Daily training does not pay off? FITBOOK explains why this may be the case Photo: Getty Images
From Prof. Dr. Stephan Geisler | 08. October 2021, 5:17 pm
Exercise regularly and the fitness effect comes all by itself? Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Because even those who do a workout weekly or even daily often miss the hoped-for effect. The fitness professional Stephan Geisler reveals the reasons and how to do it better.
Millions of people regularly go to gyms. Many of them also go to training very often and have been doing so regularly for years. But unfortunately, all too often you see that not so much changes in the body of the exerciser as well as in their performance. To put it in a nutshell: Countless people train like crazy almost every day, but the progress fails to materialize. I would like to explain briefly what the problem may be.
Übersicht
Which factors influence the training progress?
The training success is generally dependent on very many factors. For example, in addition to proper nutrition and sufficient sleep, there are also genetic factors. Of course, the training itself is also a crucial factor- and this is also where the hare is in the pepper for many people.
To understand why the training of many advanced athletes does not work as well as it used to, you have to look at two classic schemes from biology:
- On the one hand there is the so-called supercompensation. It explains the process of training adaptation. In summary, you could say that by giving a training stimulus to the muscle resp. the whole system gets tired and in response the body reacts with improvements (training adaptations). This is how we gradually get better and better through regular training.
- The other biological theory is the so-called accommodation (from latin: accommodare- Adapt). It rather describes the phenomenon of long-term adaptation. That is, the muscle, cardiovascular system, etc. adapt effectively to a given load. But what then? And here I see a fundamental problem.
The reason for lack of progress in training?
Many exercisers have had good success with a certain type of training and swear by it ever since. However, once the body has adapted to this type of training, the stimulus is no longer a great challenge. That means, the effectiveness of the training decreases- and progress fails to materialize. First, they then try to further increase the training weight. Up to a certain point, that certainly goes. But at the latest, when no more big jumps are possible, stagnation is waiting for you. The enemy of every advanced learner.
Now you are surely asking yourself: How can this stagnation be avoided?? Very simple: through variety!
How to avoid stagnation in training
ÄChange your training routine regularly so that your body never gets too accustomed to it and forces it to evolve. Whether this happens via an intelligent periodization or whether one simply changes the sequence or. The choice of exercises is secondary. The main thing is to regularly change your workout!
By the way, this does not only refer to muscle training in the gym. Also all hobby runners should be told: Do not always run the same distance in the same time. This can be quite relaxing for the head, but if you want to improve, change the pace, the distance or build in a few intervals.
For many years my students ask me again and again after the optimal and/or. most effective training. I always sit back and relax and reply: There can be no such thing as the most effective training, because after a few weeks or months it loses its appeal and thus its effectiveness. So the most effective thing is probably: the variety!