Stressors, Ergogenic Aids and Training Loads
Training Basics Training always involves balancing stress and recovery. A stress is applied to the system, the stress results in a deviation from homeostasis, acting as a stimulus for cellular signaling that leads to adaptation. This adaptation will leave the system better able to cope with the stimulus in the future (demand for ATP, substrate transport, muscle recruitment, etc). Generally, there is a dose-response to training so that the more training stress or training load encountered, the greater the signal and response to adapt. For example, if you had two groups of college kids, one group ran 10 miles per week (mpw) and the other group ran 30 mpw - after 10 weeks, the group that ran 30 mpw will likely outperform and/or show greater improvement over the 10 mpw group. Why? Because the 30 mpw group accumulated a greater training load resulting in a greater response. Of course, that's a very simple example. When it comes to training at a higher level - more is not always be