Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash
Time and time again we get too comfortable and we don’t want to make that small adjustment which, in the end, can have massive effects.
If you find yourself doing the same exercise routine, weight, reps, sets and you’re wondering why you’re not showing any improvements, it’s because you’re doing the same thing again and again.
You’re not changing anything so your body doesn’t have to adapt.
The simplest way to do this is through the training principle progressive overload — which simply means, creating an increased demand on the musculoskeletal system to continually make improvements.
It is forcing your body to adapt to increased stress.
The end result is more growth, strength and endurance.
People may think that progressive overload is only for the guys in the gym — they’re wrong!
It works wonders for everyone!
Here are 4 simple ways you can use progressive overload to make improvements.
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1. Increase the resistance
Perhaps the most common form of progressive overload is adding more weight.
And no, I don’t mean going from a 60kg bench press in one session to trying to do a 70kg bench in the next session.
I mean going from 60kg to 62kg in the next session.
By increasing the amount of weight your lifting, you’re forcing your muscle to grow to be able to cope with lifting the increased load.
You’ll notice that when you increase the weight, you won’t be able to do the same number of reps.
That’s completely fine and once you get stronger, your body adapts and your muscle grows, you’ll be pushing those same number of reps again. But, once this happens, it’s time to increase the load again.
For example:
Say one week I am pushing 8 reps of 100kg/220lbs on a squat. To progressively overload by increasing the resistance, I’ll squat 102kg/224lbs in the next session for 6 reps. Once I get accustomed to this new weight and I am pushing 8 reps again, I’ll increase the weight again to 105kg/231lbs for 6 reps.
By using this way of progressively overloading, my muscle is growing and adapting to the new weight.
2. Train more frequently
Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash
It’s common to train each body part once a week.
But, the more experienced you get, the more your body gets accustomed to this.
Increasing the number of times you train a body part during the week is an incredible way to progressively overload — trust me, you’ll notice vast improvements.
Dr Brad Shoenfeld, one of the leading fitness experts in body composition, publishing over 200 peer-reviewed research articles, analyzed multiple studies looking into the effect of the frequency of training on muscle growth.
He found, training a body part twice a week promotes superior muscle growth compared to training it only once a week.
For example:
Let’s say you train chest on a Monday. You might do some triceps or shoulders along with it. Instead of waiting till next week Monday to train your chest again, train it again on Friday or Saturday. Push the muscle outside of its comfort zone.
If you notice you have specific weak points, like for me my abs aren’t the best and neither are my shoulders, train these areas more frequently than your stong areas.
The lesson here — train a body part twice a week for more muscle growth, especially your weak areas.
3. Increase time under tension
If you’re looking for a massive burn on your muscles to stimulate some growth, increasing time under tension is your best friend.
Time under tension involves lengthening a phase of a muscle movement to increase the amount of time a muscle is under stress.
As an example, on a bicep curl, instead of performing 10 normal paced reps, when lowering the weight on your curl you might take three seconds before the weight reaches the bottom.
Research published in the Journal of Physiology found that both concentric (shortening of the muscle) and eccentric (lengthening of the muscle) contractions for six seconds resulted in muscle growth compared to contractions that were only one second.
To try this out:
To start with, pick one exercise on each muscle group. It might be a tricep extension for your triceps, a leg extension for your quadriceps or dumbbell press for your chest. On these movements, increase the time under tension on the eccentric portion of the movement for 3–4 seconds. For example, when lowering the weight on a leg extension, count to three before you lower it all the way and repeat for 8–10 reps.
Trust me, when you implement this technique, it’ll literally feel like someone has set fire to the muscle and ripped it apart.
4. Increase the reps
Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash
Although increasing resistance is a great way to progressively overload and gain muscle, you might find that you can’t increase the weight all the time.
Instead of always increasing the weight, another brilliant way to stimulate more growth is by increasing the number of repetitions you do.
Forcing yourself to push just an extra one or two reps can make a massive difference.
Personally, I will always try to increase the reps where I can.
If in my shoulder session I’ve been pushing 8 reps, I’ll always try and do one or two more, in the next session, to increase the stress on my shoulder.
I’ll also always stick within the recommended 6–12 rep range for muscle growth, so if I’m pushing 10–12 reps on an exercise I’ll increase the weight.
Increasing the reps and using this technique in tandem with increasing the resistance has worked wonders for me.
In your own session:
If you’re doing a bench press, during each session always try to push at least one more rep. Force yourself to do it. Your chest will be thinking, “what the hell is going on here!?” It’ll shock your muscle, forcing it to grow. If you notice you’re getting to the higher rep range, it’s now time to load on a bit more weight.
Final Thoughts
Progressive overload is the key to muscle growth.
Without it, you’re not forcing your muscle to adapt to the increased stress.
It’s similar to your own personal growth. If you want to learn more or get better at a particular craft, you have to expose yourself to new situations.
The same goes for your muscle.
Implement these four different methods of progressive overload for muscle growth, strength and endurance:
- Increase the amount of weight you lift.
- Increase the frequency you train each body part — especially your weak points.
- Increase the time under tension.
- Increase the number of reps.
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