When put under stress of different intensities and time, an individual attempts to overcome the stress by adapting specifically to the imposed demands.
What does the S.A.I.D Principle stand for?
Specific
You body will get better and stronger from doing specifically what it is being asked to do in training. This includes intensity levels and energy systems used, joint actions and movement patterns and muscle activation (concentric,eccentric, isometric). In short it is saying you need to train specifically what you want to improve. Simply put, if you want to be a better cross country runner you should practice running long distance routes and various trails. Furthermore, you wouldn’t spend five days a week doing a bodybuilding split in order to effectively train for a cross country race, but you still may do complimentary weight training workouts to fix imbalances.
Adaptation
Your body reacts to the demands it is put under by changing in order to better meet those needs. If you don’t exercise and live a sedentary lifestyle your body will become weaker. An active lifestyle helps you to adapt to the type, intensity and duration of the work being done.
Imposed
You need to choose to live an active lifestyle. Making a choice to exercise or train for your sport places demand on your body. This is the mental choice we make to place these demands on the body. Furthermore, the amount of demand you place on the body is what will help you to make improvements and see results.
Demand
The specific activities which put stress on on the body in order to perform a function. The body must work as a whole with your muscles and support system to meed the demand of your training regimen.
Let’s minimize plateau time by increasing progressive overload. If your body is used to the same workout, it will get bored and you will stop seeing results. By incorporating progressive overload your body is forced to adapt!
