Aerobic Dance: Principles of Overload, Specificity, and Progression

PRINCIPLES OF OVERLOAD, SPECIFICITY AND PROGRESSION

Overload                      

Overload is necessary in order to develop fitness in all exercise-related fitness components: cardiorespiratory (aerobic) endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility.

Definition: According to the principle of overload, a person must work (load) the body in a higher manner than normal in order to improve fitness.

Ex: Cardiorespiratory endurance: Jogging faster, farther or more times a week than usual.

Ex: Muscular strength and muscular endurance: More repetitions, more frequently during the week, or adding weight.

 EX: Flexibility:  Improvements require stretching more often, holding individual stretches for longer periods of time, or stretching beyond the usual point of flexion or extension.

Violating the principle of overload may be one reason for the lack of improvement.

EX” A leisure walk around Green Lake may not be overload for an active young person.

Conversely, a person’s fitness goals may go unmet if “overload” is taken to an extreme through overexertion. Exercising too long, too intensely, or too frequently may lead to exhaustion after each workout and, subsequently, increase risk for injury.

The individual may also become discouraged with the lack of positive results and eventually drop out of an exercise program. **Overload is a relative term, not meaning the same for all people.

A run around Green Lake may be overload for a beginning jogger, too much overload for a sedentary person, or not enough of an overload for an endurance runner.

Specificity

Definition: The principle of specificity means only those body parts, muscles or systems involved in a workout will be the ones to experience training.

 Ex: Weight training the upper body will lead to improvements in arm, shoulder and back strength, but will probably not allow improvements in the body’s ability to perform squats or lunges—activities associated with lower body strength.

Similarly, if a person swims four times a week to improve fitness, he or she will experience gains in cardiorespiratory (aerobic) endurance, but will not necessarily experience great flexibility benefits, needed to improve performance in yoga class.

Progression

Definition: As a person’s fitness level improves, he or she will need to make adjustments to the exercise program if continued improvements are desired.

That is, what used to be overload may no longer be sufficient.

Frequency, intensity or amount of time (“FIT Principle”) dedicated toward the individual’s exercise program may need to be changed for continued fitness enhancement.