Saturday, November 13, 2010

by Alex Chaple

          As I am writing this, I am sat in an airport on my return from a course with Charles Poliquin in the US. The subject of this short article is a very simple concept that is far too often forgotten when most people enter a gym or go out for a run. I am talking about the positive response to new stress and the negative response of exposure to the same stress.

          As I sit here I am barely able to straighten my legs. Everytime I have stood up to go in search of food (which is very difficult in an American airport) a huge pain shoots up from my achillies tendon to the back of my knee. Allow me to explain... 2 days ago, before I was due in class, I walked across the road from my hotel to the local gym. It wasn't a great gym and was full of all the common sights and equipment you would expect. However, they did poses a standing calf machine. I train my calves on a weekly basis with various different methods ranging from single leg raises, seated machine raises to jumps and eccentric work. However, I had not performed a standing machine raise in some time. The result of this new stimulus? Agonising pain with every step I take!

          Varying exercise progressions and loading patterns is something that is far too often neglected. People go to the gym week after week and perform their favourite exercises over and over again, often with very little or no progress. Stagnation is death for your progress! With no new stimulus to adapt to your body will not grow or improve. This very often why fat loss doesn't happen, why runners never improve their times and why muscles do not grow.

          Learn from my pain. Even the slightest change in exercise was enough for me (who rarely gets too sore purely from the variety of training I have performed over the years) to experience a huge adaptive response. If you are not improving do not lose hope. Often following the right training program can make a big difference in your results.

Contact me to find out how we can improve your training routine to get the most "bang for your buck".