With only 19 days until the start of the World Masters Games in Sydney, we called on our friends at the AIS to provide some advice for all budding masters athletes.
The keys for achieving results at any age and any level of competition remain constant!
Planning — essential for all training programs
1.Start by determining the physical qualities required for the sport at the desired level of competition.
2.Make an assessment of your current physical qualities.
3.Look at your past injuries and any possible short or long-term implications they may have on training.
4.Develop a plan of the type of training needed.
5.Develop a time line that allows the desired qualities to be developed. This can vary from short (a few months) to long (years).
Periodisation
Periodisation is an organised approach to training that involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period of time. It is a continuation of the planning process which involves breaking the long-term plan into smaller blocks:
•yearly
•training phase (off season, pre-season and competition)
•training blocks (three–six weeks)
•weekly
•daily.
Periodisation is used to guide each year of the training program to create a clear progression in training. It allows for variation in the focus on different training elements in conjunction with your development and the competition cycle.
Exercise selection
•Exercises and training protocols should be selected with the your specific sport development in mind.
•Understand the exercise and training protocol and the effect it will have on you: increases in strength, power, endurance, general fitness or muscle growth.
•Use multi-joint free weight exercises where possible (and where safe) as they are more effective for the development of sporting specific qualities.
•Lifting weights can be beneficial for everyone and if done correctly will not increase muscle mass at all.
•You should first develop good technique before attempting to increase load. You should also learn the basic lifts before progressing to more complex lifts.
•Failure in lifting weights is not when a weight is dropped but when technique breaks down.
•All training programs should make small variations in load, volume or intensity to continually challenge you and progress your development.
Final thoughts
•Always have a plan.
•All programs should be challenging: if the training becomes too easy the body will adapt very quickly and progress will stagnate.
•Most injuries occur when there is a large change in training load or intensity: always progressively add training elements that work with the training plan.
•Consistency is the key: without a consistent approach to training, regularity of session, effort during sessions and recovery after sessions the chance of high performance results is very limited.
It may be a bit late for you to start training for the 2009 World Masters Games but the next Australian Masters Games will be held in 2011 & the next World Masters Games will be held in 2014. Now theres some motivation!
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