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Basic Training Principles: Overload, Specificity, Individual Differences, & Reversibility
The principle of overload behooves the athlete to train hard enough to elicit a training response. Athletes must manipulate the training frequency, intensity and time within a certain mode of exercise in order to produce an overload effect above the normal threshold sustainable by their bodies. This principle applies to individuals of all ages and goals. Even those desiring to benefit the health-related effects of exercise must increase their training volume (but not necessarily the intensity).
The principle of specificity dictates that a specific exercise stress will elicit a specific adaptation and a specific training effect that is general to the stressor. For example, resistance exercises will primarily develop muscular strength, endurance, and power and aerobic exercise will primarily develop aerobic capacity and not vice versa. There is some interchange of adaptation from different exercises. For instance, the adaptations garnered from cycling such as improved endurance will be extended, to a limited extent, to performance in running or rowing. It would not be wise, however, to train for a sport such as cross-country by spending an entire summer only cycling!
The principle of individualdifferences states that all individuals will respond to a given training stimulus in different ways. For example, two individuals following the same exact training regimen (in terms of training load and volume) and entering the program with approximately the same fitness level will have different adaptations and resulting training effects. Numerous different factors may account for these differences: genetics, previous experience, gender, age, etc. For example, one individual may increase in a certain fitness parameter by 20% while another may garner a smaller increase (or even a decrease if he/she experiences overtraining). Coaches should not treat all athletes the same nor should athletes expect their bodies to react the same to a program in the same way that another athlete may adapt.
The principle of reversibility informs us that fitness gains are quickly lost when one discontinues a training program. A single week or two weeks of detraining rapidly results in decreases in metabolic and aerobic capacity. Many training improvements may be totally lost within a few months. This is true for athletes of any caliber, as even professional athletes who detrain will experience reversibility. During the off-season, continuing at least a small level of conditioning will mitigate the potential losses.
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