Improving Homeostatic Set-Point through Proper Training Adaptations for Better Sporting Outcome

Abstract

The concept of homeostasis is based on Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest. In order to survive one has to maintain a stable internal and external environment. For attaining positive change of an individual’s physical, physiological, psychological, and mechanical performance stress is required in a systematic and scientific planned way. Regular upsetting the homeostatic set point, a new set-point is able to create within the body, which can be termed as adaptation. In the case of sports performance, the training load must be adopted by an athlete through the process of super-compensation in order to exhibit better performance in the competitive sports arena. Adaptation is facilitated the positive reinforcement through a negative feedback loop in physical, physiological, and psychological areas of any individual and able to develop the concept of feed-forward mechanism. If adaptation stimuli are applied properly, training can be expected to have accumulative effect. The sporting world depends upon the positive adaptation of training load through improving the sporting performance by elevating the homeostatic set point. Long term training has also positive impact on health sports performance by modifying the qualitative and quantitative physiological component. A physiological adaptation refers to the metabolic or physiologic adjustment within the cell, or tissues, of an organism in response to an environmental stimulus resulting in the improved ability of that organism to cope with its changing environment adaptation. The purpose of the present study is to critically discuss the various aspects of homeostatic regulations and the way to create a new set point of an athlete for better performance through the adaptation process.