There are many terms in fitness that you might hear that you won't be familiar with especially if you are a beginner (and that's okay!).
One of the MOST IMPORTANT TERMS you need to know if you want to build muscle and get closer to your ideal physique is PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD.
Progressive overload is a term that means to progressively overload your muscles every single workout. In simple terms, this means to increase the amount of reps that you do or increase the weight that you do, relative to the workout you were doing last time.
For example: If I pushed 135 pounds on bench press for about 10 reps, then the next time that I do bench press I should aim to do more than ten reps, or more than 135 pounds.
This process is one of the PILLARS of muscle growth and strength gain as it constantly pushes your body to get better at handling more weight and more reps in relation to the last time you did that exercise.
Today we will be giving you a short, but detailed guide on why progressive overload is so important and what it can do for the body.
What is Progressive Overload?
As mentioned before, progressive overload is the process of increasing the intensity of your exercise relative to the last time you did the exercise. This can be done by adding more weight and/or more reps than last time.
Example: I did 100lbs on bench press last time, so this time I will do 105lbs!
NOTE: If you are adding weight, make sure it is only a little bit of weight each time!
This increases the intensity of the exercise and provides better activation to the muscle, which allows it to grow and become stronger.
EVERYONE should do this and it should NOT be regarded as an optional technique if you want to build muscle. This is what every strong and muscular person does to be where they are today.
What Happens if You DON'T Progressive Overload
Many people ask what happens if you DON'T progressive overload, the answer is simple, you won't gain much muscle or strength at all.
Here is a step by step example on what what happen if you don't progressive overload:
Lets start by making a scenario, let's say for bench press (a chest exercise), you press a set of 100 pounds for 10 reps.
After the first time you do 100lbsx10, you will feel that the same set will feel easier after you do it the first time
Eventually the weight will become fairly easy in relation to the first time you did the set as you keep doing the same 100lbsx10
After a while you will stop seeing any progress in strength and muscle growth as you continue to do 100lbsx10
The reason this happens is because your muscles will get used to doing the same weight and sets and it will become very hard for them to get activated if you continue to only do the same weight and reps.
This causes a lack of gain in muscle and strength.
Best Way to Progressive Overload
Here is my simple rule on how to progressive overload:
If you are doing less reps in the first set, aim for more reps for the next time you do the set in the next workout
If you are doing more reps in the first set, aim to add more weight for the next time you do the set in the next workout
Here is a chart that will help you decide:
Rep Range | Best Decision for Next Workout |
4-6 Reps | Add More Reps |
6-10 Reps |
|
10-15 Reps | Add More Weight |
Conclusion
Overall, progressive overload is the key technique to implement when you are training in the gym, outside, at home or anywhere else. It is the pillar of muscle growth and strength gain.
By continually adding intensity to your workouts in the form of more weight or more reps, you will effectively grow your muscles and gain strength.
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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