How to create your training plan? Guide

I think each of us has heard that planning is half the battle. Although it sounds lofty and somewhat old-fashioned, it is impossible to disagree with it. When planning our day, we are able to do more than if we did everything ‘on the go’. What’s more, with an earlier preparation of the daily schedule, the tasks performed are characterized by greater efficiency – after all, you have to work out everything that has been planned. It is no different in the case of the training process.

Planning is the key to success

In competitive sports, planning an annual training plan is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of the work of the training staff (primarily the trainer). It is then that the main and accompanying competitions are selected, the dates of control examinations and trips to training camps are determined, as well as the number of training sessions in individual training periods. It is worth remembering, however, that planning an annual training program is also important in amateur sports, or in the case of people systematically practicing physical activity. A properly selected training plan significantly brings you closer to achieving the set goal.

Step one – define a training goal

Planning an annual training program should begin with setting your main training goal. In the case of professional athletes it is very easy – most often it is to achieve a certain place in a specific, predetermined main competition. People who exercise as amateurs do not always have such an opportunity. After all, not everyone who trains ‘for themselves’ takes part in competitions, even the amateur ones. In the case of these people, the main training goal may be the desire to achieve the best figure for the holidays, run a certain distance, or maintain high physical fitness for as long as possible. When setting your training goal, remember that on the one hand it must be realistic to achieve, and on the other hand, it must be a challenge – it must not be too conservative.

Step two – set training periods

Regardless of whether the annual training plan is intended for a professional athlete or an amateur of systematic physical activity, it must consist of three periods:

1. the preparatory period – time spent on building the form
2. the starting period – time to stay in top shape
3. transition period – time devoted to active recreation

Such a planned annual training plan allows you to reach the peak of form within the prescribed period, for example during a holiday trip. What’s more, it also prevents overtraining as well as fatigue and boredom with training. It should be emphasized that all the above-mentioned periods of the annual training plan apply to both professional athletes and people exercising “for themselves”.

Step three – divide your training periods

It should be remembered that the human body cannot be in its maximum form all the time. Likewise, you cannot do very intense workouts all the time. Hence, the individual training periods must be broken down into smaller parts, so-called mesocycles. They differ from each other, among other things, in the intensity and volume of training that occur in them, depending on the tasks they are to perform. It is extremely important to plan rebuilding and supporting mesocycles, which are the so-called active rest, in the right place of the annual training program. They will allow the body to rest and regenerate before the next very intense workouts.

Step four – plan individual trainings

The last stage of creating an annual training plan is to plan individual training sessions for the whole year. When creating trainings, you should especially remember that they should perform the tasks set for specific mesocycles and training periods. It is equally important that they take into account the adaptive changes that occur in the body as a result of systematic training.

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Damian Yefremienko Coach

Master of physical education with a training specialty, graduate of postgraduate studies in dietetics and nutritional counseling at the Medical University in Poznań, doctoral student at the Department of Sport Theory of the University of Physical Education in Poznań, physical recreation instructor specializing in strength exercises, would-be physiotherapist. scientific. He hates mediocrity and cursory problem solving. Personalization and a holistic approach to the patient are “obvious obvious” for him. She loves to share her knowledge and is eager to expand it. He is most interested in all issues related to the physiology of exercise. Passionate about mountain tourism and new technologies

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