Physiology & The Principles of Fitness
According to Dr. Jose Antonio, there are two main things we have to consider when training for a fitness goal: first, we have to ask ourselves what our goal is and set one that is measurable. Second, we have to understand the amount of work it takes to reach that goal because nothing comes easy and it takes a lot of sacrifice in terms of time and effort. My main fitness goal this semester is to work out at least 5 times a week (both cardio and strength training). I consider this goal to be completely measurable since it is a reasonable amount of days and I am tracking the workouts through “My FitnessPal” app. Furthermore, I will take on account that it takes a lot of sacrifice and discipline every time I want to go out on a weekend and fall in unhealthy habits. It is important for me to understand that to reach a goal, it takes a lot of work. Also, there is a point in the journey when you don’t see changes and that is when you have to be consistent and disciplined.
The principle of Progressive Overload includes continually increasing the demands of our muscles to continually make improvements in muscle size, strength, and endurance. Simply put, we must constantly make our muscles work harder than they’re used to in order to get bigger and stronger. Without knowing this term before, I used it very often. What I do, is that I increase the weight I lift every 2 weeks or so, depending on the body part. For example, I started doing dead lifts with 15 pounds, after a certain time that weight wasn’t hard enough, so I increased to 20–25 pounds. Furthermore, The principle of specificity derives from the observation that the adaptation of the body or change in physical fitness is specific to the type of training undertaken. For my fitness goal, this principle will help me in improving my cardiovascular fitness since I am constantly doing cardio (running) but at the same time I’ll probably improve my endurance.
During his interview, Dr. Antonio said “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing” and I couldn’t agree more. For my fitness goals, I will track my workouts through “My FitnessPal” app. I have very specific body goals such as decreasing my body fat, so I need to make sure I am on a calorie deficit and this app helps keeping track of the calories you eat vs the calories you burn.
