Free Essay Sample on Athletes Workout

Athletics is one of the most common sports in the world. It involves activities such as running jumping throwing or walking. These activities are done competitively after being organized by different organizers. The World Athletics body is responsible for global athletics competitions such as the Olympics and others. It is a very worthy competition since the winners are awarded medals and money. Businesses have chipped in making it more competitive and valuable. Therefore to win in any competition, athletes have to train so hard to outshine their competitors. The training has been developed and improved over the years by sports experts, coaches, and trainers. With the help of different equipment, athletes can train in a schedule designed by their coaches. This paper designs a 36-week training program for an athlete.

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Programs for training can be different from one event to another; however, there are general programs that can be used by all athletes regardless of the events they are participating in. These programs are aimed at building general body fitness and health. That is why nutritional guidelines will be included 36 weeks is a long time which is equivalent to almost 9 months, this is a period that is best for athletes who are training to compete in a long-distance run like the 10,000-meter race, half and full marathons. Nine months can also be used to train new people who want to become athletes. This normally happens in sports camps. The training can also happen at home provided there are an instructor and the required facilities and equipment.

The 36-week training program can be split into different phases. In 36 weeks it is possible to design a 4-phase training program that takes 4 weeks each.

Phase 1

Assuming that the athlete's asymmetries are okay, which includes the athlete's health, body structure, weight, muscle strength is fine. The phase is further subdivided into weeks. On phase is equivalent to 4 weeks, a week has 5 days of full training and two days of rest. In this program, an athlete is supposed to start the day with a morning run. The morning run is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 AM.The morning run is an activity that involves jogging and should take at least 2 hours. In 2 hours, an athlete has to cover a distance of 5 kilometers. The morning run is aimed at warming up the body of the athlete for the day's activities although it is also an activity on its own. After the morning run at 9:00 AM, the athlete is supposed to do somebody stretches. The stretches will help the athlete to loosen the muscle and avoid muscle complications such as arm strains. It also helps to prevent muscle pulls. Warm down activities like slow breathing in and out and slow swinging of arms are also included. After the morning run, the athlete takes a break for breakfast. The breakfast should contain a range of 500 calories to 600 calories; they include food like whole-grain toast, nuts, and milk (Sibley & Bergman 2018). This kind of food is rich in proteins and carbohydrates, apples can be added to supplement for vitamins.

The second session on Monday of the first week in phase one in the training programs is drilling. It starts at 11:00 am after a short rest. The drilling process takes approximately three hours where the athletes break for lunch. Drilling is a process where an athlete is subjected to hard training on specific aspects of the sport (Mitchell 2018). For marathon runner trainees, an athlete is drilled on how to have endurance, develop speed, and other technicalities of the sport. An example of a drill is a short sprint of about 200 meters and a jog for a rest and the process is repeated several times for about three hours. Through this drill, an athlete will develop speed in the sport and will be in a better position to compete with other athletes during the time of the contest. After the second session of the day, the athlete takes off for a lunch break. The nutrition guidelines for lunch are foods such as grilled chicken, peanut butter, scrambled eggs, or a fruit smoothie (Bourgeois, et al.2017). These food are rich in carbohydrates and proteins, they are very essential for an athlete. The evening session involves the evening runs. It is a normal run with a moderate speed and it takes a distance of 5 kilometers. It should take an average of 30 minutes. The session is followed by warm-down activities. The session should end before 5:00 pm to give time to the athlete to take a shower and rest awaiting the second day of the training program. The nutritional guidelines for dinner should contain muscle-building proteins and vitamin B12 for energy. Any kind of food which contains at least two of the nutritional value will be okay.

The whole process is repeated for four weeks. After completion of four weeks, the second phase of the training is set to start. Repetition is an important aspect of training; it helps in maintaining consistency during training. It also helps an athlete to develop a skillfully after training. When a training session is repeated several times, the body will get used to it and during the time of competition, an athlete will not have a difficult time during the race.

Phase 2

Phase two of the training program starts after completion of the four weeks which made phase 1 and will take four weeks two. The second phase will be slightly different from the first phase. It is broken down into four weeks and seven days a week. Each day contains three parts of training just like in the first phase. The morning run, day drilling, and the evening training sessions. In the morning, the training starts with a morning run but will cover an additional distance. An addition of another 5 kilometers will be good for the athletes. The session will also last for a longer time and will be of a higher speed; therefore, ending at 8:00 AM.Strectches will be conducted after morning run but more intensely. The stretches targets to strengthen the muscles and bones (Taheri, et al.2019). It also makes the athlete flexible. The stretches will be of higher distance and wider angles as compared to those in the first phase. The reason for increasing the intensity of training in the second phase is to bring progress in training. Training programs should be progressive but in a regular form. The nutrition guidelines are similar to those in the first phase. Any food that contains the nutritional value and the number of calories is recommended. Water is also an important thing during training, there should be enough water during training and after meals.

Phase 3

The third phase is similar to the first and second phases. The only difference is that there is an increase in distance covered from the previous phase during morning runs. There is also more intensity in the drills and stretches. More time is added to the training session. This is the most intense part of the training. Athletes are required to run a distance almost equivalent to that of the competition. It is at this phase where an athlete is determined to be competitive enough to participate in top competitions. World record in the competition is put to test during the phase. It is a phase where an athlete reveals their capabilities in the kind of sport. It also takes four weeks with three sessions every day.

Phase 4

This is the last phase of the training program for 36 weeks. At this stage, athletes have developed and adopted all the drills employed during the training in the past three phases. The athletes have endured for a long period. At this phase, the timetable for the daily sessions is maintained but it is reduced. This will enable the athletes to maintain the energy they will use during competitions. There are no more drills however; competition tactics are learned in the phase. A lot of motivation is given to athletes to enable them to have the mental strength which will be employed during the competition. The reduction of the training intensity is also to avoid injuries that occur during training (Morris, et al.2017). Massage is done at this point to relax the muscles.

Upon completion of all the phases of the training program. Athletes will be ready for competitions. In conclusion, the four phases are characterized by a busy schedule of hard training, drills, warm-ups, and runs. It drains the minds but strengthens the physical body. The program is one of the longest in athletics; it is mostly used in long-distance running.

References

Sibley, B. A., & Bergman, S. M. (2018). What keeps athletes in the gym? Goals, psychological needs, and motivation of Cross Fit™ participants. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 16(5), 555-574.

Mitchell, V. (2018). The Effect Of Restaurant Menu Labeling On Attitudes Towards Menu Labeling And Eating Behaviors Of Ncaa Athletes, Recreational Athletes, And Non-Athletes In A University Setting.

Bourgeois, F. A., Gamble, P., Gill, N. D., & McGuigan, M. R. (2017). Effects of a six-week strength training program on change of direction performance in youth team sport athletes. Sports, 5(4), 83.

Morris, M. E., Taylor, N. F., Watts, J. J., Evans, A., Horne, M., Kempster, P., ... & Menz, H. B. (2017). A home program of strength training, movement strategy training, and education did not prevent falls in people with Parkinson's disease: a randomized trial. Journal of physiotherapy, 63(2), 94-100.

Taheri, M., Irandoust, K., Seghatoleslamy, A., Eshaghi, S., & Valayi, F. (2019). The acute effect of breakfast cereal consumption on inhibitory cognitive control in competitive male collegiate athletes with habitual breakfast skipping. Biological Rhythm Research, 1-7.