To help them achieve their goal, it's important to make a plan that will systematically help the client achieve the physical adaptations that they're seeking without stalling out staying in one phase for too long or burning out reaching exhaustion because of intolerable amounts of stress placed on the body.

Using the GAS model, we can expect a client to experience some fatigue, joint stiffness, or DOMS after the first couple of sessions while they're in the alarm stage. After a few weeks of consistent training, the symptoms of the alarm stage should lessen, and the client should enter the resistance development stage and begin to see improvements in their performance.

Their performance will continue to improve until their body adapts to what they're doing, and they possibly hit a plateau. Currently, or the end of 6 weeks in any given phase, it's time to move the client into the next phase of training, whether that means advancing to the next level or cycling back to an earlier phase to change the stimulus.

Cycling through the phases every weeks will allow your client enough time to recover from more difficult phases and to continue to see results as the stimulus continues to change. Keeping the GAS model and the SAID principle in mind while programming will help you better develop a fitness plan for your client that helps them reach their goal effectively and efficiently.

Sutton, B. Nasm Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Kinsey Mahaffey, MPH, is a Houston-based fitness educator, personal trainer and health coach who developed her commitment to lifelong fitness while playing Division I volleyball. You can follow her on LinkedIn here. org Fitness CPT Nutrition CES Sports Performance Workout Plans Wellness.

CPT Muscles General Adaptation Syndrome in Fitness Explained. What is General Adaptation Syndrome? The Author. Kinsey Mahaffey Kinsey Mahaffey, MPH, is a Houston-based fitness educator, personal trainer and health coach who developed her commitment to lifelong fitness while playing Division I volleyball.

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Here's What You Need to Know By Nicole Golden. There are various adaptations to endurance training, which are discussed in some detail below. Understanding these adaptations can be useful background when looking at the different types of training.

Except where noted, this list is based on "Physiology of sport and exercise" [1]. In animal experiments, both endurance and resistance exercise results in improved tensile strength, elastic stiffness, weight and cross-sectional area of tendons [4] , and this has been confirmed in humans [5].

While we tend to think of tendons as passive, mechanical structures, tendons consume glucose during exercise, just like muscles [6] [7] though to a lesser extent and the amount is not proportional to exercise intensity. Research in runners has shown that a bout of running increases tendon growth.

Similar results were seen post-marathon, with a decrease immediately post-race, then rising to a peak after 3 days and returning to the baseline after 5 days [9].

Shorter bursts of exercise have also shown increases in markers for tendon growth [10] [11]. As the line representing your adaptation closes in on the limit of your genetic potential, the slope is reduced, indicating that your daptation from each bout is reduced and your chronic adaptation is thus slowed.

Once the body has reached a certain level of training, the gains come slower. This is generally the difference between a novice, intermediate, and advanced trainees.

To train for maximum potential, one would need to change training techniques by adding recovery time and other exercises. It is of value to note that many people can get to that portion of the slope with very simple training routines. The persistence of adaptation is the length of time that an acquired adaptation will remain at a certain percentage of maximum or that which was previously attained in the absence of the specific stressor.

In the absence of appropriate stress, the adaptation will gradually return to pre-stress levels. This is known as detraining or training decay.

Certain adaptations last longer than others. Strength is very persistent, showing only slight decreases over a period of weeks. Cardiorespiratory adaptations are not; gains from cardio-respiratory training are significantly reduced at the end of 4 weeks.

The reasons are rooted in the fact that our bodies strive to a state of equilibrium, known as homeostasis. Thus, adaptations that are not useful are discarded. Big muscles use up energy and are heavy to carry around if not needed.

Excess mitochondria and a higher red blood cell count serve no purpose in the sedentary individual. These adaptations persist for different lengths of time. Since strength training requires the structural adaptation of tissue bone, muscle, ligaments, tendons, etc.

and the development of motor units, the natural process of returning those structures to pre-training levels is long. Some of these adaptations are relatively permanent. Experienced lifters can take years off from training and return to near previous levels quickly.

Cardio-respiratory training, on the other hand, involves improvements in oxygen carrying capacity. The structures involved in daily activity are more prone to change; they are more invested in returning to normal. It seems logical, then, that these two training modalities should be programmed differently.

Unfortunately, in many programs they are treated as equals, requiring the same amount of time for recovery as for persistence. In my experience, strength training is more useful for humans over the long haul. The goal of training in general should be to develop a robust, injury resistant body that is harder to break.

Strength training accomplishes this goal. As useful as it may be, cardiorespiratory training does not. But in some occupations, it is required the military, in particular. Therefore it makes some sense to design programs that can incorporate both strength and cardio for optimum conditioning.

With this in mind, the majority of training should be based around a strength routine, while some portion of the training cycle must also accommodate cardio training, as well. Since very little research has been done in this specific area, the information henceforth is based on my personal experience in the military with Soldiers, peers, and Cadets.

My suggestion is to take this general technique and make some modifications to find out what works best for you. If you are a strength athlete your weak link is the cardio training. Find out how long it takes you, with dedicated training, to reach your cardio goals.

It will be somewhere between weeks. If it takes longer than that, you are either woefully out of shape or your training program is inadequate.

The Army requires that Soldiers pass the Army Physical Fitness Test twice a year. Generally this will happen at around six month intervals. A useful routine might be to train exclusively on strength for 10 weeks, then switch to high intensity cardio for 2 weeks, which permits 2 full cycles between tests.

This allows one to reach a decent level of strength and then achieve a moderate level of conditioning for the APFT. From personal experience, I can tell you that after 12 weeks of strength training followed by 4 weeks of cardio, two things were glaringly obvious.

First, I achieved a great amount of strength raw squatted , deadlifted Second, my run time on the APFT 2 miles was about the same as it always is. Normally I train for 8 weeks to prepare for the APFT; I cut the cardio in half and achieved the same goal. What about the other service members that are required to conduct morning physical training PT four or five times a week, yet still want to engage in a Starting Strength protocol?

This question comes up quite frequently. The biggest problem caused by combining a novice program with intense conditioning work is the interference with normal recovery. The additional training sessions induce a much lower level of systemic recovery ability than the standard novice program.

The net result is that the novice gains are attenuated and it is more challenging to make progressive increases if you stick to the letter of the program. There are viable alternatives, however. In the interest of simplicity just two examples are presented here.

For those tactical athletes that are trying to implement the Novice Program, a priority must be placed on recovery and regularity. The general protocol is the same, there are just more rest days in between workouts. This twice-a-week program should be followed if the demands of PT are physically interfering with your recovery abilities.

Another option is to alternate with 3 times a week and 2 times a week, but only if your recovery abilities are not compromised. The second option is for a more advanced athlete and is a three day a week program that focuses on squats for workout A, bench press for workout B, and deadlifts for workout C.

Obviously one would need to program ancillary lifts for these workouts, but that is going to be up to the trainee and should be focused on specific weaknesses. This workout can be supplemented with additional press work, if necessary, but I have found that with the addition of push-ups and additional conditioning work for the upper body during PT, one heavy bench workout a week was plenty.

Again, there are many ways to tackle the problem of morning PT and strength development; these are a couple that I have found useful.

Prolonged exposure to negative stress like over-training or lifting too heavy before you're ready for it can lead to negative physiological consequences, like stress fractures or injury to the muscles.

On the other side of the spectrum, prolonged exposure to positive stress, known as eustress, can lead to positive physiological outcomes, like improved fitness and muscular strength or endurance.

The body will respond to the stress that is placed on it and a physical adaptation will occur over time in response to that stress stimulus. The way that the body responds to stress, according to the GAS model, can be broken up into three stages:.

Alarm Reaction Stage This is the initial reaction to the stressor. In the initial 6 to 48 hours after exercise the stress stimulus , clients may experience fatigue or joint stiffness, and after 24 to 48 hours delayed-onset muscle soreness DOMS may kick in.

The alarm reaction stage stimulates an increase in oxygen and blood supply, neural recruitment to working muscles, bone formation, increased joint load and tolerance, and connective tissue strengthening.

The benefit to this response is that over time when exposed to small doses of the same stressor, the body will adapt to overcome these challenges. The key to inducing a positive response is to use the principle of progressive overload, increasing the intensity or volume of exercise programs using a systematic and gradual approach.

Resistance Development Stage Consistent training will move the client into the resistance development stage. This is the stage where clients will begin to adapt to their training in a way that enhances their performance.

The human body adapts to repeated training sessions by increasing its ability to efficiently recruit muscle fibers and distribute oxygen and blood to the proper areas of the body.

By applying progressive overload, the client will continue to improve their performance and ability to overcome the challenges that they are faced with. For example, if they are training in Phase 1: Stabilization Endurance Training, their body will respond by improving in balance, joint stability, and muscular endurance.

If they are training in Phase 3, Muscular Development Training, the client will be able to tolerate an increasing volume of work and heavier loads, resulting in muscle development and increased strength. Exhaustion Stage The exhaustion stage describes prolonged stress or stress that is intolerable, leading to exhaustion or distress.

Some negative consequences of this stage include:. Another commonly known adaptation principle is the SAID specific adaptation to imposed demand principle, also known as the principle of specificity.

While the GAS model describes a general physiological response to stress stimulus, SAID is a principle stating that the body will adapt to the specific demands that are placed on it. This is one of the reasons that we stay in each phase of the OPT model for weeks, to allow for adaptation.

When considering the SAID principle, it's important to keep mechanical, neuromuscular, and metabolic specificity in mind when programming. Mechanical Specificity Mechanical specificity refers to the weight placed on the body and the specific movements performed to produce specific muscular adaptations.

For example, high repetition, low weight movements produce muscular endurance, while low repetition, heavyweight movements produce muscular strength. Neuromuscular Specificity Neuromuscular specificity refers to the speed of muscle contraction and exercise selection to produce stability, strength, or power adaptations.

Choosing an unstable, yet controlled exercise performed at a slower tempo will help a client develop stability. To develop strength, the exercise will be performed in a stable environment with a heavier load and moderate tempo.

Muscle contraction speed varies with each of these demands placed on them. To determine jump height and maximal power, you can access a force plate figure 6. I recently purchased two PASCO force plates, which are reasonably affordable albeit not as robust as Kistler plates, etc. Figure 7. The eccentric utilization ratio EUR provides objective data about how the athlete utilizes their stretch shortening cycle SSC in a countermovement jump in comparison to removing the SSC when performing a squat jump.

This may provide useful classification and programming information. This is where they can show strong speed endurance qualities and often run past other athletes in the closing stages of both sprint events. This is just one example of using testing to classify athletes.

You could use many field-based or track tests to determine current status and the strengths and weaknesses of the athlete. Another thing McMillan discussed in the aforementioned podcast was how some athletes change training groups and then adapt or respond positively to the new training system, going on to perform well.

Others, however, do not. As he mentioned—and I wholeheartedly agree—there are numerous reasons this could be the case.

It is easy to throw stones from the sofa while watching an athlete underperform at the elite level, without ever knowing the context. Often, this is because the athlete has not been there long enough, and the sample size of sessions is too small.

Track and field is a results-driven business. No one wants to hear excuses. If the training system they have come into goes against what drives adaptation, some hard decisions need to be made by both the athlete and the coach.

For example, if intensity has always been the focus of the previous training system, and the athlete moves to a training group where this is not the major focus, you will initially have problems.

The stimulus the new system provides will likely not exceed the adaptation threshold, and so improvement will likely halt. The coach now needs to get creative.

Magical things happen when you find that athlete who instantly responds to the program you are writing. And, as all good coaches do, you keep feeding the beast with this type of training, and the athlete keeps improving until they have adapted to the stimulus.

At this point, most coaches would revert to manipulating typical training principles e. However, it is still the same system and philosophy. Once athletes usually senior athletes have adapted, you reach the point of diminishing returns: You cannot keep giving them more of the same type of training and expect it to provide a new stimulus and higher performance level.

I believe this is where the undervalued training principle of variation could be appropriately utilized. This is where elite coaches show their true colors. Yes, it is an experiment, but all coaching is. Not recognizing athlete stagnation is a coaching error. You need to have a regular, systems-based approach to determine when they are no longer adapting to what you are writing.

It is not up to the athlete to determine this, yet they will likely voice some opinion if things are not going well once the season begins.

This process will look different in every case, but if you are looking to drive new adaptations, this may be just what the system needs. Focusing on the drivers of adaptation is an important concept to understand in order to appropriately program for your athletes.

To determine the driver s of adaptation, coaches should try some of the following:. All we are doing as coaches is experimenting with workouts and hoping they positively impact the athlete.

The quicker we know what type of workouts will drive adaptation, the faster we will see improvements with our athletes. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes.

Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Issurin, V. McGuigan, M. and Newton, R. Dylan is in the final stages of his Ph. at Flinders University, where his thesis is focused on force-velocity profiling in team and individual sport athletes. His area of specialty is coaching speed, and he currently has a small group of sprint athletes m—m.

Lack of awareness about adaptation timelines can lead athletes down a dangerous path. Rapidly escalating training volume or intensity too quickly is a common misstep that often results in overtraining and injury. Impatience and unrealistic expectations can cause frustration and hinder desired progression.

The process of adaptation must unfold before the benefits of your hard work materialize. Inadequate recovery is another consequence of neglecting adaptation timelines.

Runners might fail to allocate sufficient time off or active rest between intense workouts, leading to burnout and diminished performance. In this context, I typically advise adopting a cautious approach. Balancing stress and recovery is a fundamental training principle that plays a crucial role in optimizing adaptations and ensuring long-term engagement in the sport.

A prevalent misstep I often encounter involves the inclination to arrange demanding endeavors—like races or extensive training sessions—in close proximity to the designated race day. An illustrative case arises when an athlete intends to participate in a mile race merely two weeks ahead of their target mile event.

However, the aftermath of the mile exertion might not yield its complete physiological benefits until a week or even more after the intended mile race. Consequently, rather than enhancing fitness, this mile race inadvertently adds to the burden of fatigue, leaving the athlete more tired than fit.

In this scenario, comprehending the progression of adaptations over time empowers the athlete, or coach, to strategically position their high-volume training sessions well in advance of the race day, guaranteeing complete adaptations and sufficient recovery.

In essence, understanding the time course of adaptations empowers endurance athletes, particularly trail and ultrarunners, to embark on a purposeful journey.

With insights into physiological changes that progress through early, intermediate, advanced, and long-term phases, athletes can fine-tune their training strategies for optimal performance.

This awareness not only ensures physical progression but also reinforces mental resilience. Through this synergy, athletes can navigate challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and run on a path that blends resilience, science, and commitment to achieve their fullest potential in the world of endurance running.

Find out what happened when this six-year run streaker and HOKA Global Athlete Ambassador took on an iconic ultramarathon in California's Sierra Nevada. Photo: Getty Images.