Resistance exercises can be used to develop your strength, muscular endurance, muscle size and power. They have many benefits if you work out regularly. According to the National Association of Strength and Conditioning, your muscle tone, posture, resting metabolic rate, joint health, bone density and day-to-day performance will improve if you perform resistance exercises on a regular basis. To get the most from your resistance exercise training, adhere to some basic principles.
Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands
Your muscles will adapt to the stress applied to them. If you lift light weights for high reps, you will develop your muscular endurance, but if you lift heavy weights, you will get stronger. The type of fitness you develop from regular resistance exercise is specific to the type of training you do. If you have particular training goals, perform specific workouts to help you achieve your goals.
Progressive Overload
Once your muscles have adapted to a certain weight, if you want them to improve, you have to apply greater overload. Gradually increasing the amount of work you do in your workouts is known as progressive overload. By regularly increasing your workout weights, doing more repetitions, resting less between sets or a combination of these factors, you will overload your muscles and encourage greater adaptation. If you do not apply progressive overload to your muscles, your fitness levels will plateau.
Recovery
Your body adapts to and recovers from your workouts when you are resting. This process is called anabolism. To allow your body to recover, grow and adapt to the stress of your workouts, spread your training throughout your week and have days where you do little or no activity or, alternatively, do different forms of exercise. If you train the same muscles day after day without a break, your body will not get the chance to recover and may begin to break down more than it builds up, a process called catabolism. Plan your training week to include rest days and days of low-intensity exercise, like easy swimming or walking to avoid too much of a good thing. If you workout excessively, you can, according to Fleck and Kraemer, develop a condition called overtraining syndrome, which is linked to poor physical performance, joint and muscle pain, lower immune system function and lethargy.
Reversibility
Unfortunately, you can't store your fitness. If you stop working out for an extended period of time, your muscles will begin to return to their pre-trained state. This is the principle of reversibility. Avoid taking extended breaks from resistance exercise or working out too infrequently, which may cause you to lose fitness. Periodically, you can take a break, for example, for a family vacation, but unless you return to your workouts within seven to 10 days, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, you will start to experience a de-training effect and undo some of your work.
References
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2009
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Association; 2008
- "Designing Resistance Training Programs"; Steven Fleck and William Kraemer; 2003
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