Kent Sport health and fitness instructor Sarah Black explains the impact training and exercise have on the body.
Do you ever wonder how the body changes and adapts to training and exercise? How do muscles grow, when do they grow, why do they grow? What training should I be doing or not doing to achieve my goals?
Here is some valuable knowledge that I feel will benefit your health and fitness.
In general terms there are three main adaptations that occur during training. There are Neural, Structural and Chemical changes that happen in the body.
Neural changes would occur with the CNS/PNS system of the brain and influence co-ordination, enhancing neuro-muscular pathways, allowing movements to become more natural.
Chemical changes for example would be energy – enhancing enzymes developed through an endurance session and released such as endorphins (the feel good factor).
Structural changes are an increase of cross sectional areas in muscles from a hypertrophy session resulting in muscle gains.
These factors are majorly improved through exercise and happen when correct regimes are followed through programming and adherence.
When do you see these adaptions and positive results taking place though?
The answer is during rest times. Yes, that’s correct when we are asleep or resting the body gets a chance to recover, repair and grow.
During training we encourage fatigue and ensure the load is sufficient enough to super compensate. The training load will therefore progress and adapt, seeing improvements which will happen as I mentioned in the detraining load.
The maintenance load is the amount of effort we put into exercise that will sufficiently maintain the quality of all the training we do.
I have covered the basis of when improvements are made, but now when do we lose them and how?
Perhaps we are unfortunate enough to be victim to an injury or sickness. If you are the type of person to worry about your gains being lost and shredded through lack of training then this is what you need to know. Chemical adaptations such as the enhancing factors (endorphins) and blood chemistry changes are known to decline after only a few days out of exercise. Structural adaptations like our muscle size will be maintained for about four weeks as long as the limbs are not immobilised. Neural adaptations such as our patterns of movement and memory takes a lot longer to decline.
When we try a new exercise or when an individual is not accustomed to exercising a signal is sent from the brain to the muscle that may sense pain and tells the Golgi Tendon Organ to contract, limiting flexibility and reducing the range of movement. The Golgi Tendon Organ is basically the safety device which prohibits over stretching in a muscle, which could result in injury if the signal is insufficiently sent. When we are new to exercise the brain sends loads of these signals restricting the amount of force we can develop and lowering our ability to produce massive power. However, after we get used to exercise and the movement patterns, the signals reduce as the pattern becomes more efficient and the feedback signaling is not as frequent. This allows the brain to work less and eventually the movement becomes more natural which will lead to greater force production.
The type of training that will lead to achieving your targets and goals will all depend on what you want to achieve! This is the greatest barrier to every individual reaching their desired fitness goals. I see many clients failing in the field and never understanding why despite the efforts they put in.
Specificity is what you need to focus on if you want to achieve a certain goal.
If you want something in particular you need to ensure the training is specific to that desire. If you want to be the fastest sprinter, then running long distances in training will not make you the quickest at your sport. If you want to be a jumper then you need to jump not sit on a bike for hours! The same goes for fitness goals such as weight loss or weight gain. If you want to lose weight then focus upon calorie deficit, if you want to gain weight then replenishment must be top priority. Develop a plan and periodise your training if you want to succeed in a certain area of fitness.
The body is a complex machine and what the mind does the body will follow. However sometimes we need to accept that adaptations need to take place without the mind disrupting; the mind needs to understand that in order to do this the body needs rest and nurture. We are all individuals and respond differently to training and to the effects of exercise, therefore following text book guide lines are not always reliable. The more familiar you become with your body; experiences will be the indicator to knowing what methods to follow and what results you can expect from your actions.
The best advice I can give you is find a valuable source, a trustworthy opinion and take into consideration their advice alongside your own, to determine the best programme to follow. I always seek as many sources as I can, take them all into perspective to determine my judgment on the most reliable and effective opinion.
If you ever need assistance please branch out to the professionals at Kent Sport who undoubtedly will guide you to peak performance. We have a number of Fitness Instructors who can design you a bespoke programme that will ensure you reach your goals and targets.
You can check out our online events calendar at www.kent.ac.uk/sports or pop into the Sports Centre and pick up a term one Sport at Kent activities booklet.
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