Specificity

What it is

Specificity is the principle that the body adapts to the kind of work it is given¹. A 2023 meta-analysis states it this way: training brings specific adaptations, which carry over mainly to tasks that are physiologically or biomechanically alike¹. A 2022 review written about athletes describes specificity as how alike training and performance are⁸. It names two kinds of likeness: bioenergetic (energy supply) and biomechanical (movement mechanics)⁸.

A 2021 paper on loading states that it is also called specific adaptation to imposed demands (SAID)⁹. A 2017 review calls specificity a core principle that shows most clearly in the contrasting results of prolonged endurance training and resistance training¹⁰.

A 1995 paper on resistance training modes judged three kinds of specificity to be supported¹¹:

• Exercise type. Training effects are greatest when testing and training use one type of exercise¹¹.
• Joint angle. Strength improves most at the joint angles that were exercised, with some carryover to ranges that were not¹¹.
• Speed. The greatest strength gains consistently appear at the speed trained, with some carryover¹¹.

How it is measured

The test a study uses can shape what it finds about specificity⁹. A 2021 paper notes that researchers generally test one-repetition maximum (1RM), the heaviest load a person can lift once, on exercises from the training programme⁹. The paper says this biases results towards heavier lifting, and that the advantage of heavy loads fades when strength is tested another way⁹.

The authors of a 2017 paper suggest the 1RM is a specific skill that improves most when training includes practising it or lifting near-maximal loads¹².

Muscular endurance can be measured as the most repetitions done at a fixed load, or at a set percentage of 1RM⁹. VO2max is the most oxygen the body can take in and use during hard exercise. A 2009 review comparing cycling and running concluded that it is specific to the exercise mode¹³.

What studies found

Heavy loads raised the heavy-lift test most

An 8-week study split 32 untrained men into groups by repetition maximum, the heaviest load a person can lift a set number of times². The group lifting 3 to 5 repetition-maximum sets gained significantly more maximal strength than the other training groups². The group lifting 20 to 28 repetition-maximum sets improved most in repetitions performed at 60% of 1RM².

A 2021 meta-analysis of 45 studies compared loads above 60% of 1RM with lower loads¹⁴. It found similar hypertrophy (growth in the size of a muscle) and greater 1RM gains with higher loads¹⁴.

Range of motion: three trials that do not agree

Three trials in men trained the back squat or bench press through different ranges of motion, then tested each range^3,4,5.

Who trained	1RM in the fuller range	1RM in the shorter range
17 male students, deep or shallow squat, 12 weeks3	Deep group about 20%; shallow group 9%3	Deep group about 20%; shallow group 36%3
17 males, full or half squat, 10 weeks4	Full group 31.8%; half group 11.3%4	Gains did not differ between groups (24.2% and 32.0%)4
50 resistance-trained men, full, two-thirds or one-third bench press, 10 weeks5	Full-range group had the best results5	Full-range group had the best results5

A 10-week bench press study tested full-range 1RM in three groups: 11 people training full range, 15 partial range and 30 a combination¹⁵. Each group gained significantly, with no differences between groups¹⁵. A 2021 meta-analysis of 16 studies found significantly greater strength gains with full than with partial range-of-motion training¹⁶.

Nine men did 12 weeks of isometric training (the muscle works but the joint does not move) on the muscles that straighten the knee¹⁷. Gains after training at a short muscle length were limited to angles near the training angle¹⁷. Training at a long muscle length raised strength at all tested angles¹⁷.

Speed and type of contraction

A 1993 paper states that strength rises most at or near the speed used in training¹⁸. A 2017 meta-analysis of 15 studies in healthy adults matched fast and moderate-slow training for intensity and volume¹⁹. The two produced similar gains in dynamic strength¹⁹.

A meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials compared eccentric training (the muscle lengthens) with concentric training (the muscle shortens)²⁰. Gains after eccentric training appeared more specific to the speed and mode trained²⁰. In another study, 12 trained young men trained one ankle concentrically and the other eccentrically for 6 weeks²¹. Their functional changes tracked structural changes in the muscle more closely than contraction mode, speed or angle²¹.

Movement pattern and transfer

After 4 weeks of squat training, 10 healthy volunteers raised their squat one-repetition maximum by 35%, but their isometric knee extension strength did not change²². A 2025 meta-analysis of 43 studies in healthy people aged 16 to 60 points the same way²³. Dynamic resistance training raised dynamic strength about twice as much as untrained isometric strength²³.

After 4 weeks of squat training, 10 healthy volunteers raised their squat one-repetition maximum by 35%, but their isometric knee extension strength did not change.

Four other meta-analyses compared forms of training or tested trained and untrained tasks^24,25,26,27:

• One leg or two. In 14 studies of subjects aged 16 to 26, one-sided (unilateral) training improved one-leg jumps more, and two-sided (bilateral) training improved two-sided strength more²⁴. One-sided strength, two-leg jumps, change of direction and speed showed no significant differences²⁴.
• Jump direction. Horizontal plyometric training (jumping and hopping work) had a moderate advantage on horizontal measures, and a trivial, non-significant difference on vertical ones²⁵.
• Equipment. A 2023 meta-analysis concluded that current evidence indicates strength gains are specific to the equipment trained with²⁶.
• Balance. A 2016 meta-analysis of 6 trials in 102 healthy participants found gains in the trained balance tasks, with no clear effect on untrained ones²⁷.

Endurance modes

A 1994 paper on cross-training concluded that some training effect on VO2max appears to transfer from one mode to another²⁸. It also concluded that cross-training effects never exceed those of training in the sport’s own mode²⁸. A randomised 8-week trial studied 30 well-trained people who added running or swimming to their baseline running²⁹. Added running improved 3.2 km time by 26.4 seconds, and added swimming by 13.2 seconds²⁹.

The interference effect

A 2014 review covers concurrent training, which is resistance and aerobic training done in one programme³⁰. It reports that evidence suggests this may reduce muscle mass, strength and power gains, compared with resistance training alone³⁰. This has been called the interference effect³⁰.

The first study and the pooled findings

A 1980 study by Hickson ran a strength group, an endurance group and a group doing both programmes for 10 weeks^6,31. The combined group gained strength at a rate similar to the strength group for 7 weeks, then levelled off and declined³¹.

A 2012 meta-analysis of 21 studies reported mean effect sizes (a standard measure of how large a difference is) for power³². They were 0.91 with strength training alone, 0.55 with concurrent training and 0.11 with endurance training alone, and all three differed significantly³². The same meta-analysis linked resistance training combined with running, but not cycling, to significant decrements in hypertrophy and strength³².

Where later reviews differ

Four other meta-analyses do not point one way^6,7,33,34:

• Training status. In 27 studies, concurrent training reduced leg press and squat 1RM gains in trained people, but not in moderately trained or untrained people⁶. In trained people the effect occurred only when both kinds of training shared a session⁶.
• Maximal strength and size. In 43 studies of healthy adults, adding aerobic training did not compromise hypertrophy or maximal strength⁷. Explosive strength gains may be reduced, more so when both were done in one session⁷.
• Sex. In 59 studies of healthy adults aged 18 to 50, concurrent training blunted lower-body strength gains in males but not in females³³.
• Age. In children and adolescents, 4 studies showed a small effect on muscle power in favour of concurrent training over strength training alone³⁴.

A 2021 meta-analysis notes that studies since Hickson’s have conflicted, some showing a negative effect and others not⁶. A 2017 review states that the mechanism behind the interference effect is unknown¹⁰.

What is disputed

Whether repetition ranges form a continuum

A 2021 paper reports that studies comparing heavy and moderate loads show similar gains in muscular endurance⁹. It concludes that any effect of load on muscular endurance remains questionable⁹. A 2022 narrative review (a summary written without a set, checkable search method) reports some evidence for a strength-endurance continuum⁸. It states the continuum is most apparent under three conditions, one being that tests use absolute loads⁸.

Whether squat strength transfers to sprinting

A 2006 review states that two-sided vertical exercises transfer minimally to sprint performance, naming squats and jump squats³⁵. A 2014 meta-analysis of 15 studies with 510 subjects found a very large correlation between gains in back squat strength and gains in sprint performance³⁶. A correlation is how closely two measures rise and fall together³⁶.

How much training experience matters

A 2021 paper states that evidence indicates the principle becomes more relevant as training experience increases⁹. A 2021 meta-analysis notes that untrained people can gain muscle size and strength from endurance training⁶.

Where the evidence is thin

• Definitions. The definitions on this page come from two reviews, one paper on loading and one meta-analysis^1,8,9,10.
• Range of motion. The three trials that tested each range enrolled 17, 17 and 50 people, each of them male^3,4,5.
• Sprint transfer. The 2014 finding is a correlation between strength gains and sprint gains, pooled from 15 studies³⁶.
• Who was studied. The one-leg and two-leg meta-analysis pooled subjects aged 16 to 26²⁴. The authors of the 2024 meta-analysis on sex called for more studies in females³³.

Connections

Resistance training covers load: in a meta-analysis of 21 studies, higher loads brought greater 1RM gains and similar changes in muscle size³⁷. Isometric training covers joint angle¹⁷. Eccentric training covers contraction type²⁰. Plyometric training, free weights and machines and balance training each report gains that follow what was trained^25,26,27.

Muscle describes how endurance training adds mitochondria, the small parts inside a cell that release energy from food, without greatly increasing muscle mass³⁸. Nerve covers cross-education: in a meta-analysis of 31 randomised trials, training one limb raised strength in the untrained opposite limb by 11.9% on average³⁹.

Related exercise pages: back squat, bench press and running, each used in the trials above^4,5,29.

In the 2012 meta-analysis, more frequent and longer endurance training went with smaller gains in hypertrophy, strength and power, a question of training volume³². A 2022 review bears on progressive overload: giving up heavier loads to make an exercise more specific may reduce transfer, particularly in relatively weak athletes⁸.

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Every source the library cites

Changes

• October 6, 2026 First published.