What is the purpose of specificity in weight lifting?
Specificity is the weight lifting principal that requires the exercise to be specific to the strength required to successfully complete the movement. Athletes use specificity to strengthen the muscles used in the sport in which they compete. Body builders use the principal of specificity to strengthen the individual muscles. And novice weight lifters should use the principal to further their capabilities to achieve results. Improvements in the movement ranges and the strength of the muscles require exercises that will expressly target the individual muscles.
To achieve superior strength and ability in each muscle, you must identify and perform exercises that target it. Performing exercises that directly effect and control individual muscle groups will help increase your ability to perform athletically and also increase your capabilities in the weight room. Without performing exercises that increase the abilities of each muscle group, you will not be able to increase the intensity of your work outs.
Increasing the intensity of your work outs is essential to the achievement of any set goals. You will not be able to move forward and see actual results if your not able to increase the intensity of the exercises. This will result in a plateau and prevent gains from occurring. You probably already adhere to this principal even if you were not familiar with the term. If you segregate certain days for specific muscle groups, you are already familiar with the principal. Now you are familiar with the terminology.
