Applying Principles of Training to Your PEP

This lesson covers how to apply the principles of training to your Personal Exercise Programme. The Edexcel GCSE PE specification (1PE0 — Topic 2) requires you to understand the principles of training and, for the PEP, to demonstrate how they have been applied in practice. This is one of the most important areas for achieving Level 4/5 — a PEP that merely states the principles without applying them to the actual programme will remain at Level 3 or below. You must show how specificity, progressive overload, individual needs and FITT shaped every aspect of your programme design.

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The Principles of Training

The key principles of training that the Edexcel specification requires are:

Principle	Definition
Specificity	Training must be relevant to the individual and their sport. It should target the specific component of fitness, muscle groups, energy systems, and movement patterns required.
Progressive overload	Gradually increasing the demands of training over time to continue making improvements. The body adapts to the current training load, so the load must increase to trigger further adaptation.
Individual needs (individual differences)	The programme must be designed to meet the specific needs, goals, fitness level and abilities of the individual. No two people should have the same programme.
Rest and recovery	Allowing the body time to repair and adapt between training sessions. Without adequate rest, performance declines and the risk of injury increases (overtraining).
Reversibility	If training stops or is significantly reduced, the body will lose the fitness gains made. "Use it or lose it."
Overtraining	Training too much without adequate rest, leading to fatigue, injury, illness, decreased performance and loss of motivation.
FITT	A framework for structuring training: Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type.

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FITT in Detail

FITT is the most practical framework for structuring your PEP. You must make specific decisions for each element and justify them.

graph TD
    FITT["<b>FITT Principle</b>"] --> F["<b>F</b>requency<br>How often?<br>e.g. 3 sessions/week"]
    FITT --> I["<b>I</b>ntensity<br>How hard?<br>e.g. 60–80% max HR"]
    FITT --> T1["<b>T</b>ime<br>How long?<br>e.g. 35 minutes/session"]
    FITT --> T2["<b>T</b>ype<br>What method?<br>e.g. fartlek training"]

    style FITT fill:#3498db,color:#fff
    style F fill:#27ae60,color:#fff
    style I fill:#e67e22,color:#fff
    style T1 fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff
    style T2 fill:#9b59b6,color:#fff

Frequency

How often you train per week.

• The PEP requires a minimum of 3 sessions per week for at least 4 weeks.
• Most students train 3–4 times per week.
• Justification should consider: school commitments, other sports/activities, the need for rest days between sessions.

"I will train 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), allowing at least one rest day between each session. This frequency meets the minimum requirement and gives my cardiovascular system adequate time to recover and adapt between sessions."

Intensity

How hard each session is. Intensity can be measured in different ways depending on the training method:

Training Method	How to Measure Intensity
Continuous / fartlek / HIIT	Heart rate — as a percentage of maximum heart rate (MHR). MHR = 220 minus age. Aerobic zone = 60–80% MHR.
Weight/resistance training	Percentage of 1 rep max (1RM) — e.g. working at 70% of 1RM. Or by the number of reps and sets.
Circuit training	Number of reps per station, length of work periods, length of rest periods
Speed training	Percentage of maximum speed — e.g. sprinting at 100% effort
Plyometrics	Height/distance of jumps, number of ground contacts

Calculating training zones:

For a 15-year-old:

• Maximum heart rate (MHR) = 220 − 15 = 205 bpm
• Aerobic training zone (60–80% MHR) = 123–164 bpm
• Anaerobic training zone (80–90% MHR) = 164–185 bpm

"I will aim to work at 60–80% of my MHR (123–164 bpm) during the steady-state sections of my fartlek sessions, and at 80–90% MHR (164–185 bpm) during the high-intensity bursts. I will use a heart rate monitor to track this."

Time

How long each session lasts.

• Sessions should typically be 30–60 minutes, depending on the training method and intensity.
• For continuous training, sessions should last at least 30 minutes to produce aerobic adaptations.
• For HIIT, sessions may be shorter (20–30 minutes) because the intensity is higher.

Type

What training method you are using. This was covered in Lesson 3.

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Applying Specificity

Specificity means your programme is tailored to:

1. Your target component of fitness — cardiovascular endurance, not a random mix of everything.
2. Your sport — fartlek mimics the varying pace of a football match.
3. Your muscle groups — if you are a cyclist, focus on the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals and calves.
4. Your energy system — cardiovascular endurance training primarily targets the aerobic energy system.

How to write this in your PEP:

"My programme is specific because it targets cardiovascular endurance using fartlek training. As a footballer, I need to alternate between jogging, running and sprinting during a match. Fartlek training replicates these demands by requiring me to change pace throughout each session. The exercises are performed at intensities that target the aerobic energy system, which is the dominant energy system during a 90-minute football match."

Exam Tip: Specificity is about more than just naming the component of fitness. For Level 4/5, you must link specificity to the energy system, the muscle groups and the movement patterns of your sport.

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Applying Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the most important principle for the PEP because you must demonstrate it across your 12+ sessions. Overload can be applied by manipulating any element of FITT: