People may spend long hours in the gym years after years, but you can hardly spot any difference in their bodies! Running wildly on the treadmill or lifting up weights like the "bold and strong Hercules" may not get you the body that you originally desired. This is because, the principles of training play a role in sculpting your body.
Failure primarily occurs when your training is not based on the principles. Implementation of certain principles of training can significantly make a difference. Some of the basic and most important principles are:
Individuality
Individuality refers to the fact that all individuals are not same and heredity does influence the way in which a body adapts to a particular exercise regime. Except identical twins, no two individuals have exactly the same genetic characteristics. Consequently, there can be large variations between individuals in cell growth and repair, metabolism and regulation of processes by nerves and hormones. Along with this, the body composition and an individual's fitness level also differ. These individual variations may explain why some individuals' bodies can improve significantly on a certain training program whereas another may experience little or no change following the same training program. Therefore a training program should consider individual needs and ideally, it must be individualized, though practically it may not be always feasible.
Specificity
Training adaptations are specific to the type of activity undertaken. To develop a particular fitness component, one must perform exercises specifically designed for that component. For example training for swimming is ideally performed in water rather than on dry land. The concept of specificity refers not only to the mode of training but also the muscle group trained; volume and intensity of the exercise performed; and energy systems involved in particular activity. So to develop strength, one must specifically focus on working against a heavy resistance whereas to develop endurance, one must focus on the maximum number of repetitions.
Progressive Overload
The concepts of progression and overload are the foundation for all training sessions. Our body is very dynamic in nature! Placing of increased amounts of stress on the body can lead to adaptations that improve fitness. According to the overload principle, in order to improve fitness, the body or specific muscles must be stressed above the level to which it is accustomed. As the body adapts to the training load there is a need to progress to a higher work level. This is the principle of progression.
Progression can be achieved by increasing the distance or work load, increasing the number of repetitions, decreasing the length of the recovery period or decreasing the time to cover a set distance. Progressive overload should be gradual. The total work done in a session should not normally exceed 10% a week. For beginners, this might be easily achievable whereas for a more experienced individual the progression is likely to be small and may take more time.
Reversibility
Being consistent to an exercise program has been an all time big problem. When an individual stops training for significant periods of time, the improvements previously observed are reversed, i.e. detraining occurs. Fitness improvements are lost when the demands on the body are lowered. Reversibility of adaptations to training is not only confined to the muscles but is also seen in the cardiovascular system. Individuals who have undergone a relatively short period of training exhibit the fastest rates of reversibility whereas those who have trained for long periods appear to be capable of 'holding on' to their fitness for a longer period. So, do not cease your training once you have achieved the desired level of fitness. Go for maintenance. Though the maintenance phase cannot last indefinitely, but you can still delay the effects of de-training.
Warm-up and Cool-down
Many experts do not consider warm-up and cool down as a principle of training but, it's an integral part of it. Warm-up is performed prior to training in order to prepare the body for an effective training. Warm-up may last for 5 to 20 minutes depending on the type of training. Cool-down is performed once the training session becomes over. It is done to bring the body or the muscle gradually to the resting state. It also aids in the removal of waste products from the muscles. For an effective and injury free training it's important to include warm-up and cool down in your exercise regime.
Principles of training need to be considered for effective planning of an exercise regimen because "One who fails to plan, plans to fail". Just remember, hitting in a dark bush without seeing a target may land you nowhere!
