Training Thoughts - The science behind progress & How to plan your training? ????♂?

There can be a lot of confusion when it comes to exercise.

Do we need to exercise every day?

Do we need to do cardio?

Do we need to do weights?

Let's clear up all of that with some simple laws of training you can follow.

One of the main goals of exercise is progress. You book a half marathon, start running and then try to improve your times week on week. The same applies to the gym, you start lifting a certain weight, and a few weeks later you can move more.

This all comes down to 'Progressive Overload' and our relationship with stress and adaptation.

The S.A.I.D principle. Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands states that whatever stress and stimuli you expose the body to. Your body has a number of mechanisms that allow it to adapt and build up a callous in case you have to face that stress again in the future. Similar to the way we can become immune to a certain virus in the future. (let's not go there today!)

We also have General Adaptation Syndrome. Essentially the same principle was first studied by Hans Selye in 1938.

This study gave rats a dosage of poison and then slowly increased the dosage over time. As the dosage increased the rats that had previously been exposed to the poison in a smaller dosage were able to tolerate and survive. Whereas rats that were not previously exposed to the poison, died.

There are three phases to progressive overload. One of which you will definitely be familiar with. This applies to ALL forms of exercise.

1- The Shock Phase

You're stiff and sore after training. ??

We've all done a workout for the first time and spent the next two days grimacing and cursing when just attempting to sit on the toilet. Soreness isn't essential for adaptation. So it shouldn't be a benchmark we try to chase in every session. It is a sign that we push beyond our physical capabilities. Being sore after a session impacts the next session, if you train frequently you actually don't recover. (see stage 3)

From here depending on how far you pushed it and your recovery methods your body will enter one of the following phases.

2- The Adaptation Phase

Your body adapts. ??????

Building a tolerance to the previous stimulus (and its dosage) in the rats it was poison but for you, it might be your weight on a particular exercise or a speed you could 5km.

So when you are sitting at home after the gym and feeling proud of yourself. There is a number of biological reactions going on under the surface. Muscle rebuilding, hormonal adaptations, and nervous system adaptations to name a few. (this is why nutrition is so important to work with training and not against it)

When you don't fuel your body after the gym or a hard run. You can't expect it to adapt correctly.

It would be like taking your car to the garage and expecting the mechanic to fix it without any parts. The body has to cut corners or ultimately steal its parts from another less important role in the body.

3- Exhaustion Phase

This occurs when we push the intensity too far. Chronic over-training and under-fuelling. Most of the time you don't over-train, you just under-recover.

This is a phase you want to avoid at all costs.

You could be fatigued, injured, or ill. All of which slow your progress hugely.

I see way too many people trying to push exercise as hard as they can and ultimately red line into this phase.

What training is best for health, longevity, and fat loss?

I group all of these goals together because the answer is the same for them all.

It depends.

The truth is you need some cardio, you need some strength training and you probably need some mobility and recovery work.

I get it, you're short on time. How on earth do I fit all of that in?

Let's put all of the above on a continuum. ????

The one thing you will notice is that there is always some cardio present.

So you might be thinking:

"I hate cardio, I don't want to do that forever"

The solution?

Find a form of cardio you enjoy. Even walking is a form of aerobic exercise. So perhaps you're not a runner or you don't play a sport. But the truth is you don't need to.

You will also notice that strength is always present. No matter whether the goal is fat loss, strength, or even cardio-focused.

The reason?

Strength training = Long-term joint health.

Longevity ?

Strength training = muscle preservation = weight loss is body fat

(covered in a previous article)

Fat Loss ?

Strength Training = More force applied to the ground. (i.e a squat)

Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

So being able to apply more force into the ground in the gym with added weight, crosses over into your running. Which is why it blows my mind when people ONLY run when training for a marathon ??????♂?

Cardio/ Performance ?

I hope this clears up some principles of training.

TLDR: You need a bit of everything. The dosage is dependent upon your goals. You adapt to what you expose your body to. Soreness isn't a benchmark you should chase. But it isn't a bad thing either.

As always any questions about your own training and the specifics of exercise. My DM's are always open.