Training Program Design Breakdown

For any experienced fitness professional, the following principles should be a good review to make sure the training program is designed correctly.  If the following training principles sound new, applying these principles will definitely make a positive change to any program.

1. SAID Principle:  SAID stands for "specific adaptations to imposed demands" which means that what you do is what you get.  All training programs should be specific to the goal of the individual.  Does the individual need to work on strength, power, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, mobility, agility or muscular endurance?  For example, a sprinter would not necessarily benefit from a program that focuses mainly on long distance running to improve muscular endurance.  A sprinter would need a program that focuses on strengh, power, flexibility and mobility.  After determining what component to work on, the metabolic demands of the activity must be known.  Does the activity require a lot of ATP-PC activity or more on the lactic acid and aerobic metabolic systems?  Finally, the movements used in strength training must also resemble the movements of the sport or activity.  For cyclists, they would benefit more from a plyometric squat (concentric phase only) than a plyometric split squat because the split squat fails to resemble the movement of the legs and feet on the pedals.  The closer the training program imitates the specific activity or sport, the chances are better that the program will produce positive results.
2. Overload:  The overload principle refers to the amount stress placed on the body.  For a positive training effect, the overload needs to be greater than what the body is used to.  For example, performing a work interval at a recovery intensity is a good way to progress no where.  There are four ways to provide overload.  Frequency, duration, intensity and volume can all be changed to make the exercise program more or less challenging.
• Frequency is the number of sessions trained per week.  By including 24 hours of rest in between session days, the max a beginner can train in a week is four days- a good reason to never miss a workout!  Once a strong athletic base has been built, seven days a week is possible with more opportunities to skip workouts if needed.
• Duration is the length of time spent on the workout(s).  There is usually an inverse relationship between duration an intensity.  As duration goes up, intensity usually goes down, vice versa.
• Intensity is the amount of effort required by the session.  This can be measured with a heart rate monitor, RPE or as a percentage of the maximal amount of weight an individual can lift for one repetition (1RM).  In aerobic exercise, intensity is often determined through percentages of maximum heart rate or target heart rates.
• Training volume is the total time spent exercising throughout the week and may be calculated by multiplying frequency by duration (3).  For example, training 7 days per week for 30 minutes every workout has a training volume of 210 minutes per week.  On the other hand, training 4 days a week for two hours every workout yields a training volume of 480 minutes.  It is important to be aware how much volume was designed into the program.  Overtraining and overuse injuries may occur by failing to pay attention to the rise in training volume.
3. Recovery:  To balance the principle of overload, the principle of recovery is absolutely necessary for allowing the body to recover and adapt to the demands it experienced after the training session or work interval.  Without a recovery period, the body will accumulate more damage than repair- a recipe for injury.  By allowing the body to repair damaged muscles/ fascia and replenish energy stores, this will ensure that the next training session can be performed at the same intensity or higher- better yet, there will also be a reduced risk of injury.  No pain, big gains!
4. Progression:  The amount of overload and recovery may change throughout a training cycle.  Progression is a way to determine if the program has too much or too little of overload or recovery.  The steploading method used commonly in periodized programs produces optimal progression (1,2).  In steploading, training load is progressively increased until every third of fourth session where the training load is decreased to allow for recovery and adaptations (1,2).
5. Variability/ Reversibility:  As the individual progresses throughout the training cycle, progression may begin to occur more slowly until a plateau is reached.  Once a plateau is evident, confirm whether or not the cause of the plateau is due to overtraining.  The principle of variability emphasizes the importance of varying the type of overload used in training.  In other words, try to avoid doing one type of exercise.  For example, competitive cyclists need strength, power, flexibility and endurance to become faster.  If the cyclist's program only focuses on bike-only exercises, a plateau will definitely occur as well as an increased risk of overuse injuries.  Although bike work is important, strength training and flexibility is key to preventing injury and correcting muscular imbalances caused by cycling.
6. Maintenance:  Once the desired level of fitness is achieved, maintenance becomes the main goal to ensure that the adaptations gained through training is not lost.  In order to maintain a level of fitness, intensity must be maintained.  Duration and frequency may decrease without losing the positive adaptations; although the amount of the decrease depends largely on the individual (3).  For most endurance athletes, a rapid loss of cardiorespiratory endurance can be prevented with a minimum of three sessions per week at 75% VO2 max (4).
7. Individualization:  Because of differences in gender, age, diseases, genetics, body type, stress, diet and amount of sleep, not everyone will adapt the same way to a training program.  With that being said, never use the same exact "one size fits all" program for everyone!  Some people may overtrain, plateau or even detrain to a same program.
8. Warm Up & Cool Down:  Like the SAID principle, the warm up and cool down must be specific to main exercise of the session.  For example, before a hard cycling interval on an upright bike, the cyclists should warm up preferable on an upright bicycle rather than a recumbent bicycle.

References:

1. Bompa, T.O.: Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics (1999).
2. Freeman, W.H.: Peak When It Counts: Periodization for American Track & Field (3re edition). Mountain View, CA: Tafnews Press (1996).
3. Plowman, Sharon A., and Denise L. Smith. Exercise physiology for health, fitness, and performance. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. Print.
4. Mickelborough, Timothy. "Training for Sport." Exercise Physiology. Health Physical Education and Recreation. Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington. 10 Aug. 2010. Lecture.

What is the Core?

In an adult skeleton, there are about 206 bones (1).  Of the 206 bones, only five of them serve as an important skeletal structure that the core muscles press and pull against.  Unlike the thoracic spine, the five disks of the lumbar spine does not have ribs that provide it with additional strength, stability for posture, shock absorption and rigidity against impact.  To overcome this obstacle, the body has to rely on a network of muscles and fascia to take on the demands that both bone and muscle experience, this is the core.  Because the muscles of the core can move the spine through all planes of motion, the lumbar spine is more vulnerable to damage.  Any muscular imbalance will cause the spine to favor a dangerous posture and likely damage the lower back.


THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSCLE BALANCE:
The relationship between the muscles of the lumbar spine and the disks can be best interpreted as a guy wire system.  Imagine that the lumbar spine is a five story tower with muscles or "wires" that attach to both sides.  In normal conditions (see figure 1.1), the muscles of the lumbar spine keep the disks aligned correctly- both sides have equal tension.  In unhealthy conditions (see figure 1.2), the disks are pulled out of alignment due to unbalanced muscular strength. As shown on figure 1.2, the wires to the right overpowered the wires to the left and caused the tower to lean out of alignment.  In muscular terms, the wires to the right are now in a tightened position and the wires to the left are in a stretched position.  If no actions are taken to correct this imbalance, low back pain will usually occur.

Figure 1.2 Unbalanced

Figure 1.1 Balanced

Muscular imbalances may be caused by the following:

1. Poor posture for extended periods of time
• Example:  Driving, office jobs, watching tv, sitting at a table and waiting at an airport
2. Poor posture while lifting light or heavy objects
• Example:  Prepping and cooking food, reaching for objects above shoulder height, moving boxes and lifting suitcases/ luggage
3. Repetitive activities/ sports dominantly in one plane of motion.
• Example:  Running, cycling, swimming and rowing.
4. Poor posture during sports
5. Poorly designed weight lifting programs. 
• Example:  Only performing exercises to visibly improve rectus abdominis appearance ("six pack").

ANATOMY & FUNCTION OF THE CORE:
There is more to the core than the "six pack" muscle, the rectus abdominis.  In addition to the diaphragm and the muscles of the pelvic floor, there are about 16 muscles- a lot more than this if I were to include every intricate muscle.  If you feel comfortable with the anatomy of the core, skip onto the next section about core exercise design.


Starting with the deepest groups of muscles, there are eight muscles that directly affect the movement of the lumbar spine.  The first group of muscles is the erector spinae group.  This group is responsible for spinal extension and posture.  The second group of muscles is less well known probably because the name is not as easy to remember, the transversospinalis group.  These muscles are small and literally attach from vertebrae to vertebrae.  Their purpose is to provide stabilization of individual vertebrae and prevent excessive rotation, lateral flexion and spinal flexion.  The quadratus lumborum is in a group of its own because it is able to perform two entirely different movements of the spine, spinal extension and lateral flexion.  Through bilateral (at the same time) contractions, this muscle performs spinal extension.  If used unilaterally (one side only), the quadratus lumborum laterally flexes the spinal column and also lifts the hip upward. (4)


Due to its function, the middle layer is usually the most important core muscle group to focus on.  As a group, the muscles/ fascia form a box.  This layer is important because it contains the transverse abdominis, the muscle responsible for providing the compressive forces that takes off stress from the lumbar spine and provides a stable foundation for the upper and lower body to press and pull against.  If the transverse abdominis is weak, more stress is placed on the lumbar spine and the muscles of the extremity will have to work extra hard.  Why is this a problem?  In addition to the risk of low back pain, the increased demands on the extremities means that more stress will be placed on the joints above and below the core.


The outermost layer of the core is responsible for gross movement of the trunk and also provides additional compression.  This group consists of the rectus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, latissimus dorsi and the iliopsoas (hip flexor).

Deep layer:

• Erector Spinae - Spinal extension

• Iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis

• Transversospinalis - Spinal extension, lateral flexion of the spine, rotation of the spine

• Interspinalis, Intertransversarii, multifidus, rotatores and the semispinalis group (thoracic) 

• Quadratus lumborum - Bilateral activation = spinal extension , Unilateral activation = lateral flexion of the spine

Middle layer (the box):

• Diaphragm - "The lid"

• Pelvic floor - "The bottom"

• The sides of the box

• Transverse abdominis - Flexes vertebral column/ compresses abdominal wall

• Quadratus lumborum - Spinal extension/ lateral flexion of the spine

• Multifidus - Spinal extension, rotates spinal column

Outermost layer:

• Rectus abdominis (connected by linea alba) - Spinal flexion, compresses abdominal wall and helps with expiration

• External oblique

• Bilateral - Spinal flexion & compresses abdominal wall

• Unilateral - Lateral flexion of the spine

• Internal oblique

• Bilateral - Spinal flexion & compresses abdominal wall

• Unilateral - Lateral flexion of the spine

• Iliopsoas

• Bilateral - Spinal flexion

• Unilateral - Lateral flexion of the spine

• Latissimus dorsi (Thoracolummbar Fascia)

FOUNDATION OF CORE EXERCISE DESIGN:

By knowing that the core is a group of muscles that works as one unit to stabilize the abdominal area, it is easier to understand why crunches and sit-ups are not effective core exercises.  These exercises target mainly one muscle rather than all of the core muscles at once.  Choose exercises that will make the core work hard to keep the spine positioned correctly.  Because core exercises directly affects the spine, risk of injury is greater; so be sure to consult a fitness professional to ensure that the exercises are performed with correct form.


Core Exercise Tip #1:  Learn how to activate the core and breathe at the same time.
If you noticed above, the majority of the core muscles are responsible for compressing the abdominal wall to provide a stable foundation.  This means that any exercise can become a core exercise as long as core activation is learned.  There are two methods that many use to activate the core, abdominal hollowing and bracing.  McGill stated that in terms of stabilizing the spine, bracing was more effective than abdominal hollowing or "centering", a common method used for yoga/ pilates (3).  Another study also found that bracing was a more effective method to stabilize the spine (2).  In order to brace effectively, I always pretend as if I was about to be punched from the front, sides and back of my abdominal wall at the same time.  While activating the core, remember to always breathe or else blood pressure will rise very fast!


Core Exercise Tip #2:  Choose exercises that require core activation to stabilize the spine throughout all planes of motion.
Because the core is responsible for maintaining good posture by preventing movements such as spinal flexion, extension, rotation and lateral flexion at the spine, it is important to challenge the core this way.  Exercises such as the half kneeling anti rotation is an excellent way to challenge the core through rotational forces.  To challenge the core in the sagittal plane, a popular exercise is the plank and variations on it.  To prevent lateral flexion at the spine, the farmer's walk is an excellent choice.


Core Exercise Tip #3:  Don't forget the lats!

Although it seems like it doesn't belong, the latissimus dorsi contributes to the stability of the core.  Because the lats are located at the core, they will provide additional stability for the deeper muscles to press against.

Resources:

1. Bryant, Cedric X., and Daniel J. Green. ACE advanced health & fitness specialist manual: the ultimate resource for advanced fitness professionals. San Diego: American Council On Exercise, 2008. Print.
2. Gambetta, V. (2007). Athletic Development: The Art and Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics
3. McGill, S.M. et al. (2003). Coordination of muscle activity to assure stability of the lumbar spine. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 13, 353-359.
4. McKinley, Michael P., and Valerie Dean Loughlin. Human anatomy. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006. Print.