Q: Can you tell me what overloading a muscle means? It sounds dangerous, but I've heard I should actually include it in my fitness program. If this is true, how do I do it? - J.S., Littleton, CO

A: Overloading occurs when we place a demand on the muscle that it is not normally accustomed to. When done in a sensible progressive manner, this is not dangerous; in fact, it is needed for the muscle to increase in strength, endurance or flexibility. How the muscle reacts or responds depends on the overload being applied. Gradual increases in intensity actually help to decrease the possibility of injury and ensure that the neuromuscular system will respond with a positive adaptation to the demands being placed on it.

* Examples of using overload to meet your fitness goals include the following: Goal: Increase Strength. Increase the overload applied to the muscles over time. Usually the overload is an increase in weight sufficient to fatigue the targeted muscle in about 30 to 60 seconds. To look at it another way, the last two repetitions of any given set should be difficult to very difficult to complete. Ninety percent recovery should occur within 60 to 90 seconds of rest.
* Goal : Increase Flexibility. Lengthen and elongate the targeted muscles to a point of gentle strain, not pain, and hold the stretch for 20-60 seconds. Be sure muscles are warm prior to stretching. Stretches held longer than 60 seconds are generally not recommended; after a minute, the muscle fibers cool off too much and flexibility cannot be increased.
* Goal: Increase Endurance. The targeted muscles must be challenged to continue work over a longer and longer period of time. This can be accomplished by doing more repetitions (12-15) per set, traveling farther in the same time period by increasing your speed, or increasing the length of the exercise time periods. Again, remember that all changes must occur gradually to avoid injuries. Change only one component at a time: increase the length of time you work out while leaving your speed the same, or vice versa.


Source: fitlinxx.com