Training Adaptions
We adapt because we have to
Remember, “adaptation is the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment”. A training regime is a process of change, designed to purposefully give the right stress in the right amounts to cause the right adaptations over time.
When a client comes with a fitness goal, what they really desire, is to change. In terms of fitness changes, this means improving physical capacities which in turn increase physical resilience. I use resistance training as the foundation for change and improvement for clients.
Here are the five main physical improvements clients usually want to make:
Mobility
Mobility is your ability to reach a goal movement or posture/position
It means having control over your body’s physical capacity to move into a goal movement without pain in training and in life.
Improved mobility increases your resilience to movement related challenges in life.
Strength
Strength is your ability to produce force to move things or, to resist being moved
It means having the strength to move a desired object well in training, or the desired strength to complete daily tasks/challenges.
Improved strength increases your resilience to the physical challenges of moving objects around in life.
Endurance
Endurance is your ability to keep going and withstand high work loads
It means having the endurance to withstand a desired work load both in training and in life, utilising cardiovascular, muscular and/or mental resilience.
Improved endurance increases your resilience to prolonged work loads in life.
Balance
Balance is your ability to maintain a stable and steady posture/position in movement
It means having control over your body’s physical capacity to move throughout unstable movements or to counter unstable forces acting upon you both in training and in life.
Improved balance increases your resilience to falls, trips and slips in life.
Body Composition
Body composition is your bodys physical make up and what it can do
It means having the necessary physical adaptations to complete a desired task, live a certain way or look a desired way.
Improved body composition increases your resilience to all of your individual challenges in life.
All of the above are just a few of the many physical attributes which can be improved with positive, purposeful and progressive resistance training. I believe these 5 to be the most beneficial adaptations with the most carry over to overall health and happiness. These are the key adaptations I work on with clients to improve their fitness and resilience to life’s physical challenges.
The more physical attributes a client wants to improve, the more complex their training regime needs to be in order to create the multiple training stresses for multiple adaptations. More adaptations, means more stress and it is important to get the balance right because not all of our body’s components recover at the same rate. A training regime must allow for this by getting the doses right.