Monday Muscle - The 6 Governing Principles of Muscle Development

Your personal ability to develop muscle mass, strength, power, endurance, definition and so forth are governed by a number of scientific principles.Only when you've grasped and followed these principles will you start to achieve your goals and realise your full anabolic potential.

Both Arnold and Sylvester used these principles 

The 6 governing principles of muscle development include the following:

1. The HEALTHY-PLUS Principle (by Lloyd Chivandire): 

Anyone who knows what they are talking about in the world of health, fitness and sports performance will tell you that DIET/NUTRITION are the most crucial components. However, it’s proven that that not everyone who eats healthily is actually healthy nor do they necessarily have great body composition (i.e. muscle development, body fat mass) even if they exercise as well. Lloyd Chivandire's HealthyPlus principle states that "as far as body composition and performance go ones diet must be more than just healthy; it must be healthy-plus-supportive of ones goal" . For example if ones goal is to build muscle, the diet must be both healthy plus supportive of the biological mechanisms/ factors of muscle development.

2. The SAID Principle: 

This is one of the most important that governs muscle development. SAID is the acronym for "Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands." This principle simply states that the different demands placed upon the body will initiate specific adaptations from the body. For example the adaptation to lifting very challenging weights will cause the body to adapt by becoming stronger. It also states that each organ and organelle responds to a different form of stressors through specific adaptations.

3. The Principle of Progressive Overload: 

This principle states that you must continually push the barrier in order to keep progressing. Think of it this way; you must keep taking steps forward in order to keep moving forward. The moment you start marching in the same spot, you're not going to be going anywhere at all. In fact you can march in the same spot for month or years but you will still end up in the same spot and with the same end result.

4. The GAS Principle: 

GAS is the acronym for the phrase "General Adaptation Syndrome". This principle states that there must be a period of low intensity training or complete rest following periods of high intensity training in order to allow time for the body to recuperate and adapt to the workload. This is why it's imperative to make sure you have adequate sleep and general recovery days.

5.The Use/Disuse Principle: 

"Use it or lose it" means that your muscles will develop with use and diminish with disuse.

6.The Specificity Principle: 

To easily explain this principle to you, think of it this way "You'll get stronger at squats by doing squats as opposed to leg presses" or "you'll achieve greater levels of endurance for completing a marathon by running long distances than you will by cycling long distances".

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