What is Progressive overload?

Progressive overload is a training principle where you slowly increase the intensity placed on your body by adding reps, weight and/or sets to your routine. An example that progressive overload can be implemented is in an exercise like a bicep curl, for example, you are looking to curl 40 lbs for 8 reps, but your current 8 rep max is 25 lbs.

A way you can use progressive overload is by adding sets and weight to your arm routine where instead of doing a 3x8 with 25 lbs, you can do 35 lbs for a 3x3 and a backoff set of 10 reps at 25 lbs and gradually you can add reps every 3 weeks to that 35 lbs until you reach 8 or more reps and move on to 40 lbs and have a new backoff set of 30 to 32.5 lbs. This process is gradual and requires you to be patient with the process.

A Personal Programming Example

My first few years of serious training was very stagnant because I didn’t have a training principle that I stuck to. I would hop in and out of training principles every few months and I would see progress in terms of aesthetics not in terms of performance. Progressive overload gave me a principle in which I had to practice patience and it really helped with building a solid program that is very simple and concise. My program is based on my 1 Rep Maxes on my 3 lifts, so here are my maxes as of this writing.

Powerlifting Maxes

Squat-370 lbs

Bench-261 lbs

Deadlift-470 lbs

The one lift that I’ve definitely seen results with progressive overload is my bench press. This is the one lift that I work on for two days a week (Monday and Thursday) and here is my bench routine.

Monday

1RM (1 Rep Max):261 lbs

2 Warmup Sets

50% to 55% of 1RM

12 Reps

135-145 lbs

2 Working Sets

65% to 85% of 1RM

4-6 Reps

170-225 lbs

3-4 Top Sets

87.5% to 100% of 1RM

1-4 Reps

230-261 lbs

1-2 Backoff Sets

75% to 77.5% of 1RM

10-12 Reps

196-202 lbs

Thursday

2 Warmup Sets

50% to 60% of 1RM

10-12 Reps

135-157 lbs

2 Working Sets

72.5%-75% of 1RM

5-6 Reps

189-196 lbs

2-3 Top Sets

80% of 1RM

6-8 Reps

210 lbs

1 Backoff Set

72.5% of 1RM

189 lbs

8-10 Reps

I have a 4 day training split as of this writing.

Monday-Bench and Overhead Press Day (Heavy)

Tuesday-Squat Day

Wednesday-Rest

Thursday- Bench and Back Day (Moderate)

Friday- Deadlift Day

Saturday and Sunday- Rest

This has been my best program yet because it allows me to do a lot of volume while getting enough rest to truly grow and see consistent progress.

Progressive Overload Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions of progressive overload,but I want to address 3 specific misconceptions.

The Weight must increase every week

Yes, adding weight is one of the methods of success but it’s not always necessary to add 5 lbs to your 1 rep max every week. This will just hinder your growth through poor form and future injury.

The best method is to have a long term gradual plan to better promote muscle growth and necessary strength gains.

The process is always an upward growth and there will never be a plateau

False, The following is a reminder that you’re a human being and not a machine. Your body will experience discomfort through this process which means you will have a great week or two, but you will experience a week where you don’t feel like things are progressing.

This is why I suggest you write your plan out to get an overall look at your progress on a weekly,monthly and yearly basis.

Progressive overload is for strength only

False, this training principle is not exclusive to strength or bodybuilding based training. This form of training promotes gradual progression over a long period of time, so it can be applied to anything that promotes movement like a better run time or a higher vertical leap,etc.

Progressive overload can be a great tool for a beginner who’s learning to properly program for themselves because it shows progress without playing the guessing game and can also be a great tool for an experienced lifter who’s feeling stagnant in their progress.

If you reached the end of this blog, first and foremost thank you for taking time out of your day to read the E.T.S. Blog. I hope this gives you another tool to use to accomplish your goals.

If you’re looking for personal training, please look at what I'm offering here on the website. I offer:

1 on 1 Training (In Person and Online)

Small Group Training

Online Programming

I hope you have a great day and always remember that the winner is you!