Reach your Peak.
Written By Emma Murray
Whether it’s starting back up exercise after a period of time off, or coming back from an injury or performance related goals; everyone can benefit from this little nugget of information.
More often than not the injuries seen are from training load errors. That is exercising or training beyond what the body is capable of too quickly - and exceeds a training load of >10-20%. If this maladaptive loading pattern is to carry on for a period of time, the body may not fully recover before the next bout of exercise. As a result this can increase injury rates and the dreaded 'time off' call. However, we do need to exceed the current threshold of our tissue to make adaptation to see benefits in our performance or fitness levels.
So, where is this elusive grey line to not overload and exceed tissue adaptation? ... THINK 10%. This can be done through duration, intensity, frequency or load (weight) applied to the body.
Duration. As simple as how long the stimulus is applied to the body or length of exercise bout. If you walk for a total of 150mins per week add 10% for a period of 4weeks. Then an additional 10% thereafter so your body and tissue adapt to the stimulus with enough recovery time.
Intensity. We have so much technology to help us with this one - smart watches with heart rate or simply your rating of perceived exertion out of 10. For those maths brain, our max heart rate is 220 minus age x moderate intensity exercise (60-70%) which will provide you with a target to reach. As you get fitter to achieve 60-70% of your max heart rate you’ll have to do more strenuous bouts of exercise.
Frequency. Times per week the exercise bout is performed.
Load. Increase reps and sets or actual weight increments of 10%. i.e. 8-12reps 2-3sets.
*Allow 24-48hours between the same bout of exercise or different activities to use different muscles to allow tissue recovery.
Let’s get creative - set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound) goals. Let’s get moving and reach your peak!
Go get them you little goal setters.