A–B. Active Living and Movement Competence · Active Living and Movement: Move Well, Train Smart, Stay Safe

Train Smarter: Applying the Training Principles

A2.2 1.5About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the training principles: progressive overload, specificity, reversibility, individual differences, rest and recovery, and variety.
I can use FITT to apply progressive overload safely.
I can choose activities that match the component I want to improve (specificity).
I can plan a progression for both a health-related and a skill-related component.

Words to know

FITT
Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard), Time (how long), Type (what kind): four things you can change in a workout.

progressive overload
Gradually increasing frequency, intensity or time so the body is challenged a bit more than usual and adapts.

specificity
You improve the components and skills you actually train. To improve balance, train balance.

reversibility
Fitness gains are slowly lost if you stop training: "use it or lose it".

adaptation
The changes the body makes (for example, a stronger heart) in response to training plus recovery.

individual differences
People respond to training at different rates because of genetics, age, growth, starting fitness, sleep and more.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 7 and 8 you used FITT (Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type) and training principles like overload and progression, specificity, rest and recovery, reversibility and individual differences. In Grade 9 you'll explain how these principles improve both health-related and skill-related fitness, and use them carefully in your own planning.

Hook: why isn't it working?

Two students want to get fitter.

Kofi does the same 10 push-ups every day for three months. At first he improves, then he gets stuck.
Rosa decides to run 10 km on her first day, gets very sore, and quits for two weeks.

Kofi gave his body no new challenge. Rosa gave it too much, too fast. The training principles explain the sweet spot between the two.

The training principles

Progressive overload. To improve, you must ask your body to do a little more than it's used to, then increase it gradually over time. You can increase Frequency (more days), Intensity (harder, faster, heavier) or Time (longer). Change one at a time, in small steps.
Specificity. Your body adapts to the specific demands you give it. Aerobic activity like running or cycling improves cardiorespiratory endurance. In-line skating or skateboarding improves balance and agility. Stretching improves flexibility. Doing only push-ups won't make you a faster runner.
Rest and recovery. Fitness actually improves during recovery, when the body repairs and adapts. Sleep, easy days and rest days are part of training.
Reversibility. If you stop training, gains fade over weeks to months. "Use it or lose it."
Individual differences. Everyone responds differently, because of genetics, growth, age, starting fitness, sleep and stress. Compare yourself with yourself.
Variety. Changing the type of activity keeps training interesting, works different muscles and can lower the risk of overuse injuries.

A simple model of how training works. Training makes you tired (1); during rest and recovery you bounce back (2) and adapt to a level above where you started (3). If you never train again, the gains slowly fade (4).

Applying progressive overload with FITT

For health-related fitness, the curriculum's example is to increase frequency, intensity or duration (time) over time:

Frequency: 3 runs a week → 4 runs a week.
Intensity: jog at the low end of your moderate zone → the middle of it; or wall push-ups → knee push-ups → full push-ups.
Time: 15 minutes → 17 minutes → 19 minutes.

Many coaches suggest small increases, such as about 10% at a time, and an easier week every few weeks so the body can catch up. Sharp increases raise the risk of soreness, injury and burnout.

For skill-related fitness, overload means making the skill harder step by step: stork stand on the floor → eyes closed → on a cushion; or a ladder drill slow → fast → with a ball.

Progressive overload in a running plan: the time per run rises by 2 minutes a week, with an easier week (week 4) to recover, then the climb continues.

Worked example

Let's plan Kofi's progression

Kofi can do 10 full push-ups with good form. He trains 3 days a week. Plan 6 weeks using progressive overload and rest, and add one change for variety.

Start (week 1): 3 sets of 6 push-ups (below his maximum, so form stays good), 3 days a week with a day off between.
Overload by time/volume: week 2: 3 sets of 7; week 3: 3 sets of 8.
Easier week (week 4): 2 sets of 8, to recover.
Overload by intensity: week 5: 3 sets of 8 with a slower lowering (3 seconds down); week 6: 3 sets of 9 slow.
Variety: on one day each week, swap push-ups for a different chest-and-arm exercise, like a plank shoulder-tap.
Specificity check: push-ups build upper-body muscular endurance and strength. If Kofi also wants better cardiorespiratory endurance, he needs to add aerobic activity.

Kofi changes one FITT variable at a time in small steps, takes an easier week, adds variety, and trains the component he actually wants to improve.

Worked example

Let's use specificity for skill-related fitness

Jess wants better balance and agility for snowboarding season. It's October. What should she train?

Specificity: choose activities that challenge balance and agility, not just running.
Options: skateboarding or in-line skating (with full protective gear), balance-board work, single-leg squats, side-to-side hops over a line, ladder drills.
Overload for skills: start with two-foot side hops, then single-foot hops, then hops while catching a ball.
Rest: 2 or 3 balance-and-agility sessions a week, plus her regular activity.

Jess trains balance and agility directly and makes the challenge progressively harder.

Hands-on activity

Build your own 3-week progression

You need: a timer, a wall, a mat or towel, running shoes, and a notebook.

Warm up (5 min): march, arm circles, gentle squats, side steps.
Baseline: do a wall sit (back flat on the wall, knees bent no lower than 90°, knees over ankles) and a plank (on forearms, or on knees for a modified plank), and record how long you hold each with good form.
Plan: write a 3-week progression for one of them. Start at about half of your baseline time, 3 sets, 3 days a week. Decide which FITT variable you will increase each week and by how much.
Specificity: write which component this exercise trains (both are muscular endurance).
Do day 1 of your plan, then cool down with gentle stretches for quadriceps, hamstrings and lower back.
Retest after 3 weeks and compare.

Safety: Stop if you feel sharp pain (burning muscles are normal; sharp joint pain is not). Keep breathing; don't hold your breath. Hold planks with a straight body, not a sagging lower back.

Just for fun

In Ontario you can practise progressive overload with groceries: carry a 1 L carton of milk home in week 1, then graduate to the famous 4 L bag of milk (three bags in one!).

Your turn

What does FITT stand for?

Define progressive overload in your own words.

Which principle explains why push-ups won't make you a faster runner?

When does the body actually get fitter: during training or during recovery?

What does reversibility mean?

Give one way to overload a balance skill.

More practice: warm-up

Changing from 3 runs a week to 4 changes which FITT letter?

Changing from jogging to swimming changes which FITT letter?

Name one reason people respond differently to the same training.

Which activity is a curriculum example for training balance and agility?

Why change only one FITT variable at a time?

More practice: on your own

Rosa ran 10 km on her first day and was too sore to run for two weeks. Which principles did she ignore, and what should she do instead?

A runner adds 2 minutes a week: 15, 17, 19, then an easier week of 16, then 21. Why include the easier week?

Increase a 20-minute run by about 10%. What is the new time?

Kofi stops training for 2 months during exams. What will likely happen, and how should he restart?

Explain how the principle of variety helps both motivation and injury prevention.

Challenge

Plan 4 weeks to improve cardiorespiratory endurance for someone who can jog 12 minutes non-stop. Use FITT, overload, an easier week and specificity.

Use the adaptation model diagram to explain what happens if someone trains hard every day with no rest.

Twins train the same plan for 8 weeks. One improves her 1.6 km run by 40 seconds; the other by 15 seconds. Use two principles to explain this and give advice.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is an example of progressive overload?

Specificity means:

To improve flexibility, the most specific activity is:

The body adapts and becomes fitter mainly during:

"Use it or lose it" describes:

Going from 3 to 4 workouts a week changes the:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A2.2 also asks students to explain how training principles, such as progressive overload (gradually increasing frequency, intensity or time) and specificity (for example, aerobic activity for cardiorespiratory fitness, in-line skating or skateboarding for balance and agility), improve fitness. Living skill 1.5 (critical and creative thinking) appears in planning progressions.

How to help at home:

Ask your teen which FITT variable they plan to change next week, and why.
Encourage rest days and plenty of sleep (8 to 10 hours for ages 14 to 17).

Common difficulties:

Too much too soon. Encourage small steps.
Skipping rest. Explain that improvement happens during recovery.
Training the wrong component for their goal (specificity).

Safety: Muscle burning during effort is normal; sharp or joint pain is a reason to stop. Teens should not attempt maximum lifts without qualified supervision. Skateboarding or in-line skating requires a helmet, wrist guards and knee and elbow pads.