1. Principles of Training We improve our fitness through training. We should try to train in 8 week blocks checking for improvements after 4 weeks. The ground rules that make sure our training is going to develop our fitness properly are called S.P.O.R.T S pecificity- Making your training specific to the demands of the activity/ muscle groups you are using/ energy systems you want to train/ the role you play. P rogressive O verload- Making your training more demanding in order to ensure a continued training effect. We do this by increasing one of the following F.I.T= FrequencyIntensityDuration Frequency train three times a week with the other days for rest and recovery Intensityhow hard we train Time/Durationworking for the length of time required for a training effect. R eversibilityIf your training slows down or stops, your level of fitness will slowly return to its original level- ‘ Use it or lose it!’ T ediumKeep your training motivating and enjoyable by setting targets and goals

2. Strength What is Strength? ‘The maximum force a muscle or a group of muscles can exert in a single movement.’ Why would we want improved strength? What are the advantages? Improved strength means you should have the ability to complete actions which link physical and skill related aspects of fitness. ActivityPhysical Fitness- strengthSkill Related Fitness Hockey Rugby Basketball When defending, defenders require upper and lower body strength so they can adopt a strong body position Being able to complete a long pass in hockey requires upper and lower body strength Being able to complete a successful tackle in rugby requires upper and lower body strength The defender needs good strength and dynamic balance The hockey player needs good strength and co-ordination The rugby player requires good explosive strength and co-ordination

3. Testing our Strength Before we work to improve our strength we need to test and find our initial level. How can we test our strength? It depends on which muscle groups you want to test. Hand grip dynometer Maximum lift on a particular weight exercise e.g to measure strength in upper body- max lift on bench press to measure strength in lower body- max lift in squat. Remember, we would test our strength at beginningafter 4 weeks end of 8 week programme Why? To see if we have improved and help us decide when we should progressively overload.

4. Training to Improve Strength The most effective way to improve strength is through doing Weight Training We must make sure that our training is specific by working the muscle groups that are used in the activity. In weight training we complete a no. of repetitions and sets. The intensity that we work at is relatively high- 80% of our maximum. Example If my max lift in bench press is 20 kgs, I would work at 80% of 20kgs= 16kgs. My programme would be 6 repetitions x 3 sets at 16kg. How would I progressively overload? Increase the number of repetitions from 6 to 8 Increase the number of sets from 3 to 4 Retest and find my new 1 rep max and change the weight accordingly.