What is Progressive Overload?
What it actually is…
Greg Doucette explains it simply as “Train harder than last time”! If I’m being honest, I definitely quote that a lot when talking to my clients. But what does it mean to train harder? I asked my clients what they thought it meant. And out of the 10 or so of them that I asked, most of them simply said, “go heavier”. Technically that’s not wrong but heavier in what sense? Thing is, “heavier” doesn’t JUST mean more weight in the sense of how heavy are the dumbbells you’re lifting or how much you put on the bar. Heavier in progressive overload actually refers to “training volume”! Now I know what you’re thinking if you’re new to this…”what is training volume” Well it is simply the total weight lifted and you can find it by multiplying weight x reps x sets! And as long as one of these variables are increasing from session to session, week to week, you are applying progressive overload! Pretty cool huh? Let’s look at some examples shall we?
The Application…
Let’s say that you are brand new to working out, and your trainer has you doing 3 sets of 10 on the bench press using 100lbs. After everything is done you’ll have a training volume of 3000 total pounds moved from just the bench press. (100x10x3). Say a few days later and it’s time to bench again, but THIS time, the trainer has you doing 11 repetitions instead of 10! Now the equation looks like: 100x11x3. This time your training volume is 3300 total lbs moved! Congratulations, you’ve successfully applied progressive overload! You can play with the variables how you want depending on where you’re at on your fitness journey (training age) but you get the point!
There is one more aspect of progressive overload that doesn't have to do with training volume. That last aspect is BETTER FORM! When we apply better form to our movements we make it so that there is no wasted energy and more importantly we can continue to lift longer without the threat of injury!
Why it’s important…
Now that we’ve discussed WHAT progressive overload is, let’s talk about WHY it even matters. Have you ever found yourself going to the gym and doing the same workouts with the same weights and finding that your body isn’t really changing much at all? You’re not progressing, getting stronger, more muscular or anything like that? Sound familiar at all? It should, we’ve all been there before. But there is a reason for this. The body is amazing at adapting to the environment around it. What you put it through, it will do its best to get used to it so that it doesn't have to exert any more precious energy! But if we are in the gym, the idea is to change and shape the body how you want it to be. And for that to happen you have to introduce the proper stimulus in order for it to adapt itself to what you want it to be. So if the goal is bigger muscles, then you better be stressing those muscles out more and more (while providing proper rest and nutrition of course). If the goal is overall strength, then we have to lift heavier and heavier weights. And if we want to be more athletic, then we have to continuously work harder to get to where we want to be.
Conclusion…
Up till now, we’ve covered a lot about what progressive overload is and why it’s necessary in the gym. To sum up, it is the process of adding more training volume from session to session, week to week and so on and so forth. And we need it so that we can continue to make progress in the gym! You apply progressive overload by increasing the weight, sets, reps or using cleaner form. I hope you got some good information. If you did, leave a comment! If you’re looking for a coach to help you through your fitness journey, I hope you will shoot me an email! It’s been great everyone, til next time!
