In this topic - information on
How to ease into your Program
A Check List to make your Program enjoyable
Fitness Conditioning the old and new
My fitness experience and results
Exercising at the correct level to achieve your aims will help to keep consistency in your exercise plan.
When starting a program, or going to the next level in a program, it takes the body approximately 6 weeks for the fitness adaptations to start to consolidate.
Taking in the information in the other topics, all exercise sessions, particularly when starting out should be enjoyable.
This is the way to achieve the benefits you may choose within the 3 types as explained in Plan Your Fitness.
Health Related Benefits
Wellness Benefits
Fitness Benefits
Higher levels of training, meaning greater frequency, duration, and intensity (effort) are only applicable if you are pursuing higher levels of competitive performance, or you want to be hard on yourself 😊
If the sessions are not enjoyable go through this check list:
Frequency: Be patient when starting out. Leave at a minimum 48 hours between sessions. Three times a week is enough for the first month or so.
Intensity: Commonly exercisers go ‘too hard’ and their Exercise Heart Rate will be too high and or they suffer sore muscles and/or joints. Stay in around the 60% level as a max when starting out and focus on achieving this intensity as an average Exercise Heart Rate for the session duration.
The session design will manage this once you have chosen your Exercise Level using the Session Selection Set
Time: The duration of each session again should be on the low end when starting out. Aim to get around 20 minutes as a starting duration.
Using this check list the first thing to do, to ensure success, is to teach yourself the frequency of sessions each week.
Limiting the sessions to the lower end of the duration scale will make this easier.
Also plan your session time for a time of the day when you have most control over your time.
Fitness conditioning concepts over time
General fitness conditioning has always taken its lead from competitive sport.
Over the last 50 years there has been a transition.
In the ‘70s and particularly with the 'Running Revolution' the emphasis was on high volume at varying levels of intensity.
I experienced this while focusing on the elite competitive level of swimming, targeting Olympic & Commonwealth Games and World Championship competitions.
Below is an example of this type of conditioning which is shown in my training logbook of the day.
This type of conditioning was considered the best practice of the day. My competitive highlights, again shown below are a testament.
Late in the 1970s advances were made in Sport Science to the effect that the 4 energy systems of the body were identified as modes of fitness conditioning, and trainers started to use this information.
The energy systems are discussed in the Topic: Your Energy Production and Calorie Burn
Up to date and good coaches and trainers now endeavour to use this information to varying levels of effectiveness.
However, it is one thing to know of these systems and it's another to practically apply the concepts and design sessions with appropriate reps and sets to gain the targeted benefits in a group training environment, using an effective Periodised Plan (management of training variables to optimise performance/benefits over time, seasonally and annually).
I have personally experienced all these types of conditioning.
My Competitive Highlights
As mentioned above, as a result of having a coach who used best practice of the day I experienced the following results.
Swimming
Awarded Australian Sport Medal 2000 – by Governor-General Australia
Olympic Games Team 1972
Olympic Silver 1500FS - Munich
Olympic Games Record
Olympic finalist 1972 Munich - 400FS (4th), 400IM (7th), 4 x 200FS (5th)
Olympic Games 1976 – Team Captain
Commonwealth Games Team 1970
Commonwealth Games Gold medal 1500mFS
Commonwealth Games Record
World Record set at a School State Carnival
World Championships Team 1975 Cali, Columbia
World Championship Finalist 1975 - 400 FS (4th) 200FS (7th)
World Best times (at the time, there was no recognition of World Records in 25m pools)
Australian records
All- American swimming for University of Tennessee
Best all-round swimmer in the 100+ year history of Australian swimming - A distinction I still hold today
Won titles in 10 different National events (7 individual, 3 relay), the most of any Swimmer
Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA)
National Open Surf and Belt Champion
National Surf Team
Open Water Swimming
National 10km Champion
Training Logbook extract
I mentioned above the training principles of the 1970s.
Below is an extract from my logbook. I trained at this level for 5 years of my swim career, at a time when I was targeting the 1500m Freestyle event.
As my handwriting was (is) not that good, so here is a translation of what is written.
Sunday am: 64 x 50m FS on 40; 2 x 1500m FS; 2 x 800 FS; 4 x 400FS; 4 x 200FS; 4 x 100FS; 4 x 50 FS.
Monday am: A loco 14 is 10.5 km (6.5 miles) straight no rest, alternating pace; 16 x 50 FS
Monday pm: 64 x 100 FS - 5 seconds rest; 8 x 400 FS on the 5min; 32 x 50 FS on 40
And so it went for the week, months... for 5 years.
I had 2 days off training for the year, Christmas and News Year; plus 2 weeks a year of lower volume, when on holidays.
Total for this week 110 Km, about 30 hours in the water.
My heart rate for nearly all sets and sessions was in the 180s, at or very close to Anaerobic Threshold, which meant I was nearly always using the 4th energy system: Aerobic System: Fat with oxygen
Later in my career, having learnt the latest training methods while training in Canada, I incorporated the other 3 energy systems into my session design, and coached myself into winning the 100mFS at the National Titles and into the 75 World Championship and 76 Olympic teams.
So, over the duration of 6 years in National teams, the change in session design proved successful, from the maximum endurance event 1500, to the maximum speed event (of the day) 100.
Recommended Reading: The Benefits of Resistance Training
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