El compromiso con la poesía misma

The amount of work that international-class athletes perform has increased mark-edly over the past 3 to 5 decades (6, 28). This marked increase in workload has been accomplished via an increase in training density, individual training session volume, and microcycle volume, all of which contribute to markedly greater training loads for the yearly training plan. Contemporary athletes often increase their training load by increasing training density, where training is undertaken frequently during the microcycle (8-12 sessions per week), typically with multiple (e.g., two to eight) train-ing sessions betrain-ing used in the same day (24, 34, 37, 42, 82, 83). Although distinct physiological and performance benefits can occur from increasing the density of training (35, 63, 82, 83), these increases in training load (volume and intensity) and density (frequency) must be implemented in a progressive and systematic fashion (chapter 2).

As the athlete becomes more trained, a workload that previously was considered a stimulating load (a training load high enough to induce physiological changes) is now a retaining load (a load that maintains physiological adaptations) or a detraining load (a load that is not high enough to maintain physiological adaptations and a loss of physiological adaptations occurs) (82, 83) (figure 4.3). For example, a novice athlete may optimize strength gains from a strength program with 3 days of training per week

Variables of Training 89

(63, 67), whereas a more advanced athlete may require more frequent (e.g., four to eight sessions per week) resistance training sessions to maximize the training stimulus. As the athlete becomes more developed she will need greater training variation, which comes from increases in training load (volume and intensity), density of training, and periodic changes in exercises or activities. These alterations in the training load should not be sudden, unless one is using planned overreaching or concentrated loading strategies (65, 69, 79). As the athlete becomes more trained and her work capacity increases, she should periodically increase the training load in a nonlinear fashion. Coaches need to be extremely careful when attempting to increase training load because most training plans entail a delay in training adaptations.

When attempting to increase training load via alterations of volume and intensity, the coach can consider several example strategies.

Strategies for altering the volume of training:

• Increase the duration of the training session. This can be a useful strategy when working with endurance athletes. For example, if the athlete is performing three sessions of 60 min duration, an increase in volume could be accomplished by increasing some of the training sessions to 90 min. This way the athlete’s train-ing volume progressively increases over time.

• Increase the density of training (i.e., frequency or number of training sessions) per week. If, for example, the athlete is performing three sessions per week, an increase to 5 days per week would increase the training density. Another possibility is to increase the number of sessions in the training day. For example, if the athlete is training 3 days per week, he could maintain a 3 day a week training plan but now include two sessions per day, for a total of six training sessions per week.

• Increase the number of repetitions, sets, drills, or technical elements per train-ing session.

• Increase the distance traveled or the duration per repetition or drill.

E4492/Bompa/Periodization,5E/333154/Fig 04.03/Tammy Page/R1 Training load

Level of athlete development Novice athleteTrained athleteElite athlete

Detraining load Retaining load Stimulating load

Detraining load Retaining load Stimulating load

Detraining load Retaining load Stimulating load

Figure 4.3 Theoretical comparison of training loads and level of athlete development. A detrain-ing load is a suboptimal load that results in a loss of physiological adaptation. A retaindetrain-ing load results in maintenance of physiological adaptation. A stimulating load results in an increase in physiological adaptations.

Adapted from Zatsiorsky 1995 (82) and Zatsiorsky and Kraemer 2006 (83).

Strategies for altering the intensity of training:

• Increase the velocity of movement over a given distance or the quickness or tempo of performing tactical drills.

• Increase the load (i.e., resistance or weight) in strength training.

• Increase the power output of the training activity.

• Decrease the rest interval between repetitions or tactical drills.

• Require the athlete to perform endurance, interval, or tactical work at a higher percentage of maximal heart rate.

• Increase the number of competitions in the training phase only if this fits into the training plan for the athlete and does not impede the athlete’s development.

Many factors are involved in the dynamics of intensity used in training. Three factors are often talked about: (a) the characteristics of the sport, (b) the training or competitive environment, and (c) the athlete’s performance level.

• Characteristics of the Sport: Each sporting activity stimulates distinct physi-ological adaptations (7, 8, 59). In sports where maximal speed, strength, or power (e.g., weightlifting, throwing, sprinting) is of primary importance, the resultant physiological stress is considered to be high in response to the activity’s reliance on anaerobic energy supply. Conversely, in endurance sports (e.g., running, distance cycling, triathlon), the intensity is considered to be low as a result of the lower power outputs encountered and the reliance on aerobic energy supply (21, 79).

The intensity of sporting activities that rely on technical mastery (e.g., gymnas-tics, diving, synchronized swimming) is determined by looking at the degree of difficulty of the individual skills performed and the predominant energy supply system. In most instances, these activities rely heavily on the anaerobic energy systems and require high power outputs or quick movements. Therefore, most of these activities fall on the high end of the intensity spectrum. The classification of team sports is often difficult because of the fluid changes in intensity that can occur. Most team sports should be considered high intensity as a result of their reliance on anaerobic energy supply (see table 1.2 on p. 28 for a summary of sport-ing activities and their primary energy suppliers). For any activity, the periodized training plan should include a variety of intensities because systematic variations of intensity result in superior physiological adaptations, which ultimately elevate the athlete’s performance ability.

• Training or Competitive Environment: The training or competitive envi-ronment significantly affects the intensity of a training session. For example, running in sand or uphill can significantly increase intensity, which can be seen in an increase in the heart rate response to the training session. Using drafting strategies in cycling, running, and skating to decrease drag can significantly affect intensity. In cycling, for example, drafting behind another cyclist while riding at 39.5 km/hr has been shown to result in an approximately 7.5% reduction in aver-age heart rate and an approximately 14% reduction in oxygen consumption (V.

O₂) compared with cycling alone (39). Thus, drafting has the potential to decrease the intensity of the activity while maintaining a very high speed of movement. Using aerodynamic devices (e.g., aero-handlebars, disc wheels, skin suits) can reduce the drag forces encountered in cycling and thus decrease the intensity of cycling at the same absolute speed (27).

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• Preparation of the Athlete’s Performance Level: The athlete’s physical develop-ment appears to play a very large role in determining the content of the athlete’s training program. When athletes of different training levels are introduced to the same training content (e.g., workload), differing physiological responses will most likely occur because the load represents different intensities of training for different athletes (see figure 4.3). For example, a training load that is of medium intensity for an elite athlete may be a supermaximal load for a novice athlete.

Conversely, a medium load for a novice athlete may be a detraining load for an elite athlete. These contentions support the importance of using individualized training plans to optimize each athlete’s physiological adaptations and ultimately her performance.

As suggested previously in this chapter, the heart rate response to training can be a useful tool for prescribing and evaluating training intensities. Heart rate may be used to compute the intensity in training as an expression of the total demand experienced during a training session. The intensity of a training session can be calculated by using the following series of equations proposed by Iliuta and Dumi-trescu (41). The first step of this process is to calculate the partial intensity with the following equation:

Partial Intensity = HR_p 3 100 HR_max

In this equation, HR_P is the heart rate that results from performing the exercise for which the partial intensity is being calculated, and HR_max is the maximum heart running in the sand during training can increase the heart rate response to the training session; this is an example of the training environment affecting perfor-mance.

Daiju Kitamura/AFLo SPorT/Icon SMI

rate achieved in performing the activity. Once the partial intensity is established, the intensity can be calculated with the following equations:

Overall intensity = (Partial intensity 3 Volume of exercises)

(Volume of exercises)

Another possible use for monitoring heart rate is the concept of training impulse (TRIMP) (56, 72). TRIMP is the product of training duration and intensity, where heart rate is multiplied by a nonlinear metabolic adjustment based on the lactate curve and the training session duration (56) (for complete method of calculation, see Morton et al. 56). Although the TRIMP method of determining training stress is useful, its application is limited to aerobic training intensities that result in heart rates below maximum.