Training & adaptation
Why does training have to get harder to keep working?
The overload principle — the idea that the body adapts to a stress and then needs more to keep changing.
Well establishedEducational overview
To keep improving, training generally has to keep presenting a stress the body is not fully adapted to.
This is balanced against the need to recover and avoid doing too much too soon.
What we understand in general terms
- The body adapts to the demands placed on it (overload).
- Progression must be gradual to be safe and sustainable.
- Without enough stimulus, adaptation stalls; with too much, recovery suffers.
Open questions
- How fast to progress for a given person.
- How to individualise the balance of stress and recovery.
Evidence
Verified sources pending
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