You 'S.A.I.D.' 'G.A.S'

People often get in stuck in the notion that the thought “the more work I do, the better I’ll get.” This, unfortunately, is not entirely true.
“The more work you can fully recover from, the better you become.” is far closer to the truth.
You see the real benefits of the work you do in the gym come from your body (and minds) ability to recover and adapt from to it.
In any sports training (or physical rehabilitation), the SAID principle asserts that the human body adapts specifically to imposed demands. In other words, given stressors (Lifting, WoDs) on the human system, whether biomechanical or neurological, there will be a Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID).
But for SAID to work correctly, you’ll need to manage your GAS or General Adaptation Syndrome. The concept of GAS was put forth by Hans Selye, back in the 1930s and has three distinct stages.
Stage 1: Alarm Reaction: The initial reaction to a stressor that causes an activation of protective processes. Resistance training creates stress such as increased amounts of force on bones, joints, muscles, connective tissues, and the nervous system.
Stage 2: Adaptation (aka Resistance Development Stage): With continued exposure to the same stress the body eventually increases its ability to respond to the demands placed on it. For us, adaptation is where the magic really happens. Given time and the right resources, the body increases its functional capacity to adapt to stressor via super compensation.
Stage 3: Exhaustion: If one is exposed to the same stress (or too much stress overall) for too long they will enter the Exhaustion Stage. At this point, the prolonged stress overwhelms the system. An extended stay in this state can cause one’s strength to stagnate or even decline. Additionally, it can cause a breakdown or injury. Overtraining would be an example of a situation where one has reached this point.
So the name of the game for us is to work back and forth between Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Consultduce a stressor then recover and improve;
Consultduce a stressor then recover and improve;
Consultduce a stressor then recover and improve; ad infinitum…
And unless lives or big money is on the line, we should avoid Stage 3 whenever possible. Exhaustion only serves to slow progress and open us to the possibility of injury.
Next up: Recovery