Free Study Guide for the NASM CPT Exam Chapter 13 – Assessments, Training Concepts, and Program Design

    General Adaptation Syndrome and Compare with Table 13.2 The general adaptation syndrome

    The General Adaptation Syndrome is a model that describes the body’s response to stress:

    1. Alarm Stage

    In this phase, the initial reaction of the body to stress is that it labels the stressor as a threat or danger to balance, that is why it immediately activates its fight or flight response system, and releases the “stress” hormones such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol. These hormones enable you to perform activities that you don’t usually do. For instance, you lift weights of the first time in a while, your muscles are not familiar with the new stress and become damaged. They may become painful and sore.

    2. Resistance Stage

    After the body has responded to the stressor from the initial reaction, the stress level has been reduced due to the development of an adaptation brought on by the initial stress.

    3. Exhaustion Stage

    During this phase, the stress has been persistent for a longer period. The body starts to lose its ability to combat the stressors and reduce their harmful impact because the adaptive energy is all drained out. The exhaustion stage can be referred to as the gate towards burnout or stress overload, which can lead to health problems if not resolved immediately. An example would be too much exercise leading to sickness, injury or constant fatigue.

    All in all, the General Adaptation Syndrome model by Hans Selye presents a clear biological explanation of how the body responds and adapts to stress.

    Reference: https://explorable.com/general-adaptation-syndrome

     

    Compare to Table 13.1 Adaptive benefits of resistance training

    Physical and mental health benefits that can be achieved through resistance training include:

    • improved muscle strength and tone – to protect your joints from injury. It also helps you maintain flexibility and balance and helps you remain independent as you age
    • weight management and increased muscle-to-fat ratio – as you gain muscle, your body burns more energy when at rest
    • greater stamina – as you grow stronger, you won’t get tired as easily
    • prevention or control of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity
    • pain management
    • improved mobility and balance
    • improved posture
    • decreased risk of injury
    • increased bone density and strength and reduced risk of osteoporosis
    • improved sense of wellbeing – resistance training may boost your self-confidence, improve your body image and your mood
    • a better night’s sleep and avoidance of insomnia
    • increased self-esteem
    • enhanced performance of everyday tasks.

    Reference: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/resistance-training-health-benefits

     

    SAID Principle

    In physical rehabilitation and sports training, the SAID principle asserts that the human body adapts specifically to imposed demands. In other words, given stressors on the human system, whether biomechanical or neurological, there will be a Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID).

     

    Adaptations for resistance training

    Stabilization encourages the adaptation of muscular endurance, improve joint stability, and improve balance.

    Muscular endurance encourages joint and core stabilization mechanisms, core endurance, and a decrease in body fat.

    Muscular Hypertrophy encourages the growth of muscle fibers due to increased protein development in the myofibril.

    Strength encourages the increase in tension to overcome outside forces. This occurs by teaching the nervous system to properly recruit as many muscle fibers as possible at one point in time.

    Power encourages the generation of the greatest force in the shortest time which can lead to an increase in projectile velocity.

     

    Compare to Table 13.3 Resistance training systems

    single set: performing only one set for all exercises

    multiple set: performing more than one set for all exercises

    pyramid set: when you increase weight and decrease reps after you perform each set; you can also decrease weight and add reps

    super set: one set performed immediately after another. 

    drop set: upon failing with one weight you drop the weight and continue with more reps

    circuit training: multiple sets in a row of different exercises with little rest after one round has been completed

    peripheral heart action: alternating upper and lower body exercises during circuit training

    split routine: a typical body building strategy in which you workout certain muscle groups on certain days

    vertical loading: completing one set of an exercise and moving on to another with intent to come back and do another set

    horizontal loading: completing all sets of one exercise before moving to the next exercise

    Compare with Table 13.4 Peripheral heart action system

    Knowing the difference between the exercises you include in a PHA Circuit between stabilization, strength and power will matter. Notice that a stabilization PHA Circuit includes only stabilization exercises. Same with strength and power.