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As the great Victor Hugo said, “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.”
Now, although I am pretty sure the French Author was not writing that quote when thinking about exercise prescription, it still absolutely applies to training. Moreover, whether you are writing your own programs or trying to evaluate if a program someone wrote for you is “good”, understanding some basic principles can provide insight and be extremely helpful.
Additionally, as the fields of strength and conditioning, personal training, and even exercise science continue to evolve, opinions and ideas will constantly change and change a lot. However, even with these changes, some principles will always hold true!
Let's Look at Some of Those Principles…
Principle 1: Principle of Individuality
What is it?
Individuals do not possess the same inherent abilities to respond to exercise.
Research is clear there are people who appear to be high responders (those who adapt and grow a lot) and low responders (those who don’t change or adapt at all) to exercise.
In the classic Heritage Family Study, researchers investigated 20 weeks of aerobic training and how much fitness improved. And what was found? Some families saw very large increases in fitness while others did not change at all. Yes, you read that right! Some people, AFTER 20 WEEKS, barely improved at all!
So why is this? Well, these differences could be a result of genetics or variations in factors such as cell growth, metabolism, and cardiorespiratory and neuroendocrine regulation. In simpler terms, stress affects everyone differently.
So what can you do?
Stick to a program, monitor progress/changes, and over time figure out what works for you! I have seen athletes get a lot stronger by doing sets of 8-10 while others need sets of 2-3. Don’t just assume what worked for someone else or some random influencer will work for you. Find what works for you and do it!
Principle 2: Principle of Specificity
What is it?
Exercise adaptations are specific to mode, intensity, and duration of training. Training programs must stress the relevant physiological systems to your goals.
I have had a number of people come to work with me because they want to get stronger. And usually, more often than not, they say something along the lines of “no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get any stronger”. But then when I look at their current program, there is actually little to no strength specificity. They have squats, they have deadlifts, they have all the important compound movements, but they are performing these movements for sets of 10, at RPE 6, with 60 seconds of rest in between. In more simpler terms, they aren’t SPECIFICALLY targeting strength. So while yes, people might respond differently to the same program, neither will likely respond (in the way they hope) if that program is not specifically designed for their goals.
So what can you do?
You need to understand what you are training for, what your goals are, and then understand how to best target those changes with proper periodization. And if you are worried you don’t know how to do that or you don’t care to do that yourself…. Hit us up at Level Ten! We got you!
Principle 3: Principle of Reversibility
What is it?
If training is significantly decreased or stopped, training improvements will be lost. In other words, use it or lose it.
Training adaptations are hard. They take consistent training, they take effort, and they take time. Anyone who has trained for a certain goal knows this. But unfortunately, anyone who maybe has stopped training or changed their training goals knows losses seem to happen a lot faster than gains come! And worst news of all, these changes or reversal of changes can happen pretty dang quick. For example, after only a couple of weeks, enzymes and hormones related to aerobic function begin to decline. Then, if this detraining continues, these reductions ultimately lead to reductions in fitness and performance.
So what can you do?
Train and don’t stop training ever 😊 But in all seriousness, find a way to train that is maintainable over the long run. Doing 75 Hard might be possible for 75 days but I would bet a lot of money it isn’t possible for 150 days or 225 days. However, training for 45 minutes, 3-4 days a week is. And it is PLENTY to hit your goals and keep those gains!
In Summary
All in all, find a program that works for you. Find a program that is specifically designed for you to hit your goals. And find a way of training that you can consistently do for decades on end so you keep growing and don’t lose all your gains! Hold true to these principles and keep on growing!
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