General Adaptation Syndrome and SAID Principles

Your body is apt at dealing with stress and will make adjustments as needed to cope. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) allows us to look at the introduction of stress to our system and a spectrum of our body’s ability to deal with it. The levels of the GAS principle are:

The Alarm Reaction stage

• What the ...!!!
• Increased soreness
• Questioning choice of exercises and sometimes exercising in general
• Decreased performance

The Resistance stage

• “Good stress” aka eustress
• Getting used to the stress
• Minimized soreness
• Physiologically fine with practiced exercises
• Increased performance

The Exhaustion / Overtraining stage

• “Over stressed” aka distressed
• Not enough recovery
• Irritable
• Exhausted
• Decreased performance

The SAID principle stands for Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands, which means your body (and mind) will adapt to the specific exercises, stresses, and other demands you impose. As long as you don’t go into the exhaustion phase of the GAS you will continue to build resistance to these stresses and adapt. Work from a place of moderate stress where you can find success and build from there! Learn more by listening to this episode of the NASM CPT podcast.

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