Progressive Overload Explained
Every weightlifter is familiar with the high that comes after going up in weight on a major lift. For beginners, this can happen more frequently. The 5-pound weights you started with can quickly start to feel too light, causing you to reach for the 8’s, then the 10’s, then the 12’s in a short timespan.
However, that quick progression will eventually plateau. If it didn’t, we’d all eventually be lifting 1,000 pounds! For an experienced weight lifter, it’s common for increases in weight to be much less frequent and in much smaller increments, often only 2.5-5 pounds every 1-3 months, if even!
The thing is, in order to increase in strength and muscle mass, we need some form of progressive overload in place to add stress and demand on the body and avoid adaptation. So if you can’t increase the amount of weight you’re lifting, or what Certified Personal Trainers refer to as “load,” what do you do? Luckily, there are 5 other ways to keep your workouts challenging while keeping plateaus at bay!
Form:
Learning proper form may sound like something that’s only for beginners, but actually it’s something that needs to be practiced and mastered over and over again. Let’s take a squat for example. A beginner may start to learn proper squat form with a bodyweight squat. Once that bodyweight form is mastered, they may add a dumbbell to the movement. The added weight is going to put more demand on the body and thus, make the body more likely to compromise form. So, it’s now a new task to master squat form with the addition of a weight. Each time the weight gets heavier, controlling and stabilizing the weight gets more challenging, and a focus on proper form is more imperative.
Range of motion:
Achieving full range of motion is another underrated aspect of weightlifting. Let’s continue to use our squat example. For the average person, Certified Personal Trainers consider thighs parallel to the ground as a “full range of motion” squat. However, some clients desire to achieve an even deeper range of motion. Achieving a deeper squat is not only a sign of increased strength, but also increased mobility. Improvements in range of motion can apply to any exercise and specifically are a huge focus of squats, split squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, and bench press.
Volume:
Volume is the formal word for total number of sets and reps of a particular exercise. If you complete 3 sets of 10 squats 3 times per week, your overall weekly squat volume is 90 reps. Often, weightlifters executing a heavy load will work within a lower volume, and growing that volume is another great way to progress in overall strength. Let’s say a client is prescribed a 4x4 barbell back squat and completes it with 100 pounds. The following week, they attempt the 4x4 barbell back squat with an additional 5 pounds, but they are not able to complete the lift with proper form. They can return to 100 pounds and instead, shoot for 4x5 reps. Once that challenge feels easy, they can increase to 4x6 reps and continue to tack on reps until they reach a point where 4x4 at 105 pounds becomes achievable.
Rest time:
Rest time is referring to the amount of time needed between sets. Continuing on with our 4x4 back squats, at the beginning of your program, you might need 90 seconds of rest after completing a set of 4 reps. Overtime, you might feel ready to complete your next set of 4 reps after just 60 seconds. This is a sign that your body is not only getting stronger, but working more efficiently, which is a wonderful form of progress.
Tempo:
So you’ve mastered form, you’ve tacked on volume, you’ve reached full range of motion, you’re working more efficiently, but you’re still not quite able to add load. Now what? *Tempo has entered the chat.* Play with the tempo of your reps, and your current load will likely no longer feel too light! Tempo refers to the speed of the lowering and lifting of the weight. It also can include pauses at the top or the bottom of the lift. In a squat, you can start with adding a 2 count pause to the bottom – and I mean a whole 2 MISSISSIPPI count. For even more of a challenge, take 3 whole counts to lower down to the bottom of your squat, then pause for two counts. Try that and let me know if your current load doesn’t feel heavy enough! After a few weeks to a full month of tempo work, another 2.5-5 pounds to your load is bound to feel more doable.
So there you have it. Progress can be made in weightlifting without simply focusing on increasing the weight itself! Which one are you going to try first?
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