8.4 The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) principle, developed by Dr. Hans Selye (1950), offers a framework to understand the body’s response to intense training stress.
It consists of three stages that are crucial for program development and design:
Stage 1: The ALARM Stage
This stage refers to the immediate response to intense stress during training (the fundamental principle of overload – GPO).
Stage 2: The Resistance Stage
This stage involves adaptation, an essential evolutionary response for survival. For example, in training, our muscles adapt to better resist intense stress (linked to overcompensation, the SAID principle, and the reversibility principle – use it or lose it).
Stage 3: The Exhaustion Stage
This stage highlights the limited adaptive reserve for coping with stress. Persistently applying increasing levels of stress to our body would exhaust our systemic reserves, forcing us to stop training. This applies to acute and chronic stress application vs. recovery and may lead to overtraining if neglected.
It consists of three stages that are crucial for program development and design:
Stage 1: The ALARM Stage
This stage refers to the immediate response to intense stress during training (the fundamental principle of overload – GPO).
Stage 2: The Resistance Stage
This stage involves adaptation, an essential evolutionary response for survival. For example, in training, our muscles adapt to better resist intense stress (linked to overcompensation, the SAID principle, and the reversibility principle – use it or lose it).
Stage 3: The Exhaustion Stage
This stage highlights the limited adaptive reserve for coping with stress. Persistently applying increasing levels of stress to our body would exhaust our systemic reserves, forcing us to stop training. This applies to acute and chronic stress application vs. recovery and may lead to overtraining if neglected.
The GAS principle suggests that the body's response to stress is a natural and adaptive process, but prolonged exposure to stress can lead to negative health outcomes.
The GAS principle offers valuable insights into our coping mechanisms and adaptive reserve within a periodized training approach. First, it teaches us that the body’s systems require recovery after intense training periods to undergo coping processes and recuperation before repeating the process.
In typical gym language, the trauma inflicted on tissues (muscles, bones, connective tissues) by applied stress must be healed before moving forward. After a high-intensity period, a lower or low-intensity period must follow to ensure continued progress.
The optimal recovery duration and type will often depend on the training’s Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time, as described in the FITT principle. For instance, greater recovery is needed with a higher frequency of heavy eccentric training. In contrast, less eccentric work generally means shorter recovery time.
A common source of confusion when applying the GAS principle is the so-called “Bro-Split” training system or training each body part only once per week. Such infrequent training, as in the “Bro-Split” or each body part per week, results in excessive rest and insufficient stress imposition on specific muscles, negating the need for adaptation.
In typical gym language, the trauma inflicted on tissues (muscles, bones, connective tissues) by applied stress must be healed before moving forward. After a high-intensity period, a lower or low-intensity period must follow to ensure continued progress.
The optimal recovery duration and type will often depend on the training’s Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time, as described in the FITT principle. For instance, greater recovery is needed with a higher frequency of heavy eccentric training. In contrast, less eccentric work generally means shorter recovery time.
A common source of confusion when applying the GAS principle is the so-called “Bro-Split” training system or training each body part only once per week. Such infrequent training, as in the “Bro-Split” or each body part per week, results in excessive rest and insufficient stress imposition on specific muscles, negating the need for adaptation.