What Is Progressive Overload
Anyway?
While there are many different methods and techniques for applying progressive overload to your
muscles, there are really only two ways to apply training overload in order to stimulate muscle growth…
The first way to overload your muscles is by progressively increasing your training weight each and every
workout. While this is a great way to stimulate muscle growth in the beginning stages of your training, as your
body adapts, strengthens and grows, even I can admit that it will become increasingly difficult to continue to
increase the weights that you train with each and every workout.
The second way to overload your muscles is to progressively increase the amount of work that your muscles are
performing each and every workout. This can be accomplished a few different ways, but the most common are to
utilize the same training weight for a higher number of repetitions or utilize the same training weight for the
same number of repetitions while decreasing the rest intervals between work sets.
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Either of these methods, when applied correctly, will provide your muscles with a reason to adapt and grow.
While you’ll initially build muscle by simply increasing the amount of weight that you train with, at some point
your body will plateau and you’ll need to find more creative ways to apply progressive overload to your
muscles.
Advanced bodybuilders plan out a systemized approach for applying progressive overload to their muscles with
different types of stresses. This leads to maximum muscle stimulation and lean muscle growth, but requires a lot of
planning and organization and a very good understanding of their bodies.
Next we’ll take a look at what I believe to be the best technique for applying muscle stimulating progressive
overload!
The bottom line is that in order to build muscle mass, you must get to work by applying training overload to you
workouts. With the right combination of muscle building overload followed by sound bodybuilding nutrition habits,
your muscle gain success will be virtually guaranteed!
How To Apply Progressive Overload –
The Gain-Muscle-Workout-Less.com Way!
 While there are many different training philosophies out there that
will help you pack on muscle mass, I feel that the best approach to this process is to focus your efforts on
increasing the strength of your muscles first. Put in the hard work to build a solid foundation and base, and
then move on to different ways to stimulate your muscles to grow.
The fact of the matter is that regardless of everything else, your muscles must be conditioned and strengthened
to the point that they can withstand heavy weights first, and then moved along in the progression to other forms of
stimulation. If your muscles are too weak to withstand a heavy, low volume workout, how do you think they’ll fare
when they’re exposed to a high volume heavy workout with minimal rest intervals?
My guess is probably not very well!
In fact, you may even injure yourself if you jump into the higher volume workouts without a good base of
muscular strength to begin with. The best way to approach this program is with the following philosophy…
Pick a starting weight that is heavy enough that you can barely complete the minimum number of repetitions for
the exercise. It should really be a struggle to complete the minimum requirements for the workout. Sometimes, it’s
even ok to use a weight that you can only hit the minimum number of repetitions with for 1 or 2 of your work sets,
while falling short on your 3rd set, but don’t get in the habit of doing this all of the time.
In order to build muscle mass, you need to be performing as many quality repetitions with heavy weight as you
physically can each and every workout. That means that if you are “in the zone” during a given workout and you have
the strength to perform 3 or 4 more repetitions than recommended – Go For It! Don’t limit the amount of growth
inducing stimulation you provide your muscles with simply because your workout says to do 6 reps.
In all honesty, if you are able to perform 10 reps when your target was 6, you are training with a weight that
is too light. Don’t pack it in and give up – if you find yourself in this situation, focus on providing as much
stimulation as possible with the weight that you are using, then readjust your training weight on the next set.
During the next workout for that body part target the middle to high end of the recommended repetition range
with the exact same weight. It might take a few workouts to increase your strength level to the point that you can
complete all of your sets with the maximum number of recommended repetitions.
Just keep at it until your body responds by getting stronger with that initial weight. Once you can complete the
maximum number of recommended repetitions for your workout, it’s time to increase the weight that you train with.
The next time you hit the gym increase the weight that you perform your work sets with, and repeat the process of
working with that weight.
This approach allows you to apply progressive overload to your muscles in a steady and systematic way that
provides growth-stimulating overload to your muscles in 2 different ways:
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It Allows You To Consistently Increase Your Training Weight. |
|
It Allows You To Consistently Increase The Volume of Your
Workouts. |
This 2 headed approach ultimately leads you towards more work being performed for more repetitions each and
every workout. If you implement this approach to progressive overload, not only will you begin to get stringer, but
you'll also pack on an appreciable amount of muscle mass in the process.
The best part about this approach is that you can hit the gym and get to work each and every workout without
having to wonder if you’re headed towards actually achieving your goals. Even if you are only able to perform 1
more repetition or add 2.5 more lbs than you did the week before, you are applying progressive overload to your
workouts and you're headed in the right direction!
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Either you increase the weight and move out of your comfort
zone… |
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You push through the workout and target more repetitions with the same
weight… |
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Or you stagnate and ensure that you won’t build muscle mass… |
It’s Small Incremental Steps Like Applying Progressive Overload
Consistently, That Ultimately Lead To Serious Muscle
Growth!
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