Another way to maximize your training results and ensure your are breaking through plateaus is to understand the general adaptation syndrome.

There are four principles of training, periodization, specificity, overload, and overtraining. The whole point of training is to see results. The results you want to see are directly related to your goals. Then you need to specifically train to reach those goals, using periodization and overload, while avoiding overtraining. If it’s that simple, why do so many people fail to achieve the results they desire?

There’s one more piece to the puzzle. If you want results, the body must adapt in the manner you want it to. And as we know, the body can adapt in positive ways and not so positive ways. Here’s why:

Prior to your workout (whether it’s your first workout ever, or your 10,000th workout) your body has a certain level of adaptation. After a workout where overload was achieved, the body actually goes into a “Shock Phase” for a period of time, and adaptation decreases because of the stress the workout placed on the body. As stated earlier, you must achieve overload in order to see gains.

However, as time progresses, the body adapts to the stress, and enters what is called a Supercompensation Phase. Ideally, you will train again at the highest point of this supercompensation phase. The timing of this is different for everyone, as some people recover quicker than others do. So yes, you make your gains when you rest, not when you train. The whole idea of training is to simply place an overload on the body, and then you must allow your body to rest to see results.

Now, you can imagine what would happen if you trained again too soon. Your body would not have had enough time to recover, and your adaptation would continue to decline. Continue this long enough and you have a classic case of overtraining.

If you are able to train again anywhere during your supercompensation phase, you will see improvements.

If you were to not train again for a while, you will see another decline in adaptation from your original state. You may have heard of this as “Use it, or lose it.” It’s important to continue to place an overload on the body if you want to continue to see gains or at least train in a manner that will maintain your current level of adaptation. Further, make sure your program specifically places an overload on the system you want to adapt.

For trained individuals, the supercompensation phase is relatively short, and there is a relatively small adaptation. For beginners, the opposite is true. This is why beginners see relatively big gains at the beginning of a program, and less as the program goes on.

A well designed, periodized program can keep you from reaching plateaus. Knowing the optimum time to rest between workouts for each individual can keep you seeing results. Often, this is found out through trial and error, and by keeping detailed training logs. To continue to place overload on the body, you have to change up you workouts often, every 4-6 weeks for beginners and as little anywhere from 2-4 weeks for experienced lifters.

Now that you know this, experiment to find out your optimum rest time, and make sure to change your program often so you keep seeing the results you deserve.

There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic of strength training, sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow, the following 6 points will start you off on the right track.

1) Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements.

If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that uses more than one joint at a time. Examples of these lifts are the olympic lifts, squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, and overhead press. Compound movements allow you to handle the most weight leading to the greatest increase in strength.

2) Be Prepared To Train Hard.

One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to make gains and force your body to adapt, you must be willing to push your body beyond what it is currently capable of — within reason. Every workout you should be trying to lift more weight or lift the same weight for more reps.

3) Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week.

As stated above, in order to make continual gains in muscle strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. To do this consistently, you need to be sure of your performance from your last workout. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time. This will also help you find which training programs, exercises, work well, and it will also help you identify areas you need to work on.

4) Avoid Overtraining.

Overtraining has become one of the most overused term in fitness lately. But many beginners risk overtraining because they feel that more is better when it comes to exercise. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you don’t provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to adapt.

5) Increase Your Water Intake.

If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your strength gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body’s water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume about 0.6 ounces for every pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.

6) Be Consistent!

Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular strength are the ones who are able to apply overload on a proper and consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply! This includes your nutrition as well.  If you skip a meal or a workout, don’t let that be an excuse to continue slacking. Get over it, and get back to working towards your fitness goals.

In fact, implement what Dr. John Berardi calls the 90% rule. Eating and training well 90% of the time will provide you with amazing results.

Building a healthy lifestyle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals you consume will help decide your overall success. If you work hard and train and eat in a consistent fashion, all of those individual steps will add up to incredible results.