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Progressive Overload

Progressive Overload Training Principle

Most of us are fully aware of the fact that without putting your body through any progressive overload it will not need to adapt and adjust to get bigger or stronger. If you are one of the many gym members who come in to do a 45 minute or an hour workout using the exact same sets and reps you did last time and exactly the same weights then your body will not be forced to adapt and you will not get fitter or stronger than you currently are.

Unfortunately many of these gym goers will eventually quit because they never see any results from their hard work. It needs to be stressed that without the progressive overload there will be no difference in your appearance and the muscles will not change their shape or their size.

The progressive overload principal also has a downside and that is if you are not doing regular exercise, overloading the muscle even if it is to exactly the same point that you did the last time you will lose muscle and lose fitness. If you are not eating correctly you will also gain more fat as you get weaker.

Progressive overload achieves all the advantages of the hard work that it takes to do it as you also will increase the bone density and the strength of the connective tissue plus the cardiovascular adaptations. Increasing your fitness level as well as your capacity to perform cardio is done using the progressive overload principal.

Progressive load is ONLY achieved when extra effort is put into reaching the point of failure where you get to lift a slightly heavier weight for the same amount of reps than you did the last time you trained that body-part. There are 7 different ways that progressive overload can be achieved.

Increase Resistance

Increase Sets

Increase reps

Increase frequency

Increase exercises

Increase intensity

Decrease rest time

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