Pete RohlederIn today’s episode, I am covering 7 vital training principles for training success. Whether you have been training yourself or clients for some time and want to do a quick gut-check to ensure you aren’t missing anything, or you’re just starting out, revisiting these 7 training principles ensures you are on the right path. Let’s get started!
Hey Movers! Welcome to the show, the show about why your movement matters, how to get optimal outcomes through science-backed practical solutions, and the mindset required to level up your results.
Back to the Basics
You know, it’s easy to overlook the basic things sometimes.
We do it all the time. And it’s natural. Once we learn something foundational, it’s normal to build upon it and move on. But, with anything we learn, its always a good idea to re-check the foundation, to make sure we are still consistent, or to reinforce its strength.
I love the concept of revisiting the basics, but don’t take my word for it.
The late Kobe Bryant was asked, “why do you think you’re the greatest player in the world?” His response? “Because I never get bored with the basics.”
Arguably one of the greatest basketball players of all time always revisited the foundation of his craft. He never took anything for granted, and by taking time for the basics, he could reinforce what made him great. And the same goes for us.
7 Training Principles Needed for Success
When training, it’s easy to get caught up on the next best exercise, how much we lift, or how much weight we’ve lost, and none of that’s bad.
But sometimes, we get too fixated on the outcomes and lose sight of the foundation that will make those outcomes efficient and lasting.
So today, I am chatting about 7 vital training principles that should always be considered when training to make sure you are on the surest path to success.
Recovery
Why do we train? Because we want to achieve some type of adaptation.
Of course, the time in the gym creates the stimulus for change, but how the body physiologically responds to that stimulus really matters. Recovery is the catalyst for those changes. Recovery is significantly overlooked, and in some circles, it’s considered a weakness. But recovery is the furthest thing from weakness. It literally leads to strength. One of the first things you should consider when designing your programs and considering your loading structures is how much you will recover.
Recovery doesn’t mean off or lazy days. Of course, it means deciding how many days you’ll train in a week, but it also means deciding how hard you’ll train in those sessions. Further, it’s about what things you’ll do to enhance the necessary physiological adaptations. This includes hydration, nutritional intake, stress management, and sleep.
Let’s be real, for most people, this is more difficult to manage than getting to the gym. So have a heart-to-heart with yourself or your client about your recovery modalities.
- Are you doing everything you can outside of the gym to support the goals you’re after?
- What changes do you need to make to support recovery?
- Do you need to be disciplined and have a hard “lights out” bedtime?
- Would reminders on your phone to eat or hydrate throughout the day be helpful?
- Should you commit to stress management strategies, like yoga or meditation?
- Do you make yourself take 10 minutes at the end of your training to focus on mobility and stretching?
- Recovery is vital to results, so ensure you are not underestimating its impact.
Reversibility
Although one of the easiest training principles, it’s incredibly important to revisit. It’s a great reminder that what we gain can be lost.
It’s that simple.
The body will take the path of least resistance, and if the adaptations are no longer stimulating the body, it will revert to what it’s comfortable. This principle simply reminds us that progression and regression both occur based on how we are training or not training.
So don’t get too complacent, and always consider ways to continue improving. Even maintaining a moderate level of stimulus can support your improvements.
Consistency
This training principle contributes to the previous, and as simple as it is, it fundamentally impacts results. You can have the best program in the world, but if your training is hit-or-miss, it won’t yield the results you’re after.
Although I am all about efficiency and doing things right, sometimes just doing something, rather than nothing, is better. It’s easy to fall into the all-or-nothing mindset when training. Meaning, that if you can’t train exactly how you planned, it’s not worth it.
I know I’ve fallen into this trap before. Life happens, schedules conflict, and I only have 15 minutes to train. In the past, I skipped it because I couldn’t “train the way that I wanted to.” If this happens too often, our training becomes inconsistent, which can lead to decreased results.
Consistency matters.
If you find yourself in a circumstance like I just described, adapt.
Do something that will still create the stimulus, albeit not what you intended, but remain consistent with your training schedule.
Maybe you focus on exercises that will lead to a quick fatigue response, such as isometric or eccentric training.
Perhaps use that time as recovery by focusing on improving mobility of hypertonic tissue or joints.
Frame your mind to stay consistent with your commitment to training.
Variation
Variation refers to more than just changing the exercises you do each day. You can have a consistent training schedule of the same exercises but still significantly vary your training. The variation training principle refers to the demands you put on the body by manipulating different training variables.
Those variables can change; everything from exercises you select, repetition and set patterns, load or type of load used, order of exercises, or even rest time. Each of these variables will elicit a response, so continually modifying them continues to challenge the body, leading to the adaptations you want.
Further, variation can also refer to the methods in which you train.
For example, try free weights if you train mostly with cables or machines. If you focus on isolation exercises mostly, change it by adding compound multi-joint movements. If you’ve had the same training splits, change the days you train those muscles or mix it up by adding a new and different exercise.
That’s something I do. I always end my training days with one different exercise, just to add some challenge, variation, and fun. I call them “Movement Mix-Ups,” and I post one to my Instagram weekly. If you’re interested in getting some ideas, check out my Instagram @pete.rohleder.
Any subtle changes will elicit responses, and these responses can help lead to optimum outcomes. You’re only limited by your creativity, so have fun and add some purposeful variation to your training.
Individualization
Individualization is an important training principle because achieving health and fitness goals are not one-size-fits-all. Continually fine-tuning our approach based on several feedback and responses to your training optimizes our results.
Of course, there are general approaches, like lifting heavy will develop strength, and high repetitions develop endurance. But how each person responds to these training modalities differs based on training status, recovery, technique mastery, or mobility limitations, so we must take the time to individualize our training program and structures.
It could be as simple as adapting exercises to fit specific needs or even changing the way we execute movements to target certain fibers of a muscle. We could modify a movement to accommodate those that are struggling to execute a movement.
Without the individualization training principle, training stays general and somewhat generic, which may still provide results, but it may not be the best approach for specific desired outcomes.
So, keep tuned in to your training and how you are progressing, and often check to make sure you are accomplishing what you’re setting out to achieve. Make the workout work for you.
Specificity
Specificity is the next of the training principles. If my goal is to be a better swimmer, will performing only Lat Pulldowns and Barbell Rows help me reach my goal?
In short, no.
These exercises will provide potential benefits that could help me improve the musculature involved in swimming, but if I want to be a better swimmer, I need to swim.
Specificity.
If you want to develop a particular trait or goal, you need to train for that outcome in ways that will directly impact it. That does require some investment in understanding what constitutes your goal.
When you are programming, I suggest you run down a list of questions that will help you narrow your approach. Here are a few guiding questions you can use:
- What primary component will lead to my goal?
- What specific muscles need to be targeted?
- What exercises will best develop them?
- Are there movement patterns that should be reinforced?
- Which energy system will best develop this trait?
- What intensity do I train at to elicit the adaptations needed?
The details matter. If you want efficient results, you have to train efficiently, and that means having purpose and intent with your approach. Check to make sure the training principle specificity is factored into your training approach.
Progressive Overload
Progressive Overload is exactly what it sounds like; continually do more in some way to challenge the system, and of all the training principles, this one may take the cake.
But it won’t work if there’s no rhyme or reason.
Training intensities, volumes, and bioenergetic specificity have to be systematically and rationally alternated to provide the best possible training outcomes. You have to be exposed to a systematic and progressive increase in training stimuli designed to elevate physiological performance capacity.
We call this crossing the threshold of adaptation. It’s the point at which the stimulus was enough to trigger an adaptation.
Think of it like this. Maybe you had a sibling or a friend when you were a kid who was trying to annoy you. I know my go-to with my brothers was getting my finger as close to touching their face, but without actually touching it and saying, “I’m not touching you.” I know, annoying, right? They would sit there a few times until finally it was too much for them, and they reached their threshold of tolerance and acted, usually by lunging at me or yelling for mom and dad.
Silly example, I know, but it helps drive home the point; if we don’t create enough physiological stimulus with our training, our body will not adapt as effectively as we want. Our training needs to hit that threshold for substantial improvements to be made.
This training principle really is the key to improvement. The process is simple but not easy. It’s as follows:
Increase stimulus (load) – Adaptation – Performance improvement
But of course, this must be strategic, and your stimulus must be appropriate. If the load is always the same, adaptations, occur early and then level off, which is extremely common. It follows this pattern:
Lack of stimulus (load)- Plateau- Lack of improvement
On the other hand, if the stimulus is not planned appropriately, and load is excessive too often, and fatigue is not mitigated, maladaptation occurs and follows this pattern:
Excessive stimulus (load)® Maladaptation® Decrease in performance
Shock the Status Quo
The important thing to remember is that training is only beneficial if it overloads the body in a way that stimulates adaptation. The body must be challenged enough to recognize it needs to accommodate this stress.
I call it shocking the status quo, or to put it another way, disrupt homeostasis.
If the stimulus does not induce a sufficient physiological challenge, no increase in adaptation can be expected. This can be done in numerous ways, many of which I’ll discuss in future episodes.
But for now, consider the most accessible means of overload in your training: your variables.
Most people think of the loads you use, but it can also include your sets, repetitions, and rest times. It’s amazing how impactful changing just those can be. Experiment with them and keep it simple at first.
Next time you train, decrease the rest time between all sets and exercises and notice how differently your body responds. You could add sets or change your rep scheme- anything that will continue to challenge the system.
Beware the “Go All Out or Go Home” Mentality
I need to caution you that this isn’t a “go all out or go home” mentality, meaning every training day is at 100%. It’s not possible because your fatigue will accumulate so fast that you’ll have no choice but to either take more rest days or decrease intensity.
Remember, it’s about reaching the threshold of adaptation. Just enough to stimulate beyond that level is sufficient.
So be strategic about the days you’ ‘ll train at higher intensities and find ways to still stimulate adaptation on your lower intensity days.
A simple question to ask each time you train: “Am I challenging myself more this time than last time in some way?” If so, you’re on the right path toward shocking the status quo.
Conclusion: Invest in the 7 Training Principles
There you have it, 7 vital training principles for success. To review they are:
- Recovery
- Reversibility
- Consistency
- Variation
- Individualization
- Specificity
- Progressive Overload
I strongly suggest you take a moment to review these 7 training principles and ask yourself if you’re training optimally with these in mind. If not, make a few modifications to your approach so you can get the most out of your training.
It never hurts to re-invest in yourself, grow, and learn. Ever.
Thanks so much for tuning in. It means the world to me, and I appreciate you.
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I look forward to chatting with you next time!
Take care of yourselves, and remember, wherever you are, keep moving.
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Connect with Pete on Instagram: @pete.rohleder
Pete Rohleder
