Josh aka J.S.E. chillin’ overhead.
In the strength training world, we often here the word “adaptation” used a lot in regards to training specific to the imposed demands of a given sport or fitness goal. For example, lifting heavy weights yields muscular strength adaptations through increased fiber size, motor unit activation etc, whereas long endurance improves cardiorespiratory adaptations such as better oxygen delivery, increased mitochondria and capillary density, etc. One concept I really like using in my class is the concept of anatomical adaptation in relation to a phase of strength training programming.
Tudor Bompa, author of a really cool text I use at SMC, “Periodization”, elaborates on the differences in focus on each of the main phases of strength training: ANATOMICAL ADAPTATION-HYPERTROPHY-MAX STRENGTH-SPORTS SPECIFIC POWER-MAINTENANCE-CESSATION. Most of what you see in strength and conditioning settings and A LOT in CrossFit, is a heavy emphasis on maximum strength. While maximum strength and power get a lot of the attention when it comes to programming and design, many forget and overlook the anatomical adaptation phase, leaving many folks either injured from too much stress too early or overuse injuries down the road through developing poor early movement patterns. Accounting for anatomical adaptation is a big part of why we do what we do and why things like coaching the fundamentals and programs like the On-Ramp are super important before hitting it hard. It isn’t just important for newbies, but even for experienced lifters or athletes coming back from the offseason or a short hiatus. Bompa has a great explanation of what this phase is and I think all of you who lift should read! Here’s a snit-bit below, but you can check out the full article here.
This phase represents the foundation on which the other phases of training are based. The name of this phase has been specifically selected to illustrate the fact that the main objective of strength training is not an immediate overload, but rather a progressive adaptation of an athlete’s anatomy. The objectives of the AA phase are focused around “prehabilitation” with the hope of preventing the need for “rehabilitation.” In other words, focusing on a higher volume of training with low to medium loads will aid in the adaptation level of an athlete’s muscle tissue, ligaments and tendons, and prepare the body for the more challenging program inherent in the following phases of training. Furthermore, a methodologically structured AA phase will aid in the improvement of inter-muscular coordination (i.e. balance, coordination and neural firing patterns), and increase the bone mineral content and proliferation of connective tissue that surrounds the individual muscle fibers.
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