F-Frequency -3 times per week min. I-Intensity % of max HR T-Time minutes

If you increase the demands placed on your body; your body becomes stronger and more efficient.

Overload When you give your body more to do than it is accustomed to doing, you create an ‘overload’. This is known as the overload principle and it underlies most fitness activity. Unless there is some sort of overload, your exercise will work only to maintain your current fitness level or simply burn calories. Your body will gradually adapt to the additional demands put on it—whether it be your heart and lungs in response to aerobic activities, your abdominals muscles in response to sit-ups, or your legs in response to squats. In the course of all this, your cardiorespiratory system and muscles become stronger and more efficient.

Fitness improvements occur gradually by progressively adding to the overload; to see improvement, the amount of resistance must be gradually increased.

Progression If you are just starting fitness training, you may see fairly rapid improvement, but the rate of improvement will gradually slow down, and the gains will be more evenly paced. This is known as the Progression Principle of fitness training. It states that fitness improvements occur gradually by progressively adding to the overload. Miracles do not happen overnight. In order to see further improvement, the amount of resistance must gradually be increased.

The more the activity is specifically focused on improving a particular aspect of fitness or a particular muscle area, there will be more benefit in that particular area.

Specificity Whether you are exercising or doing any other activity, you will improve in response to the type of activity that you are practicing. Improvements in muscle strength come from lifting resistance objects such as weights; aerobic improvements come from activities such as cycling, swimming, or jogging; improvements to flexibility occur when you stretch. In sports, the maximum training effort comes when you mimic the effort required in the actual sport as closely as possible. This is known as the specificity principle. It does not mean that some upper body strength will not come from swimming, or that there are no aerobic benefits from a stretch and strength class. In fact, sometimes our favourite activities produce several specific fitness benefits. In general, however, you improve by practising a specific activity repeatedly. The more the activity is specifically focused on improving a particular aspect of fitness or a particular muscle area, the more the benefit in that particular area.

The “use it or lose it” principle. If you do not exercise regularly, you will lose the gains you have made. Loses occur twice as fast as gains!!!!

Regression A short break in your routine is not a serious problem, providing you can get back at it as soon as possible. Sometimes, you may even need a short break in order to move on to larger goals. If you stop for a long time, you will start to lose, or reverse, the gains you have made. This is known as the reversibility principle. Some strength gains may start to decrease in as little as three days. In a few months, without regular activity, you will revert back to where you were before starting your program. The reversibility principle is sometimes also referred to as the ‘use it or lose it’ principle. If you do not exercise regularly, you will lose the gains you have made. Of course, this basic principle applies not only to fitness and fitness training, but wider applications in other areas of life. A concert pianist, for example, must continually practise in order to maintain his or her level of performance. The secret is to keep active on a regular basis so that eventually energetic activity becomes an integral part of your lifestyle. That way you will always be in shape.