Fitness and performance

Endurance training

• When you regularly exercise, body will adapt. 3-5 times a week, for few months.
• Adaptations depend on - frequency, intensity, duration, and type of exercise.
• Frequency
  • Don’t be a weekend warrior when it comes to exercise.
  • 3 to 5 days a week is ideal.
• Intensity is most important when it comes to adaptations.
  • Use heart rate monitors.
  • Intensity should be 50-85% of heart rate reserves.
  • (heart rate reserve/100) * (max HR 210 - resting HR) + Rest HR
  • Max HR = 220 - age
  • For me to train at 85% HR reserve: 85%/100 * (220 - 37 - 66) + 66 = 165 bpm
  • For me to train at 85% HR reserve: 50%/100 * (220 - 37 - 66) + 66 = 125 bpm
• Duration
  • 20 to 60 mins of exercise.
• Type or mode
  • Should involve large muscle groups.
• A training program should have
  • Designated recovery days.
  • Designated hard training weeks, followed by recovery weeks.
  • Start with low intensity, lower duration and gradually increase both.

What happens when you stop training.

• Reversibility - all adaptations will be reversed with time once you stop training.
• Reversal of various adaptations is quite fast and will occur within weeks after training is stopped.

Strengh training

• Strength training adaptations depend on - frequency, intensity, number of repetitions per set, and number of sets.
• After a period of strength training, output plateaus, factors affecting it
  • Physical activity
  • Nutrition
  • Genetics
  • Endocrine influences
  • Nervous system
  • Environmental.
  • Growth hormones such as testosterone.

Differences for men and women in strength training.

• Men have more muscles and larger cross sectional areas.
• A man and a woman having same muscle mass can generate same amount of power and force.
• Due to very large quantities of testosterone (20-30 times), amount of muscle gain in men can be much higher.

Nutrition for training

• How much to eat?
  • Endurance - weight stable.
• What to eat?
  • Endurance
    • Increasing carb stores.
    • 55-60% calories from carbs.
• When?
  • Takes 24 hours to replenish carb stores.
  • First 1 to 2 hours post exercise.
  • Pre-competition meal -
    • 2 to 3 hours prior - reduces blood requirements of digestive system and stabilizes glucose level
    • 300-500 calories, high in carbs.

Causes Of Muscle fatigue

• Muscle fatigue is inability to maintain output required during exercise.
• Common causes are located in the muscle itself.
• For Endurance exercise
  • Depletion of carb stores.
  • Calcium levels
  • Body and muscle temperature.

Causes of muscle soreness

• During prolonged isometric contraction, blood flow to the muscle can be shut down, reducing oxygen flow.
• This results in creating ATP anaerobically, producing acids. These acids when released into blood stream cause localized burning and pain, which subsided quickly.
• Cramps - no clear reasons are yet established.
  • Theory 1 - electrolyte imbalance.
  • Theory 2 - bug in neural wiring.
  • Can be solved using salts, fluids, massage and ice packs.
• Muscle soreness which starts hours after the exercise is caused by eccentric contraction, when muscle is stretched.
• These contractions causes micro tears in the muscle fibers leading to inflammation, weakness, tenderness, and pain.
• Damaged sarcomere (muscle tissues) are replaced with healthy.
• Subsequent exercise with same intensity with cause lesser pain.

Performance enhancing drugs

• Blood doping - inject your blood cells before a competition.