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Table of contents

1. Accommodation
   a. Progression
   b. Variance
2. Specificity
   a. Training thresholds
3. Highlights

1. Accommodation

Often considered a general law of biology.

The response of a biological object to a constant stimulus decreases over time as a result of adaptation.

With an increase in training volume or duration the magnitude of adaptation diminishes – the principle of diminishing returns.

a. Progression

This is all about the need to gradually increase the workload that you put your body through.

Progression is all about small increments.

It is not a case of doing a two hour walk one day and a five hour walk a couple of days later.

You should only progress gradually, by around 5-10 per cent at a time.

The safest approach is to increase your weekly activity by no more than five per cent.

To reach the roof of your ability, you have to climb the first flight of stairs before you can exit the 20th floor and stare out over the landscape.

You can view this from both a technical skills standpoint as well as from an effort/distance standpoint.

In order to swim the 500 freestyle, you need to be able to maintain your body position and breathing pattern well enough to complete the distance.

In order to swim the 500 freestyle, you also need to build your muscular endurance well enough to repeat the necessary motions enough times to finish.

During a weight-training program there is no advantage to biceps curling 10kgs during one session and then biceps curling 50kgs the next training session.

The chances are that the performer will fail in the attempt and become de-motivated or injure them self in the attempt.

As muscle strength increases then there is a gradual, progressive increase in the amount of weight being curled and so improvements are made accordingly.

The same is true when learning new skills and developing those skills to an advanced form.

There is no point in trying the advanced form first; failure is almost sure to occur and so de-motivate or injure the performer.

b. Variance

Because of accommodation, it is inefficient to use standard exercises or a standard training load over a long period of time.

Training programs must vary.

If you are an athlete the highest transfer of training results occurs with the use of specific sport exercises but if you are an average person, it’s fair enough to alternate between different exercises once a month or experiment with methodologies such as supersets, tempo, jumpsets, etc.

Just make sure not to overwhelm yourself with a bunch of different approaches.

One or two methodologies applied on 1-3 key exercises per day will be good enough.

2. Specificity

This is why you don’t see Goku running extensive amounts of miles. Otherwise, he would have never achieved the Ultra Instinct.

Also referred as the transfer of training results.

Training adaptations are highly specific:
• Strength training increases both muscle mass and strength.
• Endurance training induces changes such as increases in aerobic capacity.

Exercise is stress and because the body efficiently acclimates to stress, specificity is imposing a specific type of stress on the body repeatedly and in a variety of ways.

The Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands (SAID) affirms that the body will improve its performance of a specific exercise over time.

The stresses that are applied to the body in training must be the same as those experienced in your chosen sport or adventure.

For example, if you’re planning to really get into walking or cycling and only have a limited amount of time to train, then you must spend time on those disciplines and not on other sports like squash or tennis.

If you’re planning to use walking or cycling as part of a general fitness program this principle is nothing for you to worry about.

If you are going to focus on walking or cycling only, then it’s something you should be very aware of.

Many auxiliary exercises were adopted into training programs to improve the abilities specific to a given sport.

Specificity of adaptation increases with the level of sport or fitness mastership.

An average person can benefit from simple calisthenics and basic complex exercises with a barbell or dumbbells.

Elite athletes should use more specific exercises and training methodologies to increase competitive preparedness.

a. Training thresholds

Training thresholds refer to the level of intensity needed in order to stress the body enough to cause an adaptation or improvement in performance.

Training thresholds are measured by intensity and can be either a % MHR or % VO2max. %MHR is used most frequently so will be the focus here.

There are generally two training thresholds:
• The aerobic threshold is the intensity needed in order to produce an adaptation that will improve someone’s aerobic capacity or VO2max. The aerobic training threshold is normally between 65% and 70% MHR.
• The anaerobic threshold is the intensity needed in order to produce an adaptation that will improve someone’s anaerobic capacity, normally be increasing the speed of lactate removal. The anaerobic training threshold is normally between 80% and 85% MHR.

The intensities between the two thresholds are called the aerobic training zone and include the intensities that should be trained at in order to improve aerobic performance.

The higher the training intensity within this zone the greater the adaptations.

This is the same for the intensities above the anaerobic training threshold, these are called the anaerobic training zone and the higher the intensity the greater the gains.

Resistance training usually uses repetition maximum to speak about the intensity being used.

Within resistance training there are a number of goals that can be achieved and the threshold required varies depending on the goal.

3. Highlights

• Be incremental, progress slowly but surely. Injuries are often cause by irrational increments on the intensity and volume.
• Consider your heart rate both in aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Learn how to take your own pulse and calculate your Target Hearth Rate.
• For variance make small but constant changes, otherwise it will lead to confusion.
• Consider your objectives as a percentage of specificity. Example: 80% Anaerobic + 20% Aerobic (Strength Oriented).

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