Basic training principles
Kinesiology is the science of human movement. One big question is: how do we get better at moving? Training works when it follows these principles.
- Progressive overload: work a little harder than usual, and increase slowly (about 10% a week) so the body can adapt.
- Specificity: you improve what you train. A sprinter trains short fast runs; a marathon runner trains long runs.
- Individual differences: two people on the same plan improve at different rates.
- Reversibility: stop training and fitness slowly fades ("use it or lose it").
- Variety: change activities to avoid boredom and overuse injury.
- Recovery: the body rebuilds during rest and sleep. Too little rest leads to overtraining.
FITT: putting it into a plan
Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard, for example heart rate), Time (how long), Type (which activity). Change one FITT part at a time to apply overload.
A session has a warm-up (raise heart rate, loosen joints), the main part, and a cool-down (slow down, stretch).
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors
Intrinsic factors come from inside the person:
- Genes and body type (height, limb length, build).
- Muscle fibre type: more fast-twitch fibres suit sprinting; more slow-twitch fibres suit endurance.
- Age, sex and stage of growth.
- Health, past injuries, and mind: motivation, confidence, focus.
Extrinsic factors come from outside:
- Coaching quality, training partners, family support.
- Environment: heat, humidity, cold, altitude, air pollution.
- Equipment and facilities (shoes, tracks, pools).
- Sleep schedule, travel, money and access to good food.
Intrinsic factors are hard to change (you cannot change your genes), but training, nutrition and good coaching can change many others.
Nutrition to support physical activity
- Carbohydrates (rice, roti, pasta, oats, fruit): the main fuel for hard and fast exercise. Stored in muscles and liver as glycogen.
- Protein (dal, beans, eggs, milk, fish, paneer): builds and repairs muscle. Active teens need a bit more than inactive ones, spread across meals.
- Fats (nuts, oils, seeds): fuel for long, slow activity and needed for some vitamins.
- Vitamins and minerals: iron carries oxygen in blood; calcium and vitamin D build bones.
- Water: sweat cools the body. Losing just 2% of body mass as sweat lowers performance. Drink before, during and after activity; in long hot events, drinks with salts help.
Timing
Eat a meal 2 to 4 hours before activity, a small carbohydrate snack if needed close to it, and carbohydrate plus protein within about an hour after hard training to refill and repair.
Ergogenic aids: methods and substances
An ergogenic aid is anything used to improve performance beyond normal training.
Generally allowed (use with care and advice)
- Carbohydrate loading: eating more carbohydrate before a long event fills glycogen stores.
- Caffeine: can reduce tiredness; too much causes shaking, fast heart and poor sleep.
- Creatine: may help short, repeated bursts; can cause water gain. Not advised for young teens without medical advice.
- Altitude training, sports drinks, and equipment like compression clothing.
Banned (doping)
- Anabolic steroids: grow muscle, but harm the liver, heart and hormones.
- EPO and blood doping: raise red blood cells; blood can thicken and cause clots or stroke.
- Stimulants (in competition) and diuretics (to hide drugs or lose weight fast).
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) publishes the list of banned substances each year. Doping is cheating, and the health risks can be lifelong. Supplements can also be contaminated, so athletes are responsible for what they take.
Try it: for one week, record your activity minutes and how you feel after meals with more carbohydrate versus less. Do you notice a difference in energy?
Key formulas and definitions
- Kinesiology: the science of human movement.
- Progressive overload: increase training load slowly (≈ 10% per week).
- Specificity: you improve the fitness you train.
- Reversibility: gains fade when training stops.
- FITT: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type.
- Intrinsic factor: inside the person (genes, fibre type, age, motivation).
- Extrinsic factor: outside the person (coach, climate, altitude, equipment).
- Ergogenic aid: a method or substance used to improve performance.
Worked examples
1. Asha runs 20 km a week. Using the 10% rule, how far should she run next week?
10% of 20 = 2 km. Next week: 20 + 2 = 22 km.
2. A footballer only does long slow jogs, but his matches need short sprints. Which principle is he ignoring?
Specificity. Training should match the demands of the sport: add short sprint intervals.
3. Sort these into intrinsic or extrinsic: fast-twitch fibres, hot weather, a new coach, motivation.
Intrinsic: fast-twitch fibres, motivation. Extrinsic: hot weather, a new coach.
4. A 50 kg player weighs 49 kg after a hot match. What percent of body mass was lost, and does it matter?
1 ÷ 50 × 100 = 2%. Yes: about 2% loss already lowers performance, so she should drink more during play.
5. Why is EPO banned while altitude training is allowed, if both raise red blood cells?
Altitude training is a natural adaptation open to all athletes and is safe when done well. EPO is an injected drug that can raise red cells too far, thicken the blood and cause clots; it also gives an unfair advantage.
Common mistakes
- Thinking more training is always better. Without rest the body breaks down (overtraining, injury).
- Believing protein alone builds muscle. Muscles grow from training plus enough total energy, protein and sleep.
- Thinking 'natural' or 'from a shop' means a supplement is safe or allowed. It can be contaminated.
- Mixing up intrinsic and extrinsic: intrinsic is inside the body or mind, extrinsic is in the surroundings.