Principle of progressive loading

introduction

The principle of progressive load is defined as a steady increase in load with increasing performance.

For a sporty beginner, it is sometimes impossible to jog a distance of 5 km without a break. Regular training improves performance, so the endurance run over 5 km can be completed without any problems.
Why is that: The external exposure is absolutely identical in both cases, the internal exposure (Stress) decreases with increasing performance with constant external load. The resilience has increased through the training.

From this follows: The athlete must be training (external stress) permanently adjust to his resilience ... And that is not easy in everyday training.

terminology

external stress = acting stress stimuli through training
Stress = physical reaction to external stress
Resilience = Current level of performance

Training adaptation

The external load must be increased permanently in order to achieve a constant (internal) load.
However, training can not only increase the external stress, it also increases the internal stress (increased resilience).

... that leads to a performance dilemma!

You have to train more and more intensively / harder in order to achieve smaller and smaller performance gains.
For example, improving the time in 10 km from 60 minutes to 50 minutes is possible with relatively little effort. From 50 to 40 minutes it takes a lot of training. Going from 40 to 30 minutes seems hopeless.
The gain in performance does not keep up with the increase in training. The higher the athlete's level of performance, the less favorable the relationship between expense and income becomes.

You may also be interested in this topic: Principle of the effective stress stimulus

Fields of application

The use of progressive loading in the conditional sense:

• Increase in Training frequency (from once a week, over every 2-3 days to daily training)
• Increase in Training scope (instead of 30 minutes of running - 60 minutes of running)
• Increase in Stimulus duration
• Increase in Stimulus density
• Increase in Stimulus intensity

The principle of progressive load not only concerns conditional aspects (Strength, speed, endurance) but also technical and tactical aspects.
With the progressive Technique training one also speaks of a so-called variable availability. This means that the athlete has several options for completing the task, depending on the situation.

Examples of progressive technique training:

1. tennis: The athlete has several options for serving (slice, topspin, without twist)
2. Soccer: Several fints to overcome opponents
3. do gymnastics: Several elements in the flooring
4. Etc.

Examples of progressive tactical training:

1. Increase in the number of practical skills (attack strategies in football, forms of formation, etc.)
2. Variable availability across the various tactical skills

Types of stress increase

Depending on the age of training, the level of performance and the type of performance development, there are differences in the type of load increase to ensure training success.
A distinction is made between:

1. gradual increase in exertion (continuously)
2. sudden increase in load (stepped)

1. The gradual increase in exertion should primarily be used in the field of youngsters and athletic beginners. It is less susceptible to injury. As long as performance progress can still be achieved with the gradual increase in load, these should be exhausted with this form.

2. The sudden increase in load is more likely to be used in competitive sport, especially when stagnation occurs due to the gradual increase in performance. The sudden increase in stress results in greater adaptations to the organism.
However, it is important to note that the athlete receives adequate regeneration with this form. In addition, the increase in load should not occur too quickly or too abruptly.

The aim is to achieve an ideal relationship between a gradual increase in load and a sudden increase in load.

Also read our topic: Principle of exercise and recovery

What can progressive stress stimuli be?

Progressive stress stimuli can be set in different ways. In endurance sports, the speed or the distance can be changed. If I walk 10 minutes faster for a distance that previously took an hour, the body is challenged more. Interval training can also be used as a progressive load. In weight training, the repetitions with which an exercise is performed are first increased for progression, then of course the weight can also be increased. The way it is carried out can also be used for progression (explosive, held slowly, etc.).

Progressive load in endurance sports

In order to improve in endurance sports, a progressive increase in load is important. Without this, the body will sooner or later get used to the stress stimulus and the level of performance can no longer be increased.
Without progression, the energy stores are neither increased nor the cardiovascular system or the blood flow to the muscles significantly improved. Increasing stress stimuli are necessary to challenge the body to adapt to the new requirements.

More information on similar topics: Training principles

Progressive stress in building muscle

In strength training, increasing stimuli are essential for the success of the training.
Muscles react to tension that they have to work against. Strength athletes know for themselves that if they do an exercise for several weeks, the initially chosen weight will suddenly be much easier to manage than it was on the first day. A progression in training is necessary for further muscle building to occur, otherwise there will be no increase in performance and muscle growth.

More on this: Strength training

Biological justification

The biological adaptation of the human organism is not a linear course, but a parabolic one.
If the course were linear, there would be no performance limit and performance would increase immeasurably.

Therefore, the human organism shows fewer responses at a higher level of performance compared to the lower level.