Yury's Corner

Using Exercises In The Right Order

In high performance sports there is a term called periodization of training,  which means that a training process should be divided into certain phases or time periods. The biggest one is the 4 year long Olympic cycle, then there's an annual period, smaller 2-4 month long (off season, pre-season, peak of season, post peak) cycles, and weekly. Combining small ones into bigger one allows an athlete to have better control of his/her program, and also helps the athlete adjust and peak at the right time. All of the periods have different goals, value, and intensity, and use different tools and exercises.

In fitness it is slightly different, as people don't compete and don't have to peak at certain times. Conditioning training for sports, on the other hand, is only one part of the annual cycle and is usually done off season or at the beginning of the season. But there is something important to consider - to get the best results in training you must have a particular schedule (or order of exercises) used in the weekly cycle and daily routine. In the other words, it is very important to know how to connect different types of exercises in one program.

There are five major types of exercises used in training: flexibility or mobility, skills training, quickness or speed, strength, and endurance.

 

1. Flexibility, or joint mobility, allows us to increase the range of motion, which generates stronger forces needed in both sports and everyday life.

 

2. Skills training is a program where you are learning/improving/polishing some new exercise technique.

 

3. Quickness, or speed training, is about doing something faster, including reaction time to the signal, visual or auditory, and frequency of the movement.

 

4. Strength training encompasses a few different types, such as maximal strength (ability of produce maximal muscle force), power or explosiveness (maximal afford in the shortest period of time), and muscular endurance.

 

5. Endurance (muscular and aerobic) is the ability to sustain fatigue without losing proper form.

During a single workout or weekly program you would follow the order mentioned above. Structuring your program in this manner works with your physiology and is more efficient. You don't necessary need all of them in one session or even in one week. It this case, just skip things you aren't focusing on. As an example, if you don't do skill and speed work, go from flexibility to strength and then to endurance. Never start your routine a long cardiovascular session. You still need a warm-up, but don't do it for more than 10-15 min. If you do double sessions, you should do cardio at the end of the day or right after the other parts (depending on the intensity of the session).

 

Best of luck!

 

~Yury