Ah, the million dollar question in the world of sport and fitness: how do I get better / faster / stronger? *Daft Punk begins to play.*

The answer is a bit like Shrek (i.e. a bit like an onion (i.e. it has many layers)).

A first and rather obvious layer is that you have to train right. But what exactly does training right even mean? This is where we can turn to exercise physiology.

Exercise physiology is all about looking at how the body adapts and changes under the influence of exercise. Some of these are acute (i.e. short term) effects: heavy breathing, increased heart rate, increased stroke volume etc. Some of these are chronic (i.e. long term) effects: muscle growth, increased VO2 max etc. Understanding what changes you want to make and the best way to make them can tell you how to structure your training for the best possible results.

This post is going to keep it fairly simple and fairly general, but I will go into much more detail in further posts. There are a number of basic principles that you should first try to understand in order to work out how improve your performance:

• Principle of overload:

Exercise must be done at a higher level than before in order for the body to adapt. This may mean greater duration, greater intensity or greater frequency.

• Principle of specificity:

Only that which is increasingly stressed will adapt. This could be a system (i.e. the cardiovascular system) or a particular muscle (i.e. the glutes/quads/triceps).

• Principle of individuality:

The exact response to a particular stress will be different for different individuals. You’re mum was right; you really are unique.

• Principle of reversibility:

Inactivity will eventually lead to a reverse of the physiological changes training has made.

So in summary you need to consistently follow a progressive training plan, specific both to your training goals and to your body. This will encourage your body to adapt to be able to produce power in the most efficient way. Thus you will get better / faster / stronger.

However training is not the only thing that should be considered. There are another of other important aspects:

1. Recovery – Exercise alone essentially just breaks your body down as you put your muscles and your cardiovascular system under great deals of stress. To get stronger you then need to repair, a process only achieved through proper recovery.
2. Nutrition – This is firstly an important aspect of recovery. However it can also be highly beneficial to help make the most of your sessions as your body is able to work harder with proper fuel.
3. Technique and tactics – You could be trying as hard as you like but if you’re not applying your strength or fitness in the best possible way you’re just wasting energy. For team sports tactics can play a huge role. Flexibility and range of motion also come into this.
4. Psychology – This is not to be underestimated. It can make a break a race or performance.

So if you’ve ever wondered why elite sportspeople have such a huge team of people supporting them this is why. Exercise physiologists, nutritionists, coaches, physiotherapists, psychologists and more all have their own role to play. Each helps an athlete get that extra few percent out of themselves and each few percent can mean the difference between winning and losing.