First off I would like to talk about some basic principles of
weight resistance training , or for that matter, any type of
exercise. There are three basic principles that need to be
discussed. They are the principle of intensity, principle of
progressive resistance and the principle of training
specificity.

The principle of intensity says, in order for a muscle to
adapt, the exercise stimulus must be intense enough to
represent a challenge. Now there are four basic ways to
increase intensity. First you can simply decrease the
amount of rest you have between sets. Second, you can
increase the number of reps you perform. Third, you can
increase the weight or resistance, and fourth, you can
use different angles to exercise the same muscle,
using the same movement.

At the end of each exercise session, ask yourself " did I
increase at least one of these intensity barriers". If not,
then you have already recognized a reason why your
results are lagging. If you answered yes, then decide
which one you did not utilize, and work on that next time.
Intensity is a relative trem, and will fit everybody
differently. You must exceed some threshold of intensity
in order to elicit an adaptive response from your muscle.
If you muscles do not get challenged, then how can you
expect them to resond by getting bigger or stronger.

Next lets talk about the principle of progressive resistance.
This simply means that as you get stronger, you have to keep
progressively increasing the resistance to overload the muscle
and elicit an adaptive response. Now this principle is closely
related to the principle if intensity, but remember you can
decrease weight while increasing intensity, but this is not true
when applying the principle of progressive resistance.
Obviously as you increase resistance, your intensity will raise
accordingly. So as you get stronger, increase your resistance,
in order to continue getting results. Now, you can increase
resistance a few different ways. First, you can slow the
momentum of your movement down. Try doing this while
doing heavy bench press, and tell me how much heavier it felt.
Second, you can increase your weight. (Now that was a no
brainer!) Third, you can use, what I call leverage factors.
You can shorten the lever, such as your arm, and this will
increase the load felt. For instance, try using the same
weight on preacher curl, that you use on barbell curl. What
you did is isolated the upper arm, and by doing this you
decrease you leverage advantage, and increased the load
put on your biceps.

The last basic principle I would like to discuss is the principle
of training specificity. This simply means that a muscle will
structurally and functionally adapt to the type of training
stimulus applied. A simple example would be a marathon
runner. Now, they train their legs hard, but they are not very
large, but they are muscular. By training using endurance,
they are hitting their type 1, slow twitch muscle fibers.
However, look at a powerlifter, they have larger legs and
can squat a ton, but could not run 26.2 miles. Power lifters
train their fast twitch fibers, type 2 a and b, and this is why
their legs are bigger. Fast twitch fibers are more likely to
hypertrophy or increase the individual cell size. I could
go on, but I fell that you should have the basic idea by now.
In later articles I will elaborate on the different types of muscle
fibers and their action, but remember this is only the basic
principles, and is intended to familiarize you so you will
understand future articles.

Next month I will continue with the other Basic Principles of a
Healthy Lifestyle. The last two principles will cover aerobics
and rest.

As you read these articles, please don't think that changeing
just one area in your life will make a world of difference. The
idea is to only change one thing at a time, this allows you the
oppertunity to see if it works or not. Then after you find an
avenue that works for you, find another area that needs
changed. Then change only one thing, and decide if that
worked, if not then go back to the drawing board, and try
something different. Always keep in mind the end result
that you desire, and progress toward that goal.

By Tracy Anderson
Lifestyle Fitness and Nutrition
www.tkalfn.Homestead.com