![]() ![]() ![]() This damage occurs to the muscle fibres on a microscopic level and is sometimes referred to as “micro tears”. It is during those last reps where the weight starts to move more slowly (and you couldn’t lift it faster despite all your efforts) that the most muscle damage is done. ![]() For example, if I added a 5th set and did 3 reps with 190 lbs, but could have done another 8 reps before reaching failure, then that is more than likely not going to have any significant impact for muscle and strength gains. What would NOT be progressive overload is adding another set that doesn’t come close to muscular failure. This is an example of progressive overload. Set 3: 210 lbs x 10 reps Example – Second Week: Progressive overload using setsĪdding more hard sets for a particular muscle group is another way to progressively overload.įor example, if I perform 3 hard sets to near muscular failure on leg press one week, and then add a fourth hard set to near failure then this is also progressive overload – even if the weight was lighter or fewer reps were done on the last set. This meta analysis looked at 21 studies and the findings were that the rep range people trained in made no significant difference for hypertrophy as long as sets were taken to failure. There is no such thing as a “hypertrophy rep range”. in competitions) then it won’t matter if your reps get higher and higher. If you have a goal to gain muscle and get stronger (and you’re not worried about maximal tests of that strength, e.g. You can continue like this for a long time, adding reps each session, and it will lead to increases in strength and stimulate muscle hypertrophy (growth of muscle tissue). You were able to lift more reps with the same weight, whilst keeping good form, therefore progressive overload has been applied. One week later, you lift 100 lbs on bench press for one set of 9 reps with good form. Progressive overload using repsĪnother way to apply progressive overload is to increase the number of reps you’re able to perform with the same weight, from one session to the next.Įxample: You lift 100 lbs on bench press for one set of 8 reps and you could not have lifted another rep with good form. Increasing weight like this across sessions is a simple form of progressive overload that will see you get stronger. Dumbbells often go up in 2kg or 5lb increments – per hand, which can be too much on certain exercises. For this reason, it can sometimes be easier to progress with a barbell on certain exercises, because you can add small increments such as 1.25kg or 2.5 lbs. The increases in weight should be as small as possible. The same number of total reps was done over the same number of sets (one) but the load on the bar increased. ![]() One week later, you lift 105 lbs on bench press for one set of 8 reps. This is the simplest form of progressive overload.Įxample: You lift 100 lbs on bench press for one set of 8 reps. Progressive overload using load or weight Increasing one or more of these variables over time will result in getting stronger. This could be an increase in weight lifted, reps done, sets done, time under tension or exercise difficulty. Time in this sense refers to session to session, week to week and month to month – rather than intra-workout. Put simply, it is the gradual increase in difficulty of your workout program over time. Progressive overload is an absolute must if you want to get stronger and build muscle. ![]()
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