Resistance Training Program: Periodization and its Benefits

This report examines the principles and benefits of resistance training programs, focusing on their application for enhancing muscular strength, endurance, and overall fitness. The report emphasizes the importance of year-round training and the strategic use of periodization to optimize athletic performance. It delves into the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model as a foundation for periodization, detailing how the body adapts to resistance stimuli over time. Key concepts include the manipulation of repetition, sets, and tempo of exercises. The report also highlights the use of various resistance methods, including body weight, weights, and other equipment, and underscores the importance of resistance training for individuals of all backgrounds and genders. Finally, the report also stresses the application of periodization to structure training programs effectively, ensuring consistent progress and minimizing the risk of overtraining. The provided references support the claims made in the report.

Running head: RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
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Author Note

1RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
Exercise is a physical stress applied to the body in order to maintain fitness and overall
health and wellness. Exercise is performed for various reasons, such as, accelerating bodily
growth, improving strength, preventing early aging, examining athletic skills, weight
management and improvement of mental health through enjoyment exercises such as sports and
dance. Resistance training is a kind of physical exercise that uses resistance to induce muscular
contraction that builds core strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles and
density of the bones (Swift et al., 2014). The basic principles of strength training involves a
permutation- combination of repetition of the sets and tempo of different exercises to cause
expected change in strength, endurance and size by overloading a group of muscles. Certain
popular resistance training exercises include aerobics, yoga, gymnastic and weight training.
Resistance training is primarily anaerobic in nature. A year round resistance training program is
important for athletes as it helps them improve their muscular strength and endurance (Harries,
Lubans & Callister, 2012). Athletes and sportspersons require more endurance capabilities than
the common people as sports are their profession and it requires immense endurance to carry it
out with dexterity. However, to carry forward a year round physical training built on resistance,
the physical instructor has to make a year- long plan about implementation and execution of such
programs. Periodization is the process by which systematic planning is carried out for athletic
and physical training. The conditional exercise programs use periodization to break up the
training program into off-season, preseason, in-season and postseason. Periodization divides a
year round condition program into phases of training that focus on different goals. The basic
foundation of periodization has come from Hans Selye’s model of General Adaptation Syndrome
(GAS). According to the General Adaptation Syndrome theory, if resistance at a particular
period, is given to the body, the physiological changes that come from it is the increased

2RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
glucocorticoids that intensify the systematic response of the body. Few hormones get released in
correct proportion which makes the body somewhat “used to” such exercises and optimizes its
response to resistance stimuli. GAS provides three basic responses to stress, which are the alarm
stage of initial shock of resistance to the body system, resistance stage involving adaptation of
the resistance stimulus and exhaustion stage, which includes decrease in system function results.
Periodization is the process where the body is kept from alarm stage to resistance stage
throughout the time period to build up adequate expected strength, endurance and result (Prestes,
J., et al., 2015).
Resistance training is typically associated with utilization of body weight as resistance in
the exercises such as Yoga or Power Yoga, sometimes gravity and weight bars (popularly known
as dumbbells) (Fleck & Kraemer, 2014). An all comprehensive and holistic resistance training
that goes with periodization for one year might prove beneficial for the pursuing athletes, body
builders, fitness models, trainers and sports enthusiasts. Resistance training should be
encouraged and practiced by men, women and people from all gender and backgrounds as it will
help them remain fit and healthy throughout their life.

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References:
Fleck, S. J., & Kraemer, W. (2014). Designing resistance training programs, 4E. Human
Kinetics.
Harries, S. K., Lubans, D. R., & Callister, R. (2012). Resistance training to improve power and
sports performance in adolescent athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 15(6), 532-540.
Prestes, J., da Cunha Nascimento, D., Tibana, R. A., Teixeira, T. G., Vieira, D. C. L., Tajra,
V., ... & Navalta, J. W. (2015). Understanding the individual responsiveness to resistance
training periodization. Age, 37(3), 55.
Swift, D. L., Johannsen, N. M., Lavie, C. J., Earnest, C. P., & Church, T. S. (2014). The role of
exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Progress in
cardiovascular diseases, 56(4), 441-447.