Nov 15, 20222 min read

The S.P.O.R.T Training Principles

Updated: Apr 9, 2023

Want to get fitter?

You'll need to design a training program! But it is really important to have some guidelines about what you do within your training program to ensure that it is effective and actually achieves your fitness goal.

This is where the S.P.O.R.T principles come in!

S.P.O.R.T stands for:

Specificity
Progression
Overload
Reversibility (Or rest)
Tedium

Here is what they all mean:

Sometimes 'Progression' and 'Overload' are combined to create 'Progressive Overload.' This has the same meaning and simply means increasing 1 aspect of your training each 1-2 weeks - either frequency, intensity, time or type.

Reversibility is also linked to rest. Your body NEEDS rest to recover from training, adapt and grow. But, too much rest will lead to reversibility (Or a decrease in performance). In general, 1-2 rest days is the maximum you should have between training, depending of the type of training.

So there you have it...the S.P.O.R.T principles!

Next time you are training, think about incorporating these into your program to make sure you are getting the most benefit from your hard work!

A good process for designing a training program using these principles would be:

Identify your goal (Could be increase muscle, improve cardiovascular endurance or anything else)
Select the appropriate training methods (Training types) that are going to achieve this goal. Check out this article to learning more about training methods!
Create your training program schedule!
- Aim for 4-8 weeks
- Start with frequency (For example: Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
- Add in training methods (type of training) and make sure it is specific to your goal, include variety throughout the week
- Increase the difficult each 2 weeks of your program (Example: add more time, repetitions or sets, or increase intensity)