Exercise Science Training Principles

This Wednesday we will learn about a very core theory in Exercise Science called the Training Principles. If you where ever trained by a personal trainer or played college sports you will have an understanding of what these are. You may not know what the exact definition or know that they have a clear objective but your Coaches and your Trainers do. I feel that this knowledge can be helpful to anyone on a Wellness journey. So many people start working out and either get bored, injured or aren’t challenged enough and quit. Once you understand these Principles you will understand when your workouts are failing you because you dont have the knowledge to keep them interesting and progressive to see clear results.

Pictured is one of my favorite humans. Her name is Wendy Whelan and is a retired Ballerina from the New York City Ballet. She made history by being one of the longest performing Dancers in the world with a 30 year career. She retired at 47 which is un heard of in the Ballet world. Wendy is a pure example of what Athleticism is. She was not a Phoneme by any means she happened to be blessed with long legs and a shorter torso, but trained and took care of her body to dance as long as she did. She took ballet classes for hours but is a long time practitioner of Yoga, and Gyrotronics. She also rides bikes, walks all over New York City and eats appropriately and doesn’t do the stereotypical starvation Dancer diet. Her favorite way to fuel her mornings is eggs and avocados with whole grain toast. Her drink of choice is water and lots of iced green tea, no soda or sweet coffee drinks to keep bone loss at bay. She is a pure example of the Principle of Specificity because if you want to be good at something you need to do it a lot and practice, practice, practice along with a proper balance of other forms of fitness to keep you successful.

Wendy Whelan danced with the New York City Ballet for three decades Photo Credits: Paul Kolnik/The George Balanchine Trust Credit/Abramorama

This principle is pretty clear. If you don’t use it you loose it. Consistent weight training with proper rest keeps you building and maintaining muscles. So if you over train and become exhausted and then take too many days off then the hard work you did actually does nothing to keep you fit. This is why it is so important to come up with a fitness schedule when you start a new exercise routine. Being exhausted is going to do the reverse of what exercise is supposed to do which is to make you feel strong and give you energy.

This principle is about adapting to repetitive movement where it becomes second nature to your muscles. You have probably heard about muscle memory that your muscles remember receptive movements. In the beginning when you are starting a new form of exercise your muscles become very sore and can be painful because you are training your muscles to move different then your normal movement patterns. Once you do the exercise over and over again you aren’t sore anymore and your body has learned the movement. People that swim, play basketball, golf and baseball wherever specific skills need to be developed for receptive movement.

The Principle of Progression is build muscle, skill and techniques over time and to not overload the body to stay injury free or keep injuries at a minimum. At the same time not to go too slo or too fast a moderate clip is what you are looking for. For example going to one Vynasa class a week is not going to improve your flexibility, strength or balance. You need to either go to a few classes a week or do some at home classes and then go to in studio to get the benefits of this type of yoga practice. Another example is a weekend warrior with Mountain Biking or Road Biking. Going hard on the weekends and not doing any type of riding like a spin class or strength and cardio training durning the week will guarantee injury and limit your progression.

This Principle is one that goes overboard when we dont do it properly. Many people’s fitness journey starts in a gym setting and with weight training and cardio machines. The Overload Principle states that we must stress the muscles with heavier weights or in different ways to improve fitness, strength and endurance. People can accomplish this not only by lifting heavy weights but with high intensity interval training, Pilates, Vinyasa Flow classes as well for people that want to become more lean but not bulk up.

I also see this happen quit a bit to individuals. People start fitness programs but want to go at the same rate as others in a group class or or they might have teamed up with friends to do exercise together with. The Principle of Individual Differences is the idea that we are all different in size, weight and athletic ability and are not going to move, train and gain muscle or skill at the same time or at the same pace. So when you are picking a training partner look for someone similar height and build so you can make gains together. If you take a spin class or join a run club don’t be surprised if you are making faster progress than others in the group say if you are tall with longer legs. Also Women need more recovery time than Men do because of our hormones. Older adults need more recovery than younger adults just because older adults have used there bodies for many more years then younger. Our genetics also have a great deal to do with our performance as well. Some people are blessed to be stronger or have quicker reflexes than others. Also some have had a childhood of athletic training so there muscles have more memory for movement and strength and will make training gains faster than other that grew up playing video games.

Have a great Wellness Wednesday! Hopefully learning about these principles will have an impact on your fitness goals and keep you happy, healthy and injury free for many years to come!

Shara