Strength Training Principles

Progressive Resistance Overload Principle

"increase load gradually as the body adapts to new stress"

• Overload = muscles must be overloaded beyond the point to which they are normally loaded in order to make gains
• Progressive Resistance Training = as the muscles get stronger, a greater resistance is required to stimulate further strength gains
• Most important strength training principle
• Increase weight by 5% increments when striving for increased resistance
• For strength - higher resistance / lower reps
• For endurance - lower resistance / higher reps

Stress-Rest Principle (Principle of Hard/Easy)

"One day of exercise followed by one day of rest"

• Failing to provide body with adequate rest after strenuous bout of exercise will prevent body from healing
• It is during this healing that the body strengthens itself
• Ideal rest period between workouts = 24-48 hrs
• Important not to rest for too long, this will result in no improvement

Principle of Symmetry

"Obtain best results from focussing on body as a whole, not overtraining specific body parts"

• A person will obtain the greatest gains by focusing on creating balanced strength as opposed to specific body part development (ie: Action-Counteraction)
• Ex: for every push, there should be a pull. (ie: if you do bench press, all do seated row)
• In nature, the body is meant to function as a unit. Train to mimmic this balance.
• Promotes individuals to focus on total-body/multi-joint/functional exercises because they maximize benefit and minimize time spent (ex: squats, leg press, pushups, pullups).
• Keep in mind when designing a program that for every action you must perform the counter action. For example, if doing lateral raises (deltoids) you must also do front raises and reverse fly's. Thus, utilize an exercise that targets majority of deltoid's pennation (ie: overhead press) will maximize benefit and reduce the # of exercises needed to be done for a specific muscle group.

Principle of Specificity (SAID Principle)

"Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands"

• Training adaptations are highly specific to the:

1. Type of activity being done
2. The volume and intensity of the exercise performed

• Thus, the training program must stress the physiological systems that require improvement inorder to create adaptations.
• This sounds idiotically intuitive, yet there are still people who honestly believe that doing a relentless amount of crunches will give you a flat stomach.

Control Contraction Principle

"Every exercise (ie: raising and lowering body and/or weight) must be done in control"

• To achieve this, use a basic cadence when performing any resistance exercise (ex: 2:1:4:0). Where the first value indicates seconds spent doing contraction, the second value is the time spent pausing at the top of contraction, the third value is seconds spent doing eccentric contraction and the fourth value is pause between the end of eccentric contraction and repeating movement.
• To maximize both strength and size gains, finish each exercise with a very slow eccentric contraction. Without getting into extreme depth about the science here, eccentric contractions create roughly 120% of maximal force output. Thus, cause most tissue damage and resulting change/growth.

Ceiling Principle

"As you reach your potential limit, increases become smaller"

• As fitness levels increase, strength and endurance also increase.

Principle of Disuse

"Use it, or lose it"

• The benefits of training will be lost in a ratio of approximately 1:3
• This means, if it took you 1 month to gain a certain level of strength, it will take you 3 months to lose those gains.

FITT Principle

"When designing a program, Frequency/Intensity/Time/Type must be considered"

• Frequency - days/week (Endurance = 2-3; Strength = 3-4)
• Intensity - % of 1RM (Endurance = <70% strength =" 70-80%">
• Time - reps & sets (Endurance = 12-15 reps (no failure) / 1-3 sets; Strength = 8-12 reps (reaching failure) / 1-4 sets)
• Type - specific exercise (Endurance = machines, body weight, stability ball; Strength = machines, pulleys, free weights, body weight, stability ball)

Maintenance Principle

"It is easier to maintain fitness than to obtain it"

• Once training effect has been reached, it will be maintained by keeping:

1. Intensity levels the same.
2. Duration the same.
3. Training frequency the same or slightly reducing it.

Principle of Individuality

"Individuals are unlikely to show precisely the same adaptations to a given training program"

• Each training program must be specifically tailored for each individual

Principle of Periodization

"Optimizing performance by varying the training stress throughout the year"

• Cycling of specificity, intensity and volume of training to achieve peak performance
• Prevents over-training and burnout
• Macrocycle = yearly
• Each macrocycle is usually composed of 2 or more mesocycles = 1-several months
• Microcycle = 1-several weeks
• Ex: Phase 1 - Hypertrophy ... Phase 2 - Strength ... Phase 3 - Power ... Phase 4 - Peak Strength ... Phase 5 - Active Recovery

Essential Equipment Under $10

1. Ab Wheel - simply one of the best tools for creating incredible core strength and developing strong stabilizers in the shoulder girdle.

2. Parallettes - makes any push exercise or static holds (ie: planche) easier on the wrists.

3. Workout Gloves - most beneficial for pull exercises (or anything involving a bar for that matter). Reduces stress on hands and marginally increases grip strength.