7 Common Fitness Training Mistakes and How to Correct Them

7 Common Fitness Training Mistakes and How to Correct Them

When we begin a new fitness program, we are energized to work out and optimistic about achieving our goals. As the weeks pass, our enthusiasm may fade. Workouts may become less frequent and eventually cease altogether before we reap the anticipated benefits.

Studies show that 50% of individuals who start a self-monitored fitness program will stop exercising within six months. The dropout rate is very high when a fitness program is begun at a very high intensity level and when self-motivation to exercise is low. (1)

Following sound principles and practices can reduce exercise missteps, produce better results, and encourage fitness program adherence. The following are 7 common fitness training mistakes and suggestions for correcting them.

1. Vague goals. Goal setting is a key motivator for exercise adherence. Well-defined goals guide decisions about the types of exercises and regimens that will produce the intended results. Set both short-term and long-term goals that are specific, realistic, challenging, and achievable. (2)

2. Beginning fitness levels not assessed. When individuals begin exercise programs, they seldom take inventory of their initial health and fitness status. Assessments offer baseline measures on which to show progress. Test yourself on items related to your goals so that you have clear training targets and can establish reasonable time lines to achieve them. Reaching each milestone demonstrates success and inspires greater self confidence to continue exercising.

3. Loosely focused training program. Without appropriate exercise regimens that specifically target goals, results can be haphazard. A well-designed fitness program can streamline the path toward your expected outcomes while preventing the frustration of slow progress or no progress at all. Unless you are familiar with exercise principles, you may need to rely on professional guidance to develop a well-planned program.

4. Program not individualized. No two individuals are alike, nor do they respond in exactly the same way to exercise. Fitness level, gender, posture, medical history, personal goals, and many other factors provide a basis for individualizing exercise programs. Personalizing your program to fit your needs and preferences will yield faster results.

5. Working too hard. The "more-is-better" philosophy of training is not as effective as you might expect. Training with variations in workout routines produce better results than training to failure or exhaustion. Adequate recovery periods are necessary to prevent dropping out of exercise activities due to overtraining.

6. Not working hard enough. If exercise is too easy, you will be frustrated by the lack of results. A general guideline is to work out within a target zone of 60-85% of maximum effort. As you adapt to specific exercise regimens and your performances improve, you must gradually and progressively increase your work load so that you continue to train within the 60-85% range. (3)

7. Insufficient stretching. As muscles become stronger and tone improves, it is important to stretch prior to and after workouts. Maintaining adequate flexibility is essential for preventing aggravating injuries that can contribute to quitting exercise programs.

Fitness training mistakes are avoidable. As you learn more about exercise and apply sound principles, you will encounter fewer disappointments and realize more consistent gains. If you continue to work wisely, diligently, and safely, you can ultimately achieve your fitness goals.

References

1. Sullivan, P. (1991). Exercise adherence. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED330676). Retrieved from ERIC database.

2. Schmidt, R.A. & Wrisberg, C.A. (2000). Motor learning and performance: A problem-based learning approach (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

3. McArdle, W.D., Katch, F.I., & Katch, V.L. (2000). Essentials of exercise physiology (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins.


Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN and creator of [http://www.womens-weight-training-programs.com] and [http://fitness-adviser-tips.blogspot.com]. She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners to Olympians. Dr. Wood is a former national track and field champion with years of international experience. She has been recognized as an outstanding professor in exercise science and research/statistics.

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How to Set Your Fitness Training Goals.?

How to Set Your Fitness Training Goals

Setting fitness training goals is a first step toward giving direction to your exercise program. Goals project a path that leads to the level of health and fitness you envision. Clear measures of your expected outcomes crystallize your progress along the way.

Many can readily express their primary goal as, "to get fit". But what exactly will being fit look like, and how will you know when you have arrived?

There are many ways to demonstrate that your fitness level is improving. Subjectively, you may seem more vibrant, shapely, and toned. But you also need concrete ways of measuring improvements.

Correctly developed goals promote adherence to your fitness program. Witnessing visible progress inspires even greater effort toward achieving goals.

Ideal fitness goals are:

1. Stated in specific performance outcomes: The key is to select a few goals with clearly defined outcomes that exemplify the fitness qualities you hope to develop. Examples are: (a) wear size 12 jeans, (b) walk 5 miles without stopping, (c) bench press 200 pounds, or (d) reduce proportion of body fat weight to 25%.

2. Directly measurable: Each of these outcomes can be assessed early in training and evaluated throughout your program. They provide objective indicators of your improvement. There will be no question as to whether or not you have accomplished them.

3. Targeted for specific short-term and long-term completion dates: Set a date when you expect to achieve your long-term goals. Then establish short-term goals that you at specific dates along a time line (e.g., monthly, every 6 weeks). Short-term goals are mile markers-check points of your progress toward your long-term goals.

4. Realistic and achievable: Given your starting point or current condition, could you potentially achieve these fitness goals within the projected time line?

Goals should be challenging, but not overly aggressive or virtually impossible to reach. If you mistakenly set your goals too high or too low, adjust the targeted values and/or dates accordingly.

Examples of good goal statements are:
*Fit into size 14 jeans by April 1 and size 12 jeans by June 1.
*Walk 2 miles without resting by February 15, 4 miles by April 1, and 5 miles by June 1.
*Bench press 75 lbs. 5 times by April 15 and 100 lbs. one time by June 1.
*Achieve 30% body fat weight by March 1, and 25% by June 1.

Be patient as you navigate the path you set forth. Even if it takes longer than anticipated to achieve your fitness goals, celebrate your milestones and keep going!


Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN. She is the creator of [http://www.womens-weight-training-programs.com]

Dr. Wood is an inspirational motivator with an extensive toolbox of training techniques based in science and delivered to accelerate the learning curve. She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners with special needs to Olympians. Her mission: Teach sound principles, inspire life-changing actions.

Dr. Wood is a former track and field champion with extensive international experience. She was mentored by world-class Olympic lifters and a former Soviet coach. As a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee during the peak years of her athletic career, she coached many elite athletes in the field events and strength training. She has held many national positions in Olympic Development and with USA Track and Field.

As a career educator, Dr. Wood has been recognized for her work as an outstanding professor in the exercise sciences and research/statistics. Her experience with clients in physical therapy, allied health fields, and corporate fitness has further broadened her knowledge of human performance.

Dr. Wood earned her B.A. from Montclair State University in Health and Physical Education with teacher licensure, and both her M.S. and Ed.D. in Exercise Science from The University of Tennessee. Her areas of concentration were Motor Learning, Social and Psychological Aspects of Sport, and Research Design and Statistical Analysis. Dissertation topic: The Effect of Two Free Weight Training Programs on Selected Closed Motor Skills. She is a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and the American Society for Training and Development.

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8 Key Training Principles For Fitness and Sports Training

8 Key Training Principles For Fitness and Sports Training

The 8 Training Principles are research-based guidelines that can help you accelerate your training progress and optimize your results. Knowing how to apply these principles gives you an educated basis on which you can make informed decisions about designing your fitness or sports training program. The principles can also help you evaluate the merits of fitness equipment and personal training services.

All of the principles complement each other. For best results, they should be applied in concert throughout every phase of training.

1. Principle of Specificity suggests that your body will make adjustments according to the type of training you perform and in the very same muscles that you exercise. How you train determines what you get.

This principle guides you in designing your fitness training program. If your goal is to improve your overall level of fitness, you would devise a well-rounded program that builds both endurance and overall body strength. If you want to build the size of your biceps, you would increase weight loads on bicep curls and related exercises.

2. The Principle of Overload implies that you must continually increase training loads as your body adapts over time. Because your body builds and adjusts to your existing training regimen, you must gradually and systematically increase your work load for continued improvement.

A generally accepted guideline for weight training is to increase resistance not more than 10% per week. You can also use percentages of your maximum or estimated maximum level of performance and work out within a target training zone of about 60-85% of maximum. As your maximum performance improves, your training loads will increase, as well.

3. The Principle of Recovery assets that you must get adequate rest between workouts in order to recuperate. How much rest you need depends upon your training program, level of fitness, diet, and other factors.

Generally, if you perform a total body weight workout three days per week, rest at least 48 hours between sessions. You can perform cardio more frequently and on successive days of the week.

Over time, too little recovery can result in signs of overtraining. Excessively long periods of recovery time can result in a detraining effect.

4. The Principle of Reversibility refers to the loss of fitness that results after you stop training. In time, you will revert back to your pre-training condition. The biological principle of use and disuse underlies this principle. Simply stated, If you don't use it, you lose it.

While adequate recovery time is essential, taking long breaks results in detraining effects that may be noticeable within a few weeks. Significant levels of fitness are lost over longer periods. Only about 10% of strength is lost 8 weeks after training stops, but 30-40% of endurance is lost in the same time period.

The Principle of Reversibility does not apply to skills. The effects of stopping practice of motor skills, such as weight training exercises and sport skills, are very different. Coordination appears to store in long-term motor memory and remains nearly perfect for decades. A skill once learned is never forgotten.

5. The Principle of Variation implies that you should consistently change aspects of your workouts. Training variations should always occur within ranges that are aligned with your training directions and goals. Varying exercises, sets, reps, intensity, volume, and duration, for example, prevents boredom and promotes more consistent improvement over time. A well-planned training program set up in phases offers built-in variety to workouts, and also prevents overtraining.

6. The Principle of Transfer suggests that workout activities can improve the performance of other skills with common elements, such as sport skills, work tasks, or other exercises. For example, performing explosive squats can improve the vertical jump due to their common movement qualities. But dead lifting would not transfer well to marathon swimming due to their very dissimilar movement qualities.

7. The Principle of Individualization suggests that fitness training programs should be adjusted for personal differences, such as abilities, skills, gender, experience, motivation, past injuries, and physical condition. While general principles and best practices are good guides, each person's unique qualities must be part of the exercise equation. There is no one size fits alltraining program.

8. The Principle of Balance is a broad concept that operates at different levels of healthy living. It suggests that you must maintain the right mix of exercise, diet, and healthy behaviors. Falling out of balance may cause a variety of conditions (e.g., anemia, obesity) that affect health and fitness. In short, it suggests all things in moderation.

If you go to extremes to lose weight or build fitness too quickly, your body will soon respond. You could experience symptoms of overtraining until you achieve a healthy training balance that works for you.

For fitness training, balance also applies to muscles. If opposing muscles (e.g., hamstrings and quadriceps in the upper legs) are not strengthened in the right proportions, injuries can result. Muscle imbalances also contribute to tendinitis and postural deviations.

Keep these 8 Training Principles in mind as you design and carry out your fitness training program. They can help you make wise exercise decisions so you can achieve your goals more quickly with less wasted effort.


Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN. She is the creator of [http://www.womens-weight-training-programs.com]

Dr. Wood is an inspirational motivator with an extensive toolbox of training techniques based in science and delivered to accelerate the learning curve. She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners with special needs to Olympians. Her mission: Teach sound principles, inspire life-changing actions.

Dr. Wood is a former track and field champion with extensive international experience. She was mentored by world-class Olympic lifters and a former Soviet coach. As a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee during the peak years of her athletic career, she coached many elite athletes in the field events and strength training. She has held many national positions in Olympic Development and with USA Track and Field.

As a career educator, Dr. Wood has been recognized for her work as an outstanding professor in the exercise sciences and research/statistics. Her experience with clients in physical therapy, allied health fields, and corporate fitness has further broadened her knowledge of human performance.

Dr. Wood earned her B.A. from Montclair State University in Health and Physical Education with teacher licensure, and both her M.S. and Ed.D. in Exercise Science from The University of Tennessee. Her areas of concentration were Motor Learning, Social and Psychological Aspects of Sport, and Research Design and Statistical Analysis. Dissertation topic: The Effect of Two Free Weight Training Programs on Selected Closed Motor Skills. She is a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and the American Society for Training and Development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_K._Wood,_Ed.D.

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How to Design a Fitness Training Plan

How to Design a Fitness Training Plan

Your fitness plan should be designed to provide clear and personalized toward achieving their goals address information. It is an exercise of all its activities into a cohesive program for the success of the project organized.


Before designing your plan, set specific goals in training. In addition, the results of any health or performance related, such as body composition, stress testing or stress tests evaluations answer. Your goals and current status offer useful information on where you can create your individual fitness program.


01/06 steps summarize how to design your plan.


1. Define your target date for achieving their goals and work backwards to the present.


2. Divide your total time online training phases of at least 4 weeks (with some freedom) from its initial conditioning phase.


3. Set a goal for each phase of training so that, collectively, they take you to your goals. For example, the layers may have the effect of increasing the fitness of strength, cardiovascular fitness, or maintain physical fitness. All exercise activities must work together in the same phase. Using phases or training cycles, called periodization.


4. In each phase or cycle, including changes per week and per day in a range that suits the purpose of the phase. Small variations in training schemes produce more consistent profits and avoid boredom.


5. Select the primary and secondary plans to incorporate exercises in your program in the light of the exercise equipment and ease you have. Work on the prescribed exercises that can be received from a healthcare professional.


6. detailed daily workouts for the first phase of the training plan. Select exercises and activities for each training session and determine the order in which they occur. Allow enough time for all activities, including heating and cooling.


Once completed the design, implementation of the first phase of the training plan. Evaluate your progress and discuss the next and, later, in the light of how they are progressing towards their fitness training phases objectives.


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7 Reasons Why to Test Your Fitness Level

7 Reasons Why to Test Your Fitness Level

Starting a fitness program without testing your fitness level is like beginning a journey without knowing exactly where you and having no map to guide you to your destination. Fitness testing establishes your starting point. Plotting out check points along your fitness pathway can direct you toward achieving both short-term and long-term goals.

Seven reasons for fitness testing before and during your exercise program are to:

1. Establish your baseline. When you know initial fitness status, you know how far you have to go to reach your goals. Testing helps you set specific, achievable yet challenging goals with realistic target dates.

2. Compare yourself to others. Many tests are standardized. They provide norms, so you know where you stand in relationship to the "average" person's score.

3. Individualize your program. Knowing your fitness level springs you out of the one-size-fits-all exercise mold and jumpstarts your personalized, streamlined training path.

4. Know how hard to work. You can estimate your optimum training range using maximum or predicted maximum fitness scores. For most phases of training, exercise intensity is typically performed within a target zone of 60-85% of your maximum cardio or strength level.

5. Evaluate your progress. When you measure your progress regularly, you can see how far you have advanced from your baseline fitness level. Each milestone that you achieve is a great confidence booster that propels you on toward your goals.

6. Revise your program. Regular fitness evaluations indicate areas where you are make great strides, and other areas that demand more emphasis. Intermittent testing drives data-driven decisions, eliminating much of the guesswork about how to adjust your program to keep you on target.

7. Achieve your goals. The concrete path set by the fitness score patterns leads you on a nonstop journey to your final fitness destination. Once you achieve your goals, continued testing helps monitors your fitness level maintenance.

While some assessments are more complex, many fitness tests are simple to conduct. For example, your resting heart rate (RHR) is an indicator of cardiovascular fitness. As you exercise, your heart gains the capacity to pump more blood with each stroke, so it beats fewer times per minute. Take your pulse as soon as you wake up in the morning and note the weekly changes over time.

For weight loss, use an online calculator to estimate your body mass index, an indicator of body fat based on height and weight. Online calculators (i.e., basal energy expenditure and physical activity calculators) can also estimate the number of calories you expend each day. This allows you to more accurately plan exercise activities and food intake over time. Remember, every 3500-calorie deficit equals one pound of body fat loss.

For strenuous performance tests, it is not advisable to attempt maximum efforts before you have completed a conditioning phase, unless you are supervised by a health professional. For strength, use submaximal attempts (e.g., maximum weight lifted for 5 or 10 repetitions). For cardio, use a calculator (or the Karvonen formula) to determine your maximum predicted heart rate based on age.

Treat test results as estimates--not absolutes. All measurements are subject to error. Look for consistencies and trends over time. Do not be discouraged by minor deviations in your scores that may well be due to testing error.

Keep a journal to record your quantitative (numeric) test scores, as well as qualitative results-your perceptions and observations about exercising. You can accelerate progress toward your goals when you:

(a) follow your fitness testing mile markers
(b) listen to your body, and
(c) revise your training program accordingly.

Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN and creator of [http://www.womens-weight-training-programs.com] and http://www.sports-training-adviser.com She is an inspirational motivator with an extensive toolbox of training techniques based in science and delivered to accelerate the learning curve. Dr. Wood is a former USA Track and Field champion who has represented her country internationally on more than 20 USA National Teams. She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners with special needs to Olympians.

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10 Effective Tips on Exercise Motivation

10 Effective Tips on Exercise Motivation

Exercise motivation starts with making changes. Working out requires a change of lifestyle from what may be comfortable, though unhealthy. Changing your attitude toward exercise triggers the action to establish new lifestyle patterns.

The motivation to exercise stems from envisioning the benefits. If you can image how fitness will improve your life, and believe that you can achieve your desired results, you will create the outcomes.

If mental inertia inhibits you from starting a fitness program, take small steps to overcome it. These 10 effective tips on exercise motivation can help you take action:

1. Practice initiating change. No matter how insignificant or seemingly unrelated to exercise, change your habits. Drive a different way to work, rearrange the furniture, or alter the daily order of things. Just practice change.

2. Let go of the past. Clean out a closet and get rid of things. Release the clutter in your mind. Purge the old to make room for the new--attitudes and behaviors included.

3. Do any physical activity that you feel good about. Just to get active, complete a project that requires some energy--paint a room, go on a hike, jog around the bases at a ball park, or ride a bike. Exercise can be more fun than running on a treadmill.

4. Start writing. Keep a workout journal. Record what you do, how you feel, and even what you eat. Subtle changes in patterns are more evident when you review your journal and reflect on your progress.

5. Set up a goal chart and time line. Choose specific, realistic goals and deadlines for reaching them. Identify how you will measure your progress. Seeing real improvements boosts your confidence and motivates you to continue.

6. Commit to an exercise schedule. Make your workouts a priority. The time dedicated to fitness improves the quality of your life. Try not to compromise it.

7. Find a workout partner or group. Meet on a regular basis. Support and encourage each other, and hold each other accountable for staying on track.

8. Change your workouts daily. Design your program so that no two workouts are alike. Vary your exercises, intensity, duration, volume--anything that prevents boredom and predictability.

9. Keep going! Exercise adherence is the key to success. If you miss a day, it should be the exception. Do not get into the habit of making excuses not to exercise.

10. Celebrate successes! When you reach milestones, reward yourself. Each checkpoint shows that you are closer to reaching your goals.

Once you have achieved your exercise goals, perform a maintenance program to retain your new fitness status. If you decide to continue on to higher goals, be sure to adjust your exercise program in the desired direction.

Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN and creator of [http://www.womens-weight-training-programs.com] and http://www.sports-training-adviser.com She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners to Olympians. Dr. Wood is a former national track and field champion with years of international experience. She has been recognized as an outstanding professor in exercise science and research/statistics. She is an inspirational motivator with an extensive toolbox of training techniques based in science and delivered to accelerate the learning curve.

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7 Sport Memory Techniques to Accelerate Skill Learning

7 Sport Memory Techniques to Accelerate Skill Learning

Sport skill memory is developed when athletes learn and remember motor skills. Motor memory techniques can accelerate the skill acquisition process so athletes can progress to higher levels of sport performance more quickly.

Motor learning principles are drawn from psychology and applied to sports training. Coaches can use the following sport memory techniques to speed up skill learning and retention for athletes of any age:

1. Help athletes learn skills correctly the first time. Initial learning is most impressionable. A skill learned incorrectly is often difficult to re-pattern. Coaches should monitor and guide athletes to learn proper technique when athletes are still in the early stages of learning.

2. Teach skill rhythms first, then refine the movements. Athletes can learn and recall rhythmic movements more quickly than isolated movements, just as rhymes are more readily remembered in verbal learning.

3. Chunk movements. Movements can be learned and processed if they are "chunked", or grouped, into larger movements. This grouping technique increases an athlete's capacity to learn and perform sport skills. Break skills down only as much as necessary. Overanalysis causes paralysis.

4.Make new skills meaningful. Explain and demonstrate new skills so that the athlete understands what the skill requires and why it is executed that way. Also make clear how a skill, movement, or strategy will help the athlete improve sport performance.

5. Associate new skills and concepts with well learned skills. Athletes learn new skills more quickly if key movements make sense to them. A coach can capitalize on an athlete's previous experience and maturity level by suggesting mental images that associate new skill concepts and features with familiar ones.

6. Point out specific cues that require the athlete's attention. Intention to remember alerts an athlete to important aspects of a skill or game situation. An athlete's ability to focus and remember key cues distinguishes beginners from skilled performers.

7. Overlearn skills to correct errors. Overlearning means practicing skills beyond what is necessary to perform them properly. It is effective for correcting previously learned errors and for reinforcing properly coordinated movements.

Sport memory techniques such as these can streamline training, saving valuable time and effort. These are just a few of the many tools used for how to effectively convey what skills and strategies athletes need to know.

Dr. Denise K. Wood is an educator and sport and fitness training consultant from Knoxville, TN and creator of http://www.sports-training-adviser.com

She is an inspirational motivator with an extensive toolbox of training techniques. Dr. Wood is a former USA Track and Field champion and member of more than 20 USA National Teams. She has trained a wide range of clients from beginners with special needs to Olympians.

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