Progessive adaptation is when change happens to the body. Resistance training provides a variety of adaptations. Resistance training ensures optimal health and longevity. Overtime strength and endurance develop, length of training time increases before reaching exhaustion, leading to greater change. Main adaptations are:
- Stabilization: ability to provide optimal dynamic joint support, maintain correct posture in all movement. Proper stabilization is achieved when the ability to fire the right muscles, with the right force, in the proper plane of motion at the right time is achieved. High levels of muscular endurance are required. Training in controlled unstable environments increases stabilization.
- Endurance: ability to produce and maintain force production for prolonged periods of time. Increases core and joint stabilization. The foundation for hypertrophy, strength and power training. Forces the recruitment of postural muscles (type 1). Higher reps and periodization training are best to increase muscular endurance.
- Hypertrophy: enlargement of skeletal muscle fibers. Increase in cross-sectional area of individual muscle fibers. Visibility of results doesn’t always show initially, sometimes 4-8 weeks. Low to intermediate rep ranges plus progressive overload equals hypertrophy.
- Strength: ability to create internal tension to overcome external force. Degree of internal tension is the result of strength adaptations. Intensity and training are factors in type of strength gained. Increased recruitment of motor units is a factor of increased strength. Heavier loads increase strength until a plateau is reached. Strength requires stabilization. Strength training cannot be thought of in isolation. Designed to match characteristics of type 2 muscle fibers.
- Power: ability to create the greatest possible force in the shortest amount of time. Power is force times velocity. It is built on stabilization and strength adaptations. Increases in force or velocity will increase power. Training can include increases in weight or speeds at which weight is moved. To maximize training heavy and light loads need to be moved as fast as possible in a controlled manner.