The three basic principles are specificity, overload, and progression. It doesn’t matter if you are strength training, running or pole dancing. If you want to get results and continue to move forward you need to stick to these fundamental truths.
1. Specificity– “You get what you train”. So if all you do is walk, then all you’re going to get better at is walking. And before I go any further, walking is not exercise. It’s an inherit trait that was necessary for survival. The exercise you choose should match what you are looking to accomplish. If the desired outcome is to change the shape of your body then you need to do activity that will do just that. For your body to change its shape it must have a reason too. Note that I didn’t merely say lose weight. Losing weight can be accomplished without exercise, but all you're really doing is making a smaller version of the same body. The scale might have a lower number, but the image hasn’t changed- same slumped shoulders, giggly arms, and a smaller flabby belly. To change the shape of your body you have to do “specific” work like strength training and intense cardiovascular exercise.
2. Overload– Pushing your body to do work it’s not accustomed to doing. I’ve said it before, GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. I’ll mention again that these principles apply to whatever you are doing. Point to remember- INTENSITY TRUMPS VOLUME. Exercise needs to be intense. Let’s continue to use weight loss (fat loss) as an example. Everyone wants to run to lose fat. It’s not effective but that’s another article. You begin running a mile and burn 100 calories in 15 minutes- just an example. You’ve gotten better at running that mile and now you are more efficient at using energy (calories). Don’t get excited because efficient means you are burning less calories to run that mile. You either have to go longer or faster to increase the intensity. Why would you want to run 20-30 minutes to burn the amount of calories it took in 15 minutes? How do you make it more intense? You go faster, run up a hill, or carry someone on your back. Train hard, and then go home.
3. Progression– . Let’s say you are hooked on pole dancing and that’s what you decided to do for fitness. Remember how sore you were from swinging around the pole a few times? You created a stress on your muscles because they worked in a new way. You even burned some calories. Now you are a pro. If you were in a club, men would be making it rain! Soon those simple swings around the pole became easy and you didn’t even sweat. Next you PROGRESS to climbing up and down the pole, flipping upside down, and all the other priceless moves. Once you body adapts to something is becomes efficient at doing it. Progression makes what you’re doing
