The Importance of Adaptation

You may have followed all of the advice in this guide to a tee, but there’s something missing.

Everything might be going swimmingly for the first couple of months but suddenly, you realize that you’re not making any progress. It might be that you’re stuck at the same weight, and not able to drop any further. Or, it might be that your muscle measurements aren’t going anywhere.

While there could be umpteen reasons behind the above, if it occurs after these first couple of months we’re going to suggest that it’s because of adaptation.

In short, the body has to be continuously pushed. This doesn’t just focus around the progressive weights, but other factors. Your body can become “bored” and plateau if you continue to force the same exercises upon it – and those that were once prompting wonderful results are now pretty ineffective. This is because your body has adapted and is craving change.

Bearing this in mind, let’s take a look at the process of adaption and how you can manage it accordingly.

The different stages of adaptation

To start with, let’s highlight just how your body approaches these exercises. It’s generally split into the following three stages.

• The first few weeks: This is the toughest period for your body and if you have just taken on a new workout plan, you’ll know exactly what we mean. Even seemingly basic exercises are very difficult to overcome, for the simple reason that these muscles have a new stimulus. You might experience muscular soreness – but this is all part of the process and completely normal.
• The next 12 weeks: Unfortunately, this next period is going to vary between individuals. Experts suggest that it can be anywhere between four and 12 weeks though, and this is the period where you will notice efficiency in your exercises. In other words, it’s a lot easier to power through those exercises that were once exceptionally difficult.
• 16 weeks onwards: This is the point you need to avoid. After 16 weeks, the benefits from your training end. You might plateau and you desperately need to change things up in a bid to progress. We’ll help you with this shortly, don’t worry.

When should you change your workout?

Some of you might just wait until the 16 week mark before changing this, but we’d advise against this approach. If you are experiencing any of the following signs, it’s vital proof that your workout needs to change as you are just not reaping the benefits.

Your progress stalls

Here’s the obvious sign; you’re just not making progress with your workout. It might be that you aren’t losing weight, or you aren’t putting on muscle but either way, the progress that you were once experiencing has long-gone.

You are starting to incur injuries

This is another major “symptom” and one that shows the change needs to happen immediately. If you continue to put your body under the same stresses, it stands to reason that it’s going to break down over time.

You are bored

This final symptom is actually psychological, but most of you will have probably experienced it anyway. In simple terms, you are just bored of your workout. You are starting to dislike exercise as your mind isn’t being stimulated anymore, as well as your body.

How can you change your workout?

This is perhaps one of the more interesting parts of the adaptation philosophy. Most people are under the impression that you just need to add more weights, or more distance, depending on your type of training.

While this is going to encourage progression, it’s not necessarily going to make your body adapt. After all, it’s still going to be performing the same movements, even if it’s subjected to slightly more weight.

There are several factors which can help you adapt, and these come in the form of the F.I.T.T principle:

• Frequency: How much do you currently exercise? Well, it’s time to change this and usually, this will involve increasing the amount.
• Intensity: As the name suggests, this is all about how hard you work out. This might focus on the number of sets you complete, depending on the type of exercise you are performing.
• Time: Again, the type of exercise you are performing will impact this. In the case of weight training, you might increase your number of sets. Then, when it comes to cardio, you might work out for fifteen minutes longer. It doesn’t always have to increase either; some people will reduce their sets but increase their reps – all with the aim of adapting accordingly.
• Type: The type of exercise you perform might relate to the overall type (such as weight or cardio training) or just the exercises you are performing in the gym. Either way, changing these is probably the biggest benefit you can give to your muscles, just so they don’t become used to the same movement over and over again.