Basics Training*

Ok, here we go with the basic knowledge that anyone who wants to train smart should possess.

For building a general all-round base of fitness (which you may then add to for more "specialized" or sport specific goals) your exercise regiment should include these 3 basic elements:

STRENGTH TRAINING
CARDIO/AEROBIC (ENDURANCE) TRAINING
FLEXIBILITY TRAINING

While these elements are merely my "basic" divisions for achieving a base level of fitness, they are also what I find myself continuously going back to - being the main points for organizing most of my training around.

There are of coarse further subdivisions of these basics (such as developing power, balance, speed, coordination) but when I think of "training" or "exercising", I am usually thinking of some aspect of strength, endurance and flexibility. These 3 are what I aim to train and these 3 are what I aim to improve. Simple eh?

If there is any sport or physical endeavor that does not involve these 3 basic elements I don't know what it is.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training means repeatedly stimulating the muscle tissues (mostly what is called type 2 fast twitch muscle fibers) AND the nervous system to respond to increasing loads or resistance. Simply put, you want to get stronger.

To do this you need to push, pull, lift and or carry weight. It can be body weight, or it can be "weights", or it can be simulated weight like rubber bands and such.

Whatever the method is it needs to produce some kind of resistance to your desired direction of movement in order to stimulate a hormonal/neuromuscular response that results (with recovery) in an increase in ability to move heavier loads.

There are numerous benefits to increased strength such as stronger bones, less fat and an increased capability to do "work" (movement) with less effort etc, but one I like to focus on is the ability to protect and stabilize joints (a common focal point of injury).

You still may not be able to pull an over hanging roof on a particular climb without good technique, but with strength training you might be able to avoid tearing your rotator cuff when you try the move.

At the gym, I use a combination of body weight, machines, cable systems and free weights for my strength training. Mixing it up helps keep injuries at bay, keeps me from being bored and keeps my body from staying in a rut (hitting a plateau) for to long.

I use moderate level weight mostly as it is exceedingly easy to injure yourself when lifting really heavy weights. In fact, injuries are probably the most common end result of people taking up weight lifting IMO.

Strength routines should be made up of "sets" (usually 3-6 sets per session).

A "set" is a series of repetitions or "reps" of a given movement (like bench press or dumbell curl) of a particular exercise.

Between sets you rest from 1-2 minutes usually.

A set normally consists of somewhere between 8 to 20 reps.

Higher weights (more resistance) generally means you should do lower reps. This approach is best for building general strength (as opposed to hypertrophy "big muscles" or muscle endurance).

Lower weights allow you to do more reps and is good for building muscle endurance, speed and power, and easing into heavier weight lifting.

Moderately heavy weights (not extremely heavy) are good for "bulking" or body building. This generally means lifting about 8-12 reps as your maximum ability.

Lifting fast (quick "burst" type or "speed" lifting - which should be done only with moderate to light weights) develops the good neuromuscular response and coordination that is referred to as "power".

Power = explosive movement which is the most useful and practical kind of movement there is - especially in sports.

"Rest" doesn't mean "a day off" (that's called "recovery"). Rest means the time you take between sets (usually from 1-2 minutes). The heavier you lift the longer the rest (up to 5 minutes for super heavy weights). Resting allows the muscle to reconstitute it's energy supply (ATP) for the next set and to get rid of things like lactic acid which inhibit muscle function.

"Recovery" means you don't lift the very next day after a session. You should strive for 48 hours minimum between strength training sessions. Recovery is the time your muscles repair and rebuild themselves.

I am obsessed about not getting injured while lifting. You need to know the difference between stress and strain, between push and pain. If you don't know the difference, you WILL get hurt!

Any sharp pain (no matter how tiny) any pain in a joint that you are questioning or have doubts about at all and it is time to STOP. This is different than being stressed or tired or feeling "the lactate burn". KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, so many people don't and even I sometimes can't tell.

I always do warm up movements and then follow that up with warm up sets. What I often do is hit the sauna and shadow box (5 minutes), then do 5 minutes of aerobic zone cardio, then start with a light lifting (strength) set (20 reps minimum) or 2 before I dig into the moderate to heavy loads.

If you don't warm up with low intensity movement before you start to "lift heavy" you will get injured. Warm, blood engorged muscles and more importantly tendons and ligaments are much more protected from injury and are much more ready for the stresses to come.

I strive always to be in control of the weight, no wobbles, no awkward levering or sudden swinging movements, and I try to keep the weight in close (to the center of my body mass) unless I am training specific muscles that require another type of motion (and then I am using lighter weights).



Finally, as you progress in your strength training (generally adding 5-10 % weight every couple weeks) even though your muscle tissues may be relatively strong and ready for heavier loads your tendons and ligaments may still not be ready for lifting heavier - not to mention a possible lack of neuromuscular coordination due to not enough lower intensity weight training.

If you're not a long time lifter take your sweet time progressing because usable strength is not just a matter of raw "big muscle" strength, and you really don't want to get sidelined with an injury either. There is a coordination (neurological) element as well which only comes with movement experience.

If you are relatively inactive, your first goal in resistance training is to build a base level of strength fitness before pushing it to extremes.

CARDIO/AEROBIC (general "ENDURANCE") TRAINING

Although the terms "cardio" and "aerobic" do not mean the same thing, often people use them to refer to the same kind of exercise - that is sustained, low intensity, high duration exercises like jogging, biking, swimming, cross country skiing.

This kind of exercise targets the cardio vascular system (of coarse including to some extent the respiratory "lung" system) as well as the aerobic metabolic energy pathways and fat burning mechanisms to improve overall endurance performance.

Endurance activities generally "recruit" (utilize) what are called (type 1) slow twitch muscle tissue. Slow twitch muscle fiber is better suited than fast twitch (type II) for using fat as fuel and for using the slower aerobic (with oxygen) metabolic pathways.

If you don't train these systems (with at least some amount of "cardio" training) you may get strong, but you won't be as fit (especially concerning your heart, lungs and circulatory system) or as healthy as you would if you did. You also would be less able to sustain higher levels of activity for very long such as running, trail hiking, volcano climbing or going for a long bike ride etc.

Cardio training has a positive effect on over all circulation and therefore on blood nutrient transportation which speeds up the healing processes and helps prevent injuries.

Cardio training strengthens the heart and lungs and helps your body learn to use fat as a fuel source (although strength training does this as well).

Cardio training has so many benefits that if I were only able to choose one type of exercise I would probaby choose cardio if for no other reason than the health gains alone.

But, cardio training (as often understood) can be pretty hard on many people as it involves a high number of repetitive movements (some jarring, for example "running") and some are just not built to take those sustained forces.

Other people though seem to be naturally made for cardio (endurance type) activities as they not only have a predominance of the type 1 slow twitch muscle fibers (which are well suited for long duration exercise) but manage to tolerate the sustained punishment with few or no injuries and have a "genetically gifted" heart lung capacity (VO2 max) as well. Im jealous of such people - I'm not one of them.

Unless you're a naturally gifted F5 athlete, its best for your health to limit (not eliminate!) your cardio/aerobic training to some extent because of its high "catabolic" (tissue consuming) and "over training" potential if it is abused.

The vast majority of people however can and should find a way to do some type of cardio training if they have the desire to because there are lower impact forms of the exercise.

Elliptical trainers, recumbent bike machines, even swimming are some good alternatives to pavement pounding marathons, or hauling yourself up and down mountain sides with a bike or a heavy pack.

Regardless of the form, cardio exercise is where you make use of the "training zones" or "Target Heart Rates" THR (see that topic).

Cardio/aerobic exercise must raise your heart rate and generally takes place somewhere between 60% and 90% of your MHR (Maximum Heart Rate). (Remember that heart rate changes with -and is adjusted by- exercise intensity.)

If you are inactive, your first goal in aerobic training is to build a base level of cardio fitness and not jump right into an advanced "ideal" training routine. This will take months not weeks or days.

Below is a sample "IDEAL" cardio training schedule for someone who has already gotten to a base level of cardio/aerobic fitness.

It is based on a 7 day (weekly) cycle and uses heart rate training zones to indicate intensity levels.

NOTE: "Intervals" are short periods (30-60 seconds) of higher intensity efforts (zones 4 or 5).

Day 1
zones 3 and 4 (include intervals)
for 45min to 1 hr

Day 2
zones 1 and 2
for 30 min

Day 3
zones 3 and 4 (include intervals)
for 45min to 1 hr

Day 4
zones 1 and 2
for 30 min

Day 5
rest (do nothing)

Day 6
zones 2 and 3
for 2 to 4 hours (your "long day")

Day 7
zone 1 (active recovery)
for 30 min


FLEXIBILITY TRAINING

Stretching should be a serious component of your training sessions. When in past times I didn't take it seriously the result was a higher rate of injury. Since Ive gotten more serious and methodical about it I feel less stiff and am not as injury prone. That's been my experience and that fits with most of the studies and information currently available on the subject.

Don't stretch before your strength and cardio sessions. Thats right I said DON'T! Here's why..

The latest information I've read cites studies showing a reduced level muscular strength and a slightly higher rate of injury occurring in athletes that stretch JUST BEFORE a workout or sport event.

Don't stretch without first warming up. Get the blood flowing through the muscles, ligaments and tendons BEFORE you stretch them.

Stretch only AFTER your strength and cardio sessions. See the previous paragraph for why. Stretching post workout also helps with recovery and prepares you for the next days workout.

Stretch for at least 10 minutes (minimum) in total.

I prefer to hold each stretch for 30 seconds. This is called "static stretching" and is the kind of stretching that produces greater overall flexibility. Don't forget to stretch both sides of the body.

Stretch by muscles or muscle groups - learn the names (anatomy) and hit all the major muscle groups each session.

The main muscle groups are the abdominals, adductors (inside thigh), dorsal muscles (middle back), shoulders, arm extensors, wrist extensors, gluteals (butt), arm flexors, wrist flexors, scapular fixers (shoulder blade), thigh flexors (hamstrings), lumbar muscles (lower back), surae (calves), pectorals (chest), quadriceps (front thigh) and trapezii (upper back). ["Strength Training Anatomy", Delavier F, 2006].

Don't focus on stretching "joints" as this mind set can lead to over extension and joint injury. Although joint flexing and increasing your joint ROM (Range Of Motion) is part of stretching you should think "stretch MUSCLE" not joints.

Don't torque or lever joints in a direction that they were not meant to go. Look at how your joints move. Use them in those ways only especially when stretching. Often I see people pulling their joints at odd angles - NOT GOOD.

Stretching need not be "dramatic", painful, or extreme to improve flexibility or ROM. In fact, you can get injured (I have) by stretching something too far, so when stretching definitely do NOT live by the phrase "no pain no gain".

Finally, try to stretch every day.


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