More Overloading
August 23rd 2007 10:47
More on overloading today. The fact is that the human body seems almost fanatically attached to homeostasis. That means that it will maintain the present state of affairs unless rudely forced to adapt to something new. This intransigence means that breaking the body's attachment to its present state is only realized by a programmatic and long term approach to change. One day of harder than average training will avail nothing in terms of improvement;it is only when systematic overload is applied to the body on a regular basis that any real progress in fitness can be expected.
This overloading is not rocket science. Lets say that you are doing bicep work of five sets a workout twice a week. If you simply add two sets to each workout you will hardly notice it. Your body,however, will notice it. It is not tied to your conscience mind in such a way that it only reacts to that which makes an impression on you as your train. It will actually be experiencing a 40% increase in its workload and the repeated nature of this increase will "convince" your body that this must be a consistent part of its future. We all talk about "getting used to" something. In the gym this is absolutely a crucial element in success.
Where I think weight training gets difficult is at the point when the body is fully adapted to some new overload. It goes right back to homeostasis. After a 3 week period of 40% more biceps your system will accept the long term status of this new stress and make adaptations. Within a few weeks more you will notice that the new sets are really pretty easy to perform and get the sense that you could do more. Well, that's your cue to do more. It doesn't have to be more sets. It can be heavier weights or quicker sets,but,if it is not systematic,it will be a waste.
At some point you will become so attuned to the process that you will be able to "play by ear" i.e. make important changes to your workouts based on the feel of your body and its responses to the training your are doing. That will take a while. Your servant, as always.
This overloading is not rocket science. Lets say that you are doing bicep work of five sets a workout twice a week. If you simply add two sets to each workout you will hardly notice it. Your body,however, will notice it. It is not tied to your conscience mind in such a way that it only reacts to that which makes an impression on you as your train. It will actually be experiencing a 40% increase in its workload and the repeated nature of this increase will "convince" your body that this must be a consistent part of its future. We all talk about "getting used to" something. In the gym this is absolutely a crucial element in success.
Where I think weight training gets difficult is at the point when the body is fully adapted to some new overload. It goes right back to homeostasis. After a 3 week period of 40% more biceps your system will accept the long term status of this new stress and make adaptations. Within a few weeks more you will notice that the new sets are really pretty easy to perform and get the sense that you could do more. Well, that's your cue to do more. It doesn't have to be more sets. It can be heavier weights or quicker sets,but,if it is not systematic,it will be a waste.
At some point you will become so attuned to the process that you will be able to "play by ear" i.e. make important changes to your workouts based on the feel of your body and its responses to the training your are doing. That will take a while. Your servant, as always.
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