Strength training techniques are highly personal, especially given that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving a shredded, muscular body. Although the basic principles of weightlifting remain the same, there are many workout plans, methods, and splits to choose from. This variety is awesome for keeping things interesting, yet it can also leave you feeling overwhelmed on where to start to begin building muscle.
One popular and effective approach to consider is a progressive overload plan, which involves gradually increasing your workout difficulty over time to keep your muscles challenged. Check out our top tips for crafting a progressive overload workout plan that drives results.
What is a progressive overload workout plan?
A progressive overload workout plan is an exercise plan that focuses on gradually increasing the weight and difficulty of your exercises to help grow muscle strength and size. Understanding the concept behind progressive overload is fairly straightforward. In its simplest form, this workout plan focuses on continuing to challenge your musculoskeletal system by gradually increasing weight and stopping you from getting too stagnant/comfortable at one specific weight.
What exercises are good for progressive overload?
Progressive overload is a workout strategy, not a workout itself. This means it can be applied to any body part or muscle group. If there’s a specific area you’d like to target, such as the chest or back, you can craft a progressive overload workout plan focused on those muscles. For example, let’s say you’ve always dreamed of having very muscular back muscles. If you’re looking to up your game, trying a progressive overload for the back day might be worth a shot.
How many times a week should I progressive overload?
A progressive overload plan can be customized to your unique needs and training schedule. There are several approaches you can take to crafting a progressive overload plan, which could include increasing weight amounts, frequency of workouts, time under tension, or reps/sets completed per workout. The most common approach is to gradually increase the amount of weight used per workout, generally increasing every week or every other week.
If you’re looking to try a progressive overload approach that focuses on increasing the frequency of workouts, aim to work out your desired muscle group two or three times per week instead of once per week. Regardless of your approach, the key to an effective progressive overload plan comes down to one word: gradually.
A good rule of thumb is to adjust your intensity or frequency to not more than 10% per week. Why? This allows your body time to slowly adapt and helps reduce your risk of injury. Be sure to fight the urge to go too hard too soon, as becoming seriously injured can leave you unable to workout at all.
How to properly do progressive overload
For those of you who are visual learners, it’s often easier to understand the concept of a progressive overload plan by seeing an example. Remember, this will vary depending on how fast you can progress and your current fitness level. Below is an example of a beginner progressive overload plan that gradually increases the amount of weight used.
What is an example of a progressive overload plan?
Week 1: Start with 85 pounds on lat pull-down cable machine
Week 3: Move to 90 pounds on a lat pull-down cable machine
Week 5: Move to 95 pounds on lat pull-down cable machine
Can’t progress this fast? The great thing about progressive overload is it can be tailored to your needs. The goal is simply to keep challenging your muscles. Perhaps one week you fall short, or one week you can lift even more than you thought. The plan can be adapted as you go. You may also notice that it takes longer to progress in weight on smaller muscle groups, such as the triceps or biceps, whereas you can advance up in weight faster on larger muscle groups.
Don’t forget diet
As with any training program or approach, diet matters quite a bit. A progressive overload plan works best when you’re pairing it with a diet tailored to your body composition goals. This is essential not to forget, as you’ll need adequate nutrition and hydration to help fuel your workouts and allow your muscles to get stronger. Dietary needs will vary based on your preferences and your current composition, but it’s generally a good idea to focus on consuming a well-rounded diet that is high in protein and contains lots of fresh, whole foods.
Can progressive overload plans apply to cardio, too?
Progressive overload training plans are frequently associated with weightlifting, but this concept can apply to cardiovascular exercises, too. For cardio exercises, the goal shifts to improving aerobic capacity over time and can apply to any type of exercise, such as jogging or biking. Just as in weightlifting, the goal is to improve overall fitness and keep the body challenged by requiring it to adapt to new stimuli.
