Tissue Adaptation in Strength Training

I recently finished the book Supertraining  by Mel C. Siff. It was a beast of a read, but had tons of great information and I would highly recommend it to anyone seriously interested strength training and rehabilitation. I took a lot away from the book, so I would like to share some key bits that really stood out. One point Mel touched on was concerning how different tissues adapt at different rates throughout the body. The discussion on this point made me rethink some of the things I have done in the past as well as make sure I have some checks to keep me honest and provide the best and safest training experiences for the clientele I will work with in the future.

To quote some research from the book... “Muscle tissue adapts to increasing loading within several days whereas the connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, and joint capsules) or systems which contain a high proportion of connective tissue (bone and cartilage) only display significant adaptation and hypertrophy after several weeks or months of progressive loading (McDonagh & Davies, 1984)”.

This got me to thinking about some of the athletes and clients that I have worked with in the past, especially those who were fairly new to strength training or those having a low training age. With this population, strength gains tend to initially occur in leaps and bounds as almost anything you have them do makes them stronger. Thus, it can become easy to just keep upping the poundage fairly drastically week in and week out. However, as Mel points out, one must take into account how different tissues adapt at different rates when prescribing loading. Even though these people’s muscle tissues have adapted to the increased loading they are encountering, it is more than likely some of the connective tissue adaptation is lagging behind. These factors leave these individuals at an increased risk for injury especially during heavy loaded strength exercises, since at slower loading rates the body insertion of a ligament or tendon is the weakest component of bone-soft tissue complex.

With that being said, our first rule should always be to no harm. Thus, there are some practical things we can do to keep progressing our clients and athletes without putting them at an increased risk for injury. First and foremost, technical proficiency must be demonstrated in a specific lift with bodyweight or light loads before additional loading is considered. After that, keep a close eye on the person and terminate the set as soon as there is any break in form. With specific increases in loading, use good judgment. A ten point jump in a lift after a week would be drastically different when working with a junior linebacker versus a freshman volleyball player. Slowly and gradually build up the lifts and make communication with clients and athletes a priority. Muscle soreness from DOMs is to be expected and is a normal part of the training process; just make sure it never lasts for more than a few days. In addition, if the person is sore, make sure it is limited to the muscles and not felt in tendons or joints. Following the preceding steps can go a long way toward helping your clients and athletes stay healthy and on the path to achieving their goals without encountering any major setbacks in the training process.