Apr 16 in Fitness & Health 🏋🥩
Progressive Overload is King
Progressing in the gym is something that some people don't know how to do...
"I've been going to the gym for 2 months now but I'm not really adding on much weight to my lifts!"
Progressive overload is the key to PROGRESSION (funnily enough) and this is how to master it.
There are 6️⃣ ways to add progressive overload into your workouts:
⭐ Add more weight
⭐ Increase reps and sets
⭐ Increase the frequency
⭐ Improve your form
⭐ Increased time under tension
⭐ Less rest in between sets
ADDING MORE WEIGHT:
Adding more weight to your exercises can be done well, or it can be done badly. You should be considerate about how much weight you increase your lifts by, as you don't want to risk "ego lifting" which will make you prone to injury. For your compound lifts, adding weight will be easy as the total weight lifted is going to be high in comparison to isolation exercises such as lateral raises; the jumps will have to be proportionality smaller. If you're going for a new weight, consider asking an experienced gym member for a spot in case you've gone too high.
INCREASING REPS AND SETS:
If you're finding that your last reps aren't as intense anymore, you can always add more reps and sets onto your exercise to reach fatigue. A specific strategy people to add more reps is "cheat reps. This where you compensate your form to really squeeze out as many reps as possible, reaching true failure. Always important to do this safely and only when you're comfortable with a movement.
INCREASE THE FREQUENCY:
Your biceps aren't growing? Train them an extra day of the week. Increase frequency spreads the workload across a longer timeframe and also allows much more volume than adding extra sets. For example, in a single workout you may just be able to add one additional sets after your initial three working sets (totalling four sets), but now you can repeat that four on a separate day; that's a lot more muscle use. Consider how much time you have in the gym to repeat exercises on different days and make sure you're not over training. You must allow your muscles time to recover, which means you can't just head bench press every day of the week, you'll be too fatigued.
IMPROVE YOUR FORM:
This isn't as popular as the other options, but it makes sense. "Perfect" form is when you effectively target the muscles you are wanting to hit, usually done by adjusting the angles of which your body is in. If your form is improved and your now better at hitting target muscles, they'll receive more stimulus from you training. Sloppy form frequently involves muscles you're not trying to hit, which is a waste of energy and time.
INCREASED TIME UNDER TENSION:
This is my FAVOURITE way to progress overload. Time under tension, as the name alludes to, is the time in which your muscles are taking the strain of the weight. If you're doing a set and you're about to finish all the reps and it's just not intense enough, do the last few reps REALLY slowly and then see how much of a burn you experience. Increased TUT gives your muscles way more stimulus and the intensity SHOOTS up, making you hit fatigue a lot quicker. Be careful that the weight isn't too high as that's when people can experience injuries.
LESS REST IN BETWEEN SETS:
If you give your muscles less time to recover, they're going to be working at a much higher rate than relaxed muscles and reach fatigue quicker. Although reaching fatigue isn't a black and weight sign of you training well, it's a good indication of how much intensity you've had in your workout. However, you should give your muscles some time to recover, otherwise you won't go into your next set with enough energy to lift it effectively.
Progressive overload is an important part of working out and improving in your lifts. Who wants to stick at the same weights forever?? As you progressively overload, you give your body new stimulus and tell it that it must adapt due to everything becoming much harder. You push your body to grow and improve, which is when you find progress in your lifting journey.
What's your favourite way of progressively overloading your lifts?
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Progressive Overload is King
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