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Welcome to Article 3!

4 important words for you!

Conditioning Principles - these describe the effect exercise will have on the body. These principle cover all types of exercise and for any regime to be effective they must be considered and understood.

Adaptability - this principle forms the basis for all exercise. If the body did not adapt then there would be no point in exercising. The more often "stress" (any action not consistent with everyday activity), is placed on the body, the more often the body is "told" improvements are required. The body then adapts by improving the particular system involved so that next time this stress is placed upon it, it is better equipped to deal with it and work more efficiently.

Progressive Overload - If the level of stress placed on the body remains the same, there will come a time when the body has adapted sufficiently to cope with this. For improvements in performance to continue to occur the stress factor must be increased gradually, allowing gradual improvements. ie. progressively over time.

Reversibility - quite simply "use it or lose it". The body naturally maintains only levels of efficiency for the work it has to do. If the work load is reduced the body will adapt to that reduced level of stress just as it adapts to increased stresses. In terms of training, if training ceases the results achieved will decrease over time thereafter. In fact a major decrease in cardiovascular efficiency will occur in as little as 2 weeks after ceasing training. The longer a participant has been training the slower the reversal process or loss of improvements will be.

Specifity - the body will adapt specifically to the stress placed upon it. If only one system is placed under stress, or the stress factor always takes the same format (speed weight etc), then the only adaptations made by the body will be in specific regard to that system and those stresses only. Eg Marathon runners have very efficient aerobic systems but only when running. If they were to ride a bike they would be no where near as efficient. Fans of Step classes struggle in Aerobics classes etc. Similarly in resistance training, speed of movement, weight, angle and range of motion all have to be taken into account. If a Bicep exercise was to be continually executed by only performing half a curl. Then only through this range of motion would improvements occur. If it were only performed slowly then no improvements in performance at speed would be obtained.