The Little Black Book of Training Wisdom: How to train to improve at any sport

the neural system also controls the potential range of motion of the joints during movement to minimise injury risk. Thus training for improved mobility should also address these factors to ensure that any improvements in the potential mobility of the joints can be accessed during movement.

The anaerobic system is dependent on the aerobic base as both a determinant of the intensity at which anaerobic energy production is required and for the processing of some of the products of anaerobic metabolism;

in progressive overload programmes the rate of progression in loading is normally greater than the rate of improvement in performance capability. However, if we train with the minimum effective dose we will firstly start our training using the smallest amount of overload, and then each week we will progress the overload by the smallest effective in

What is the minimum stimulus or stress that results in an adaptation? What is the result of a greater applied stress? Is the alarm phase lengthened or the performance decrement greater? Is the resulting adaptation greater? If the alarm phase is lengthened, does the greater adaptation compensate for the longer GAS cycle?

If the rest periods are very short (say the length of the interval itself) then this will be a predominantly aerobic challenge and the athlete will not be able to run the intervals at their maximum speed. If the rest periods are around 2 to 3 minutes in length the athlete will be able to run close to their maximum speed, at least for the first coup

fundamental human abilities that are commonly targeted by training I will distinguish between “skills” and “capacities.” In this context, a skill reflects the athlete’s ability to control their body accurately, efficiently and in a timely manner. Conversely, a capacity is the athlete’s ability to express a given quality – for instance, the maximum

A person’s maximum speed capability is dependent on how quickly they can generate the vertical impulse required to propel themselves back into the air, on each step, during high speed running;

A tangible unit will be one that is more influenced by GAS considerations and that will be relatively more focussed on making tangible adaptations; An intangible unit will be one that is more influenced by the practice model of training and that will be relatively more focussed on making intangible adaptations.

That is that a relatively small amount of the training that you do each week will account for most of your improvements.