This is Part 2 of our strength-building principles. If you recall from the first strength-building blog, I discussed the principles of specificity, overload, fatigue management, and individual differences. In this piece, I want to introduce you to three more principles that are needed to build strength within yourself or your athletes. Keep in mind that principles are the fundamental set of philosophies, propositions, assumptions, laws, and rules concerning a topic, problem, or circumstances. The principles can teach you why something works the way it does. Methods, on the other hand, are merely devices to apply those principles in a particular circumstance. This is why I want you all to truly focus on the principles of building strength. Once you fully understand these seven principles, it is easier to apply methods to drive the right adaptation for you athletes.

The principles I will go through in this section to round out the seven are variation, super compensation, and periodization.

Variation:

With this principle, I am not referring to constantly changing the exercise. Keep in mind that for strength adaptations to occur, you need time. If you are always changing the stimulus from week to week, then the adaptations will cease or never exist (assuming the person is not a beginner). What I am referring to with variation deals with time under tension, reps, sets, and movements. As you transition from training block to training block, you can look to vary tempo, pauses, and movement variations for that exercise in order to continually drive a stimulus to elicit an adaptation.

Periodization:

Periodization is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training. The aim is to reach the best possible performance in the most important competition of the year. It involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period. This system of training is typically divided up into three types of cycles: microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle. The microcycle is generally up to one to seven days, the mesocycle is anywhere from six to twelve weeks (a training block), while the macrocycle is generally the year. This is the manipulation of the variables within these phases (sets, repetitions, load) that are needed to bring about the specific adaptations desired within that particular period.

Supercompensation:

In sports science theory, supercompensation is the post training period during which the trained aspect has a higher performance capacity than it did prior to the training period. So, in training we want to apply a stimulus to the body, following the stimulus there will be a moment (time) of fatigue, then a period of recovery. Now, if programmed properly, then from the stimulus and with the time for recovery, the body will reach a new baseline for strength. What’s important here is understanding this time of recovery that the body needs so we know when to apply the next “like” stimulus in order to keep driving adaptation. If we apply another like-stimulus too soon, then the body will stay in a level of fatigue. If we wait too long, then the body will “fizzle” out from the previous stimulus to the prior baseline. Understanding supercompensation will allow a stronger foundation of program design for your athlete.

So, we have reviewed the seven principles as they apply to building strength: specificity, overload, fatigue management, individual differences, variation, periodization, and supercompensation. These principles are tried and true, and the more you understand them the more efficient your approach to the methods will be!

Strength is the baseline for every sport. The stronger you are in relation to what is needed for your sport, the better you are and the more longevity you will have.

As always, if you are looking for the right guidance, check out our programs and set up a free consultation to see how we can best help you reach your goals.

-Coach Jay