The SAID Principle – The 2nd Foundation of every Effective Exercise Program
In a previous post I talked about what I think about to become the very first base of each and every effective exercise program: the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). This principle supplies the basic information to explain why working out at right intensity degree is important in case you wish to improve your entire body. But, it doesn’t help clarify anything about what kind of exercise you have to do to reach the specific targets of yours, but that is exactly what the SAID principle is for.
I am sure you have noticed the old saying “you are what you eat,” well there’s a similar saying with exercise that “you are the way you train.” I would be wonderful if one kind of exercise might simultaneously enhance every single element of your body, but that’s simply out of the question. An individual workout can improve several aspects of fitness, although some aspects will improve more than others and some might not improve at all or perhaps regress. As a result it becomes important to prioritize and make workouts to optimize improvement in the areas that are most crucial to you.
For instance, in case you are interested to focus on increasing your strength, you need to lift weights which are drastically challenging for your muscles. Lifting light weights for many reps may lead to some strength increases, especially if you are in the beginning stages, but this particular type of training in fact causes strength trained individuals to lose strength. Nevertheless, lifting lighter weights for many reps does boost local muscular endurance, therefore it has uses for folks looking to improve the endurance of specific muscle groups.
The same principles apply for other sports and activities as well. As an illustration, if you wish to become a better marathon runner, the training of yours should concentrate on running extended distances. Other types and resistance training of workouts remain important in the overall routine of yours, but a training course based on running sprints will not lead to successful marathon running. The physical attributes that are important to you will affect how frequently, if ever, you employ each training type in your general program.
The SAID principle does an excellent job of explaining why certain types of training result in specific physiological improvements, but additionally, it goes beyond the physical attributes of yours, such as strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, etc. Maybe more importantly, the SAID principle has implications for how a particular type of training will carry over to activities outside of the exercise regime of yours.
It’s natural to assume the workouts of yours will significantly improve performance in any other task, but improvements are most substantial when training is comparable to the activity(s) you’ll do. The way in which you practice (exercises, tempo, weight, etc.) has an effect on how your body adapts and this goes well beyond merely determining if you boost the strength or endurance of certain muscles. The true goal isn’t simply to enhance the muscles of yours, but also to train specific movement patterns and increase the way your muscles work with each other.
When it comes to training for particular activities or sports, the closer your training would be to an activity, the greater the performance of yours will get better in that particular activity. For instance, if you wish to increase how high you can jump, a leg extension exercise (straightening your thighs and legs against resistance while sitting) will not be as effective as a squat, just where your leg muscles lift weight in a standing position, because this place is even closer to the position and movement utilized to go.