Training is a process that takes many different directions and has an almost infinite variety associated with it. There's a seemingly endless number of programs and routines that offer the same things; grow muscle, increase strength, more energy, reverse aging and the many other attributed benefits to working out and becoming more athletic...
Regardless of the large variety of programs and routines out there, the efficacy of any of them depends on the integration of certain principles that all of these plans need to have. Whether you are looking to lose weight and change your body composition or improve your athletic performance in any sport, these principles are the key to making effective changes in your body and getting the most out of your training programs. Pay attention!
-
Periodization
-This is plainly systematic planning of exercises, which can come in many varieties, but the purpose is to allow the body to develop a need to change to specific stresses and make those changes over time.
Progressive Overload
-You can’t just use the same weight or run the same speed forever if you want to improve. You need to increase the intensity over time. Over the course of your periodized plan, intensities (more weight, less rest, more volume, faster speeds, etc) need to also advance.
Specificity
-You will never become a world-class boxer if all you do is lift weights and never box. The program and training you follow need to correspond to the activity and goal you are pursuing.
Individuality
-No two people are alike, biomechanics are very different from a woman who is 5’2” and weights 100lbs to a man who is 6’6” and weights 250lbs. Not to mention current fitness levels, major injuries, surgeries, etc. Programs need to take into account the individual and their needs to be optimally effective.
Maintenance
-Maintaining already acquired changes and adaptations requires less overall work than creating physical adaptations. As the body learns how to do certain movements, the systems involved in those movements and actions steadily become more efficient and will remain steady if not pushed harder.
Reversibility
-It requires less effort to maintain acquired physical gains, but it still requires effort. If effort and consistency are diminished beyond maintenance intensities, the body will revert to prior conditions requiring even less metabolic energy to maintain extra muscle tissues and performance adaptations. If you stop training, the body will de-train, and go in reverse.
-
Apart from these basic principles, there's another thing you have to add... Time and Effort. The gains we all want don't just come after a single awesome session in the weight room, rather the body requires at least 6 weeks of regular activity to acquire permanent adaptations. This is something you must dedicate yourself to for the long haul if you want to accomplish certain goals.
This is how it's done. Applying certain principles along with your programs and putting in the time and effort, there is no other way to make gains and become a better athlete. Even those that take steroids or other performance-enhancing substances don't get off easy, they still have to work their hard to enable themselves to perform at their maximum potential, the only thing that those substances do is facilitate and increase recovery times to help them train more. But nothing will ever replace the work that needs to be done in order to accomplish greatness in the athletic realm. Anatomically, the only thing separating you from some of the greatest athletes is that they put in more time and effort than anyone else in their respective discipline.
There are also nutritional tools to help assist and enhance your training results. The right movements with the right nutritional habits and supplements can take these principles of training to the next level and reflect on your progress. Training is by far a process that is comprised of multiple areas. Mind, Body, Fuel, and Spirit all contribute to the way your body changes for the better.
The limitations we experience in training are often self-imposed because of the lack of self-investment we deny our routine. Working too little, skipping too many sets, and not placing enough intensity on the exercises. Too often we expect the gains we want to come from minimum effort or even from doing nothing. But the truth is we only damage ourselves when we don't put in the work or try to find the free ride. Why can't you be the strongest man on earth? What's in your way to make it to the next level? Why can’t you be pain-free?
The only thing holding you back is yourself, which goes for all of us. The choices you make affect the situations experienced in your life. Life doesn't have to be in control of you, rather you ought to take control of your life. Make some sacrifices, lose some sleep, give something useless up... In doing this, you will become someone you never thought you could, someone greater than you are now!
Remember, if you are looking for more information on how you can improve your nutrition and supplement plan to enhance your strength training routine; we offer free nutrition and supplement counseling as well as free body composition testing to point you in the right direction. Stop in at any of our two locations, give us a call, chat with us on Facebook, we are here for you!