Training Principles and Exercise Physiology
This domain tests the principles that make training safe and effective, and the physiology that explains why they work: energy supply, muscle fibre types and cardiorespiratory adaptation.
Principles
- Overload, progression, specificity, reversibility, individuality, variation, rest and recovery.
- FITT: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type.
Physiology essentials
- Muscle types: skeletal (voluntary, striated), smooth (involuntary, in organs), cardiac (involuntary, heart).
- Type I fibres: slow-twitch, aerobic, fatigue-resistant. Type II fibres: fast-twitch, powerful, fatigue quickly.
- Energy systems: ATP–CP for the first few seconds, anaerobic glycolysis for short maximal efforts with lactic acid accumulation, aerobic for longer work.
- Cardiac output = heart rate × stroke volume. Endurance training lowers resting heart rate and raises stroke volume.
Worked example
A 16-year-old wants a moderate-intensity target zone. Maximal heart rate ≈ 220 − 16 = 204 beats/min. The 60–80% band is 122–163 beats/min. Reasoning: age-predicted maximum is only an estimate, then the percentage band is applied to it. If the student counts 32 beats in 15 seconds, that is 32 × 4 = 128 beats/min, which falls inside the band and confirms the session is at the right intensity.
Traps
- Reversing the formula (16 − 220).
- Confusing stroke volume (per beat) with cardiac output (per minute).
- Saying lactic acid is the main fuel problem in aerobic work; it dominates short maximal efforts.
- Jumping to overload without progression.
- Ignoring reversibility - fitness is lost when training stops.