Nowadays, it’s very trendy to engage in physical training. Gyms are popping up like mushrooms. But why is exercising actually so good for you? In the upcoming blog series, we’ll delve deeper into various topics surrounding the principle of ‘training’. What does training and being fit mean for BOOSTClubs? Does cardio, HIIT, or strength training align with your goals? Is it true that you get ‘short muscles’ from strength training and should you do yoga to maintain flexibility? How do you keep training sustainable, enjoyable, and achieve results?
The Key Aspects of Physical Training
At BOOSTClubs, many people train to be fit for everyday life. For us, that means feeling physically free to live as you want. It means not hesitating to play with your children, daring to sign up for that hike that seems so cool, not needing to catch your breath at the top of the stairs. You name it…
Because all these things require different facets of fitness, we believe in a personalized approach that challenges you in the key aspects of physical training. Namely, strength, flexibility, and endurance, a combination that you always see in BOOSTClubs’ workouts. Although these categories may seem very different, they share three common principles that are important in training and achieving results: Progressive overload, the S.A.I.D principle, and persistence.
Principle 1: Progressive overload
Regardless of the training form or style you adopt, if you want to see results, you’ll need to do a little more each time. Even the The ancient Greeks Indeed. They wrote about a legendary wrestling champion who devised a very interesting training method. The Greek trained by lifting a newborn calf and carrying it over his shoulders. Every day, for 4 years. And during those 4 years, the calf grew into a full-grown bull, and Milo, the Greek, into a wrestling champion. Well, that’s the story, at least. Although we may need to take that story with a grain of salt, there is a kernel of truth to it.
Every day Milo approaches the calf again, the calf is slightly heavier than the day before. And every day he lifts the calf, Milo is slightly stronger than the previous time. After all, he has trained. This way, the weight remains challenging enough for him every day. If after a year of training he were still lugging around the same weight, this weight wouldn’t be challenging enough anymore to give him an efficient training stimulus. On the other hand, if he had started with the bull, he would never have succeeded, and that wouldn’t have given him an efficient training stimulus either.
The Progression Model
In the gym, we work with tools that are handier than cattle. But the principle remains the same. If you want to see results, you’ll need to do a little more each time (progressive overload). This can come in the form of more repetitions or more weight on the barbell. You can also combine them. At BOOSTClubs, we like to use the following progression model:
Week 1: 8 kg x 10
Week 2: 8 kg x 11
Week 3: 8 kg x 12
Week 4: 10 kg x 10 (increase weight and decrease repetitions)
Repeat!
Will you pick up a slightly heavier weight next time now that you know how it works?
Principle 2: The S.A.I.D. Principle
S.A.I.D. stands for ‘specific adaptations to imposed demands.’ In other words, ‘your body only improves in what you challenge it with.’ The best way to get stronger is to lift heavy things. The best way to train your endurance is to exhaust yourself conditionally. But it goes even further than that. The S.A.I.D. principle also explains why you can run long distances but still be out of breath when doing a HIIT circuit. Or why you can kick high in kickboxing but can’t do a split.
Your body adapts specifically to what you demand of it, and whether that translates to other sports or movements is another question. Translating from one movement to another is called ‘transfer.’ So, it’s important to assess whether the challenges in your training have high transfer to your personal goal. Check out this video for inspiration.
Principle 3: Persistence
This may be a cliche, but it’s oh so important. No training works if you don’t stick with it. And that’s why enjoyment in your training is important. It’s much better to do a 60% optimal program for 100% than a 100% program for 20%! But how?
You can make persistence easier by adhering to 3 principles:
Ensure it fits practically into your life (in terms of time, location, etc.);
Make sure it’s enjoyable and suits you;
Have a clear understanding of why you’re doing it.
To help you with this, we’ll explain more about the benefits of different training forms in this blog series. First, we’ll examine strength training and also take a deep dive into the various facts & myths of strength training.
But of course, we can help you better in real life! If you’re wondering which training form works best for you, need assistance with (sustaining) training, or require guidance with your goals and/or motivation,
Book an intake session with one of our BOOSTClubs here. Our trainers and coaches are happy to assist you!
