employed by runners, but athletes from several backgrounds have been known to use this type of training. A good training should improve speed, flexibility, endurance and strength.

2. SPEED
Speed strength training is a component necessary in many sports, and can be helpful in every day life as well. Speed strength comes from the neuromuscular system's ability to create a large impulse in the shortest amount of time. The stronger you are, the more speed you will be able to generate. Technique, however, must also be trained in conjunction with strength. The following strength training exercises are designed to promote speed.

Basic Sprints Sprinting will develop both speed and technique. The more you train for a specific speed activity, the better your body will get at performing the activity. Perform five sets of sprints, either on a track, through a grassy field, or even on a treadmill. Sprint between 50 to 100 feet, then slow down to a jog for another 50 feet. Repeat the cycle approximately five to 10 times. As you progress, you should be able to increase the distance of your sprints, while, keeping your jogs at the same length.

Uphill Sprints This is a variation of sprinting, which involves running up a hill. This adds a greater level of difficulty, as you must fight even more gravity to reach the finish line. This activity builds muscle strength, speed and power, in addition to cardiovascular fitness. Find a hill that takes about five to 15 seconds to run up. Sprint up the hill with maximum effort, then jog lightly back down. Repeat this drill 10 times, ensuring that your rest at the bottom of the hill takes no longer than five seconds.

Leaps This exercise involves leaping as high as you can, while hopping over an obstacle such as a cone or a soccer ball. This plyometric exercise will improve power and strength in the leg muscles, while promoting powerful muscular contractions. This will allow the muscle to reach maximum strength in the shortest time possible. Perform this activity by leaping over obstacles that are lined up for about 50 feet, with each obstacle approximately three feet apart. When leaping, make every effort to jump as high as possible, while driving your knees up. The more power you exert during this activity, the better.

Sideways One-Legged Leaps This is another plymometrics exercise that is designed to promote powerful muscular contractions, thus enhancing the muscles required for speed. Sprinters regularly engage in plyometrics bounding exercises such as these to increase their speed. This activity is performed using only one leg while leaping sideways. As you are jumping, try to get the knee up as much as you can. Jump for 25 feet, then return to the starting position using the other leg.

3.FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints. Flexibility varies between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles. Flexibility in some joints can be increased to a certain degree by exercise, with stretching a common exercise component to maintain or improve flexibility. 1.Keep your joints and muscles lubricated. Start your workout with low impact stretches and work up to a full stretch workout. Later, wind down your routine with lowimpact exercising. 2.Do stretches every day and work at it progressively . This is important if you want to become flexible! Remember, you can't become flexible overnight. Work at the rate you are comfortable with, and then slowly increase the difficulty (length of time, length of reach or both). 3.Make sure you have supervision. If you have no idea what you are doing you'll undoubtedly injure yourself. Most martial arts schools and gymnastics classes have extensive programs and teachers available. Check them out. 4.Eat a healthy diet. Eat more green leafy vegetables, and drink plenty of water. Increase your protein and calcium (drinking milk will increase your intake of both of these). The most important thing is to balance everything.Make sure that every morning you eat a good, healthy breakfast. 3.1. NECK Extension in Sitting Begin sitting tall, with your back and neck straight, shoulders back slightly. Gently take your neck backwards, looking up towards the ceiling until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 3). Repeat 10 times. Rotation in Sitting Begin sitting with your back and neck straight and your shoulders back slightly. Turn your head looking over one shoulder until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 4). Keep your neck straight and don't allow your head to poke forwards during the movement. Repeat 10 times to each side. Side Bend in Sitting Begin sitting tall with your back and neck straight, your shoulders should be back slightly. Gently bend your neck to one side until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free. Make sure your neck does not bend forwards during the movement. Repeat 10 times on each side. (figure 5)

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

3.2.Upper Body Flexibility Exercises Stretch #1 Shoulder & Chest This can be performed kneeling or standing. Clasp hands behind back and straighten arms. Raise hands as high as possible and bend forward from the waist and hold.

Stretch #2 Arm Across Chest Place one arm straight across chest. place hand on elbow and pull arm towards chest and hold. Repeat with other arm.

Stretch #3 Triceps Stretch Place one hand behind back with elbow in air. Place other hand on elbow and gently pull towards head. Hold and repeat with other arm.

3.3.Lower Body Flexibility Exercises Stretch #4 Glute Stretch Sitting on floor with right leg bent, place right foot over left leg. Place left arm over right leg so elbow can be used to push right knee. Hold and repeat for other side.

Stretch #5 Adductor Stretch Stand with feet as wide apart as is comfortable. Shift weight to one side as knee bends. Reach towards extended foot and hold. Repeat for other side.

Stretch #6 Single Leg Hamstring Place leg out straight and bend the other so your foot is flat into your thigh. Bend forward from the waist keeping your back flat. Hold and repeat with the other leg.

Stretch #7 Standing Quadriceps Standing on one leg grab the bottom of one leg (just above ankle). Pull heel into buttocks and push the hips out. Your thigh should be perpendicular to the ground. Hold and repeat with the other leg.

Stretch #8 Standing Calf Place feet in front of each other about 18 inches apart. Keep back leg straight and heel on the floor. Push against a wall to increase the stretch. Hold and repeat with other leg.

4. STRENGTH
Physical strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using muscles. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training. 4.1. Squats. Why They Rock: Most trainers agree that squats are one of the best exercises you can do. Squats work your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves all at once. How to Do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes facing straight ahead or angled slightly outward. Slowly bend the knees and lower hips towards the floor, keeping your torso straight and abs pulled in tight. Keep your knees behind your toes; make sure everything's pointing in the same direction. Do not go lower than 90 degrees. Do this move 2-3 non-consecutive days a week for 12-16 reps.

4.2. Push Ups. Why They Rock: Push ups, like squats, are compound movements using almost all the muscles of your body. You'll work your chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs. How to Do It: Position yourself face down on the floor, balancing on your toes/knees and hands. Your hands should be wider than shoulders, body in a straight line from head to toe. Don't sag in the middle and don't stick your butt up in the air. Slowly bend your arms and lower your body to the floor, stopping when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Exhale and push back up. Variations include incline, decline, wall pushups or, for masochists, one-armed pushups. Do this move 2-3 non-consecutive days a week and add a rep each time you do the exercise.

4.3. Lunges. Why They Rock: Like squats, lunges work most of the muscles in your legs including your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. How to Do It: Stand in a split-stance (one leg forward, one leg back). Bend knees and lower body into a lungeposition, keeping the front knee and back knee at 90 degree angles. Keeping the weight in your heels, push back up (slowly!) to starting position. Never lock your knees at the top and don't let your knee bend past your toes. Variations: front lunges, back lunges and side lunges. Do this exercise 2-3 times per week for 12 to 16 reps.

4.4. The Plank. Why It Rocks: The plank (or hover) is an isolation move used in Pilates and Yoga and works the abs, back, arms and legs. The plank also targets your internal abdominal muscles. How to Do It: Lie face down on mat with elbows resting on floor next to chest. Push your body off the floor in a pushup position with body resting on elbows or hands. Contract the abs and keep the body in a straight line from head to toes. Hold for 30-60 seconds and repeat as many times as you can. For beginners, do this move on your knees and gradually work your way up to balancing on your toes.

4.5. Lat Pulldown Why It Rocks: The lat pulldown works on the major muscles of your back (the latissmus dorsi), which helps you burn calories and, of course, strengthen your back. How to Do It: Sit on the lat pulldown machine and hold the bar with palms out and wider than shoulders. Pull your abs in and lean back slightly. Bend your elbows and pull the bar down towards your chin, contracting the outer muscles of your back. Do this exercise 2-3 times a week using enough weight to complete 12-16 repetitions. If you have a busy schedule, incorporating these five moves 2 or 3 times a week will help strengthen your muscles and bones, as well as burn more calories.

5. ENDURANCE
Endurance is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise.

The definition of 'long' varies according to the type of exertion minutes for high intensity anaerobic exercise, hours or days for low intensity aerobic exercise. Training for endurance can have a negative impact on the ability to exert strength unless an individual also undertakes resistance training to counteract this effect. Anaerobic exercise is exercise intense enough to trigger Lactic acid fermentation. It is used by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power and by body builders to build muscle mass. Muscle energy systems trained using anaerobic exercise develop differently compared to aerobic exercise, leading to greater performance in short duration, high intensity activities, which last from mere seconds to up to about 2 minutes. Any activity lasting longer than about two minutes has a large aerobic metabolic component. Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time, the intensity should be between 60-85% of maximum heart rate.

5.1. ANAEROBIC EXERCISES

Plank The plank is a simple exercise that you can do anywhere, but it's one of the most effective anaerobic movements for building endurance. The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, recommends starting a plank from your elbows and knees. First, lock your hands together, and then straighten your legs and walk your feet back, raising your knees and balancing your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Be sure to keep your head neutral and facing down, tuck in and tighten your stomach and abdominal muscles and avoid arching your back. Hold the plank position for as long as you can. Release, and try to hold for several more seconds each subsequent time you perform the exercise.

Quadruped CNN recommends choosing core and anaerobic exercises such as the quadruped because they work multiple muscle groups at once and rapidly build endurance. To do the quadruped, position yourself on all fours on a soft mat or towel. As you tighten your core muscles and breathe deeply, raise your right arm and extend it forward. Hold the move for several seconds before returning the arm to start. Then raise your right leg, extending it fully behind you. Hold, keeping your core muscles contracted, and then release. Repeat the moves on the left side. Each time you do the quadruped, try to hold the movements longer without compromising your form.

Bicycle Crunch A bicycle crunch is an exercise of repetitions, and each repetition builds endurance and strength. Because the exercise involves nearly constant movement, it can also elevate your heart rate. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercises such as the bicycle crunch can improve your mood, help you sleep better, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and help you manage your weight. To do a bicycle crunch, lie flat on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees, feet in the air and fingertips behind your ears. While keeping your abdominal muscles tight, slowly bring in your left knee to your chest. At the same time, lift your chest upward with your core muscles and turn to the left, bringing your right elbow forward to meet your left knee. Pause, and return to start before repeating with your right knee and left elbow.

Squat with Row The Cleveland Clinic notes that exercises with dumbbells and resistance, such as the squat with row, are essential to a complete exercise routine and effectively build muscle mass and tone. To do the exercise, hold a dumbbell in each hand with your elbows at your sides and palms pointed in toward your body. Squat down and sit back as low as you can go or until your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, keeping your chest up and forward and your weight in your heels and rear. Then push your dumbbells forward, hold them there for a moment, and row them back behind your body, keeping your elbows close at your sides. Repeat the movement as many times as you comfortably can.

5.2. AEROBIC EXERCISES Interval Cardio Incorporate intervals of intense exercise while working out on your favorite cardio machine. If you enjoy running on the treadmill, challenge your aerobic endurance by increasing the speed for three to five minutes and/or increasing the gradient. Then return to your normal running speed. Continue to add intervals of intense exercises throughout your routine. This technique can also be applied to cardio machines like elliptical trainers, recumbent bikes and rowing machines. The important thing to remember is to consistently challenge your body by increasing then decreasing the intensity. This way you avoid getting caught up in a routine that the body acclimates to, which is counterproductive to building aerobic endurance.

Complete Workouts Faster Set small goals for yourself each time you engage in your cardio workout. If, for instance, you typically run four miles every Tuesday and it takes you 32 minutes to complete, strive to finish the run in 30 minutes the next time out. This same principle can be applied to other cardio exercises, as well as to strength training exercises. Build up your aerobic endurance by taking shorter rest breaks in between sets and exercises. If you typically need 45 minutes to complete five sets of exercises, attempt to complete the entire workout in 40 minutes. Your heart rate will be higher throughout the workout routine and improve aerobic endurance.

Tempo Running or Swimming This particular exercise is best suited for distance running. When preparing for a half or full marathon, for example, certain training runs demand up to 80 percent or more of the length of the race. Once you are the point where you can finish such a training run comfortably, push yourself the next time you set out for that same distance and incorporate tempo runs. If you plan to run 20 miles, then six to eight of those miles should be run at a higher tempo. Decide which miles will be the tempo miles before you set out. Never do tempo runs to begin a long run. Incorporate them after having run for at least 30 minutes to warm up the body. Your tempo runs should be executed at 75 percent to 85 percent of your highest possible output level. This type of running will greatly improve your aerobic endurance over the long-term. Tempo intervals can also be applied to swimming.