PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD: The Fancy Term For “Earning Results”
“Imagine each week as another step up a staircase. Each individual step itself isn't particularly dramatic, but after 12 weeks you'll be on a completely new level!”
As you venture through your fitness journey, whether your goal is to get stronger, healthier, larger or leaner, it's important to understand the principle of "progressive overload". To reach your goals, it's essential to regularly progress yourself - aka increase your effort during your training sessions. For the sake of avoiding injury and being able to function during our daily routine, in the short term the progressions aren’t super intense… but in the long term those small progressions inch us closer and closer toward a stronger, fitter version of ourselves! Imagine each week as another step up a staircase. Each individual step itself isn't particularly dramatic, but after 12 weeks you'll be on a completely new level!
So what strategies can you use to progress yourself?
Add repetitions to each set. For example, maybe weeks 1 and 2 you did 8 reps per set for 3 sets, then weeks 3 and 4 you did 10 reps per set for 3 sets, then weeks 5 and 6 you did 12.
You can also add sets. For example, maybe in weeks 1 and 2 you did 8 reps per set for 3 sets, then weeks 3 and 4 you did 8 reps per set for 4 sets, then weeks 5 and 6 you did 8 reps per set for 5 sets.
Another strategy is to increase the weight you’re lifting. Just like adding an additional 1-2 reps is enough to progress yourself, adding as little as 1lb is enough to progress you too.
Or you may decide that you don't want to mess with the reps, sets or weights at all and that you'd rather increase the frequency of the training sessions! In that case, you may set a goal to do each training session more than once per week [which adds up to 4x per month] and aim to complete each 6x [and maybe eventually 8x] per month. [Just keep in mind that each muscle group needs a minimum of 48 hours of recovery time between sessions, so it’s best not only to avoid repeating the same session 2 days in a row, but also to avoid doing training sessions that target the same muscle groups on back to back days. You can always ask me if you’re unsure that your schedule allows for enough recovery time.]
And lastly, you can progress yourself by increasing your range of motion [i.e. squat deeper] or altering the pace of your movements [sometimes slowing down makes it harder -think plank drills - and sometimes speeding up makes it harder - think cardio drills].
Implementing just 1 of these strategies at least every 2-3 weeks we'll keep you on track toward earning results and reaching your goals! And how will you know which strategy is best for you? Well, part of it is working with what you have available, part of it is your own personal preference, and part of it is efficiency. There comes a point where adding reps/sets just isn’t the most efficient option - doing 25 reps or 10 sets of bent over rows is going to take wayyy longer than just grabbing a heavier weight to move for 10 reps or 4 sets. Keeping efficiency in mind is a great tool for knowing which strategy will best serve you, but even if you have to sacrifice efficiency there’s always a way to make do with what you have. Never hesitate to reach out to me if you need a little inspiration or guidance!