Resistance training is a popular means for reaching fitness goals and changing body shapes. It does so by specialising in using resistance to encourage muscle contractions that grow strength and endurance. Through resistance training, one seeks to put more strain on muscles by increasing weight in increments while using equipment or other methods to perform a variety of exercises.
Resistance training 101
There are a number of benefits of a routine that includes resistance training. Almost all of them are directly related to increased strength and toughness. This type of training has also been known to:
- Increase cardiovascular functioning,
- Improve metabolism, and
- Increase bone density as well as muscle and tendon strength.
Aside from these benefits, there are a number of reasons why a person may engage in resistance training as part of an exercise routine. They may do so to:
- Improve their physical appearance,
- Build strength to meet the needs of their sport or profession, or
- Better their overall health.
If you have been taking an interest in resistance training, then you will want to know these three fundamental principles surrounding this activity.
The First Principle: Specificity
According to this principle, the exercises that you do have a direct effect on which fitness goals you are trying to meet. You get out what you put in, according to this principle. Here is why:
- There are many different types of exercises that are all designed to give different results. People also have differing views on what constitutes as exercise. One person may consider an hour at the gym, concentrating on back and shoulder muscles, a worthwhile activity. Another person may struggle to do a handful of sit-ups and will stop there.
According to the rule of specificity, a handful of sit-ups will do nothing to help you reach your fitness goals while the hour at the gym will. This is because this person has used a specific type of exercise to achieve a particular result while the other has just done a bit of movement and will get no results because of it.
The Second Principle: Overload
The next principle is that of Overload. This entire concept can be summed up by the phrase ‘get out of your comfort zone’. When doing resistance training, your body will adapt and become more efficient as you get closer to your fitness goals. This is good and bad news for you:
- While you will be able to do your routine more comfortably, you will also be burning fewer calories while doing the same exercises. This means that you will level out and stop seeing results.
According to the Principle of Overload, you should keep pushing yourself to do more. Keep going further outside of your comfort zone to expand it if you want to keep seeing results.
The Third Principle: Progression
The Progressive Principle gives you an idea of how you should progress as you move closer to your fitness goals. It echoes much of what the overload principle states about getting out of your comfort zone. This is because continuing with the same workload will have you plateauing instead of getting stronger.
It also, however, provides a warning not to jump to intervals that you are not yet ready for. While we all want to see results come as quickly as possible, increasing your workload too rapidly may result in failure or, even worse, injury.
So while you are pushing your limits to increase your results, remember to know them well enough so as not to overstep and cause damage that might take you away from your workouts for an extended time.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy to Learn More
While these three principles outline the most important parts of resistance training, there is still a lot to be learned about it. If you would like to master it as part of your fitness professional repertoire, why not consider getting your personal training certification from Trifocus Fitness Academy? Visit our website today to find out more about our locally and internationally accredited, online fitness courses.
