Why Am I Not Making Progress

By Boyd Myers

- The Overcompensation Principle: Mother Nature overcompensates for training stress by giving you bigger and stronger muscles. How do you overcompensate? See next principle.

- The Overload Principle: To make Mother Nature overcompensate, you must stress your muscles beyond what they're already used to. One more rep, one more set, shorter rest periods, etc. Now, with that being said, you still have to remember to stay within the parameters of your goals. If you are training to get bigger, that doesn't mean to go in there and rest 5 seconds between sets - that would be more of an endurance style workout. Use common sense and don't take this out of context...

- The SAID Principle: The acronym for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands." If your training objectives include becoming more explosive, then you have to train explosively. If you desire greater limit strength (primarily from an increase in the cross section of myofibrils), you must use heavier weights than if you were training, for example, local muscular endurance (capillarization and mitochondrial adaptations). If your objectives include deriving cardiovascular benefits, then you must tax the heart muscle as well as the oxygen-using abilities of the working muscles. Yes, specifically training for one objective can detract from another objective, and this is why periodization is important.

- The Use/Disuse Principle: "Use it or lose it" means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse. This is common sense.

- The Specificity Principle: You'll get stronger at squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses, and you'll get greater endurance for the marathon by running long distances than you will by (say) cycling long distances. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TOWARD YOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE, whether it is to grow, shrink, get faster, stronger, or whatever...

- The GAS Principle: The acronym for General Adaptation Syndrome, this law states that there must be a period of low intensity training or complete rest following periods of high intensity training. This is usually one of the more confusing, so I'm going to take Dr. Sal Arria and Fred Hatfield explain it better than I can:

"The GAS is comprised of three stages according to its originator, Dr. Hans Seyle: 1) the "alarm stage" caused by the application of intense training stress (the overload principle), 2) the "resistance stage," when our muscles adapt in order to resist stressful weights more efficiently (The Overcompensation, SAID and Use/Disuse Principles), and 3) the "exhaustion stage" where, if we persist in applying stress we will exhaust our reserves and then be forced to stop training.

"In gym lingo, the GAS law states that there must be a period of low-intensity training or complete rest following periods of high-intensity training. The reason for this is that the stress you have applied is traumatic, forcing your "injured" muscles to heal and then adapt. The recovery and overcompensation time must be taken so that further stress does not continue the downward spiral caused by repetitive bouts of trauma.

"Confusion frequently arises in applying this principle. Some tissues and cellular components may have been stressed very little or not at all, and are therefore in need of little or no rest. In fact, if you do not work these tissues, owing to the "law of reversibility," some atrophy will occur. For example, when heavy negative training is performed, much rest is needed because this form of training is highly traumatic to muscles. On the other hand, if the same exercise is performed with the same resistance and speed but the eccentric stress is removed, the rest period needed would be far less. The most frequent misuse of this principle is seen among those who insist on training each body part once weekly (for example) just because "it works." This is generally not advised, as it is far too infrequent and too much rest. Inevitably, either precious time is wasted or detraining results in some systems’ tissues or cellular elements.

There are much more to these, but I cannot possibly go on enough about these. So, if you aren't incorporating these in your routine, YOU ARE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME...

If you're read any of my previous writings or answers on message boards, you'll notice that I usually mention a few of these when someone asks me if something (a training program) will work. Here are the definitions of the Laws of Training: - The Law of Individual Differences: We all have different abilities and weaknesses, and we all respond differently (to a degree) to any given system of training. These differences should be taken into consideration when designing your training program. In short - we are ALL different. What works OPTIMALLY for you probably will not work optimally for me... - The Overcompensation Principle: Mother Nature overcompensates for training stress by giving you bigger and stronger muscles. How do you overcompensate? See next principle. - The Overload Principle: To make Mother Nature overcompensate, you must stress your muscles beyond what they're already used to. One more rep, one more set, shorter rest periods, etc. Now, with that being said, you still have to remember to stay within the parameters of your goals. If you are training to get bigger, that doesn't mean to go in there and rest 5 seconds between sets - that would be more of an endurance style workout. Use common sense and don't take this out of context... - The SAID Principle: The acronym for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands." If your training objectives include becoming more explosive, then you have to train explosively. If you desire greater limit strength (primarily from an increase in the cross section of myofibrils), you must use heavier weights than if you were training, for example, local muscular endurance (capillarization and mitochondrial adaptations). If your objectives include deriving cardiovascular benefits, then you must tax the heart muscle as well as the oxygen-using abilities of the working muscles. Yes, specifically training for one objective can detract from another objective, and this is why periodization is important. - The Use/Disuse Principle: "Use it or lose it" means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse. This is common sense. - The Specificity Principle: You'll get stronger at squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses, and you'll get greater endurance for the marathon by running long distances than you will by (say) cycling long distances. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TOWARD YOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE, whether it is to grow, shrink, get faster, stronger, or whatever...- The GAS Principle: The acronym for General Adaptation Syndrome, this law states that there must be a period of low intensity training or complete rest following periods of high intensity training. This is usually one of the more confusing, so I'm going to take Dr. Sal Arria and Fred Hatfield explain it better than I can:"The GAS is comprised of three stages according to its originator, Dr. Hans Seyle: 1) the "alarm stage" caused by the application of intense training stress (the overload principle), 2) the "resistance stage," when our muscles adapt in order to resist stressful weights more efficiently (The Overcompensation, SAID and Use/Disuse Principles), and 3) the "exhaustion stage" where, if we persist in applying stress we will exhaust our reserves and then be forced to stop training. "In gym lingo, the GAS law states that there must be a period of low-intensity training or complete rest following periods of high-intensity training. The reason for this is that the stress you have applied is traumatic, forcing your "injured" muscles to heal and then adapt. The recovery and overcompensation time must be taken so that further stress does not continue the downward spiral caused by repetitive bouts of trauma. "Confusion frequently arises in applying this principle. Some tissues and cellular components may have been stressed very little or not at all, and are therefore in need of little or no rest. In fact, if you do not work these tissues, owing to the "law of reversibility," some atrophy will occur. For example, when heavy negative training is performed, much rest is needed because this form of training is highly traumatic to muscles. On the other hand, if the same exercise is performed with the same resistance and speed but the eccentric stress is removed, the rest period needed would be far less. The most frequent misuse of this principle is seen among those who insist on training each body part once weekly (for example) just because "it works." This is generally not advised, as it is far too infrequent and too much rest. Inevitably, either precious time is wasted or detraining results in some systems’ tissues or cellular elements. There are much more to these, but I cannot possibly go on enough about these. So, if you aren't incorporating these in your routine, YOU ARE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME...

If you're read any of my previous writings or answers on message boards, you'll notice that I usually mention a few of these when someone asks me if something (a training program) will work. Here are the definitions of the Laws of Training: - The Law of Individual Differences: We all have different abilities and weaknesses, and we all respond differently (to a degree) to any given system of training. These differences should be taken into consideration when designing your training program. In short - we are ALL different. What works OPTIMALLY for you probably will not work optimally for me... - The Overcompensation Principle: Mother Nature overcompensates for training stress by giving you bigger and stronger muscles. How do you overcompensate? See next principle. - The Overload Principle: To make Mother Nature overcompensate, you must stress your muscles beyond what they're already used to. One more rep, one more set, shorter rest periods, etc. Now, with that being said, you still have to remember to stay within the parameters of your goals. If you are training to get bigger, that doesn't mean to go in there and rest 5 seconds between sets - that would be more of an endurance style workout. Use common sense and don't take this out of context... - The SAID Principle: The acronym for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands." If your training objectives include becoming more explosive, then you have to train explosively. If you desire greater limit strength (primarily from an increase in the cross section of myofibrils), you must use heavier weights than if you were training, for example, local muscular endurance (capillarization and mitochondrial adaptations). If your objectives include deriving cardiovascular benefits, then you must tax the heart muscle as well as the oxygen-using abilities of the working muscles. Yes, specifically training for one objective can detract from another objective, and this is why periodization is important. - The Use/Disuse Principle: "Use it or lose it" means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse. This is common sense. - The Specificity Principle: You'll get stronger at squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses, and you'll get greater endurance for the marathon by running long distances than you will by (say) cycling long distances. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TOWARD YOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE, whether it is to grow, shrink, get faster, stronger, or whatever...- The GAS Principle: The acronym for General Adaptation Syndrome, this law states that there must be a period of low intensity training or complete rest following periods of high intensity training. This is usually one of the more confusing, so I'm going to take Dr. Sal Arria and Fred Hatfield explain it better than I can:"The GAS is comprised of three stages according to its originator, Dr. Hans Seyle: 1) the "alarm stage" caused by the application of intense training stress (the overload principle), 2) the "resistance stage," when our muscles adapt in order to resist stressful weights more efficiently (The Overcompensation, SAID and Use/Disuse Principles), and 3) the "exhaustion stage" where, if we persist in applying stress we will exhaust our reserves and then be forced to stop training. "In gym lingo, the GAS law states that there must be a period of low-intensity training or complete rest following periods of high-intensity training. The reason for this is that the stress you have applied is traumatic, forcing your "injured" muscles to heal and then adapt. The recovery and overcompensation time must be taken so that further stress does not continue the downward spiral caused by repetitive bouts of trauma. "Confusion frequently arises in applying this principle. Some tissues and cellular components may have been stressed very little or not at all, and are therefore in need of little or no rest. In fact, if you do not work these tissues, owing to the "law of reversibility," some atrophy will occur. For example, when heavy negative training is performed, much rest is needed because this form of training is highly traumatic to muscles. On the other hand, if the same exercise is performed with the same resistance and speed but the eccentric stress is removed, the rest period needed would be far less. The most frequent misuse of this principle is seen among those who insist on training each body part once weekly (for example) just because "it works." This is generally not advised, as it is far too infrequent and too much rest. Inevitably, either precious time is wasted or detraining results in some systems’ tissues or cellular elements. There are much more to these, but I cannot possibly go on enough about these. So, if you aren't incorporating these in your routine, YOU ARE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME... 

If you're read any of my previous writings or answers on message boards, you'll notice that I usually mention a few of these when someone asks me if something (a training program) will work. Here are the definitions of the Laws of Training: - The Law of Individual Differences: We all have different abilities and weaknesses, and we all respond differently (to a degree) to any given system of training. These differences should be taken into consideration when designing your training program. In short - we are ALL different. What works OPTIMALLY for you probably will not work optimally for me... - The Overcompensation Principle: Mother Nature overcompensates for training stress by giving you bigger and stronger muscles. How do you overcompensate? See next principle. - The Overload Principle: To make Mother Nature overcompensate, you must stress your muscles beyond what they're already used to. One more rep, one more set, shorter rest periods, etc. Now, with that being said, you still have to remember to stay within the parameters of your goals. If you are training to get bigger, that doesn't mean to go in there and rest 5 seconds between sets - that would be more of an endurance style workout. Use common sense and don't take this out of context... - The SAID Principle: The acronym for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands." If your training objectives include becoming more explosive, then you have to train explosively. If you desire greater limit strength (primarily from an increase in the cross section of myofibrils), you must use heavier weights than if you were training, for example, local muscular endurance (capillarization and mitochondrial adaptations). If your objectives include deriving cardiovascular benefits, then you must tax the heart muscle as well as the oxygen-using abilities of the working muscles. Yes, specifically training for one objective can detract from another objective, and this is why periodization is important. - The Use/Disuse Principle: "Use it or lose it" means that your muscles hypertrophy with use and atrophy with disuse. This is common sense. - The Specificity Principle: You'll get stronger at squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses, and you'll get greater endurance for the marathon by running long distances than you will by (say) cycling long distances. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TOWARD YOUR SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE, whether it is to grow, shrink, get faster, stronger, or whatever...- The GAS Principle: The acronym for General Adaptation Syndrome, this law states that there must be a period of low intensity training or complete rest following periods of high intensity training. This is usually one of the more confusing, so I'm going to take Dr. Sal Arria and Fred Hatfield explain it better than I can:"The GAS is comprised of three stages according to its originator, Dr. Hans Seyle: 1) the "alarm stage" caused by the application of intense training stress (the overload principle), 2) the "resistance stage," when our muscles adapt in order to resist stressful weights more efficiently (The Overcompensation, SAID and Use/Disuse Principles), and 3) the "exhaustion stage" where, if we persist in applying stress we will exhaust our reserves and then be forced to stop training. "In gym lingo, the GAS law states that there must be a period of low-intensity training or complete rest following periods of high-intensity training. The reason for this is that the stress you have applied is traumatic, forcing your "injured" muscles to heal and then adapt. The recovery and overcompensation time must be taken so that further stress does not continue the downward spiral caused by repetitive bouts of trauma. "Confusion frequently arises in applying this principle. Some tissues and cellular components may have been stressed very little or not at all, and are therefore in need of little or no rest. In fact, if you do not work these tissues, owing to the "law of reversibility," some atrophy will occur. For example, when heavy negative training is performed, much rest is needed because this form of training is highly traumatic to muscles. On the other hand, if the same exercise is performed with the same resistance and speed but the eccentric stress is removed, the rest period needed would be far less. The most frequent misuse of this principle is seen among those who insist on training each body part once weekly (for example) just because "it works." This is generally not advised, as it is far too infrequent and too much rest. Inevitably, either precious time is wasted or detraining results in some systems’ tissues or cellular elements. There are much more to these, but I cannot possibly go on enough about these. So, if you aren't incorporating these in your routine, YOU ARE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME...