The human body is amazing. It can endure tremendous stress; it is capable of the greatest sensitivity; yet it is resilient and can withstand enormous force.

Your body, in various ways, responds and reacts to the immediate demands you place on it (even if you haven’t done it before). In addition, the health results we have been discussing over the months reflect the body’s ability to adapt in response to exercises and activities done regularly and repeatedly. For example:

¨If you continue to subject your muscles to heavy lifting, you are telling your body that it has greater strength demands and your body will respond by developing bigger, stronger muscles.

¨If you repeatedly subject your body to running long distances, your body will increase its heart and lung capacity so that it can also meet such demand.

In general, those who perform exercises regularly will see greater results and performance improvement than someone who does it sporadically. Your body may react but it has not had a chance to adapt yet. This is why last week we talked about establishing Healthy Habits. These routines or habitual behavior communicate to your body that it needs to change… increase tissue, circulation, range of movement, etc. Whatever you subject your body to, it reacts and when asked regularly and repeatedly, it will “learn” and try to fulfill with as much ease as possible the next time. I.e., you’ll see improvement in strength, conditioning, coordination, agility, speed and endurance.

Here are a few examples of how the body responds and adapts to training and what it is subjected to most often…

¨Have you noticed that swimmers appear to have a layer of subcutaneous fat over their body even though they burn thousands of calories when training for hours and hours? Have you wondered why they aren’t they lean like bodybuilders or runners?

¨Have you noticed that pure runners tend to have leaner, smaller upper bodies?

¨Have you noticed that strongmen and powerlifters tend to be huge and bulky looking?

These are all ways that the body adapts to the type of training, environment and conditions that it is exposed to. The body will place the emphasis on whatever you show has the greatest demand. What matters is what you are doing most consistently because this pattern of demand that you place on your body communicate its needs. It tells your body what is expected of it. So what are you telling your body? And how is your body reacting?  Think about it. Are you telling your body to expand your stomach because you need to fit more and more in there? Or are you telling your body that you want to be active to get rid of that extra weight that has become a burden?

Your body learns, prepares itself as it anticipates stimuli and tries to exert minimal effort in any movement. This is where your body develops, relies on its natural strengths, and seeks a rhythm or groove where it is almost effortless; and you can only get there with practice and repetition.

For resistance exercises, if maintenance is all you’re after, then doing the same weight, same reps would net the same results. However, if you desire growth and improvement, then you’ll need to do more. You need to stimulate the muscle. Wake it up and demand more of it. The only way to do that is to do more than you’ve done before… more weight, more reps, a different angle or movement variation. This is because your body will adapt to what you’ve done already and you need to do something different to stimulate growth. Yes, this could be the plateau that many experience from time to time.

Just remember that the reverse is true too. Your body also responds to inactivity by losing muscle tissue, losing bone density, limiting range of movement, slowing reaction time, losing condition, and so on if you no longer place such demands on it.

You might be thinking that this means continual effort…forever. And you are correct. It applies as long as you would like to be alive and stay healthy. Again, that’s why it is easier to accept it as a lifestyle, not a program. Think about it. When we were an agrarian society, this was a non-issue because we worked the land and ate from it. In a post-industrialized, information and technology-based society, many are relegated to desk jobs and computer work, while consuming instant, processed foods. Thus, our bodies have adapted by being overweight and experiencing worsening health conditions. So it will take a concerted effort to turn back the tables of time on our health and reclaim some of the physical strength and condition that our parents and grandparents had… but using modern technology so that it’s more enjoyable. So stop complaining; grab your I-Pod and get going!

*** Thank you to all of you who have completed the general health survey. For those who haven’t, I invite you to participate. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com. It is a short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Mahalo for your support! Lori