The Specificity Principle Explained in Simple Terms | Day #8

What is the Specificity Principle (or SAID principle)?

Welcome to Day #8 of Wellfit 365! Hope you e joyed week 1 🙂

In this video, I explain the important Specificity Principle in simple terms.

The specificity principle is also known within fitness training circles as the

SAID Principle : Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand.

When we place our body under stress, it will make adaptations to allow us to better withstand that specific stress in future.

This happens by several different mechanisms in the body, but basically, this principle means that we will get better at what we practise.

Whether your fitness training goal is to get better for your social tennis game, or to be able to swim 20 laps of a pool, the specificity principle must be taken into account.

Cross training is popular sometimes and you will get some health benefits out of this type of training, however there is very little cross over between different exercise types.

eg. If you’ve been training to be an elite runner, you won’t necessarily be fit for professional swimming.

A word of warning – Be wary of exercises that claim to be sports-specific or ‘functional training’, because can often turn out to be not as effective as they claim to be.