What Is Progressive Overload?
TLDR: We need to do more in our training to keep the challenge on our bodies as we get stronger over time.
In short, progressive overload is simply doing more over time, which we can achieve in a variety of ways.
Why is it important? At a fundamental level, we exercise because we are trying to impose a specific type of stress on our bodies. After the imposition of this stress, we recover from that stress and once adapted we come back a little bit stronger, fitter, or more resilient. The key is this; our training does not have to get harder over time, but it needs to stay at the same level of difficulty. We have to do more over time because if we did not our training would actually get easier and easier.
Let’s say you squatted 100 pounds for 3 sets of 10 reps 6 weeks in a row. In week 1 that would have been extremely challenging. But in week 2 it would feel a bit easier, and by week 6 it would be no problem. Notice how by not increasing the of the workout each workout got a little bit easier. But by effectively progressively overloading we could add 2.5 pounds to the weight each week and by week 6 you could be capable of squatting 130 pounds for 3 sets of 10 reps. Each workout would now stay similarly difficult and the benefit you saw from week 6 would be similar to what you saw from week 1.
In the context of strength training, we can progressively overload in a number of different ways. If we increase the range of motion we use, use better technique, do more sets, go closer to failure, make the exercise less stable, go slower or add pauses it will make the exercise harder. But while there are many ways to make an exercise harder, there are only a few to maintain the benefits we are trying to see. We can add a 10 second pause in the bottom of each rep, but that isn’t actually going to help us get stronger if that is our main goal. We should always strive to improve our technique, but after a while you simply run out of ways to progress this variable. Pretty quickly we run out of room to add more sets or additional training days.
If our goals are getting stronger and building muscle, the variables we are really left to modify are adding reps and adding weight. If we are trying to get stronger we have to add more weight over time because we want to keep training in the 3 to 5 rep range. If we are trying to grow muscle we generally want to stay in the 6 to 12 rep range, which gives us an opportunity to add both weight and reps.
How quickly should we add more weight or reps? That ultimately depends on the person. We truly cannot know how quickly someone will adapt, which is where a strategy like RPE comes into play. With RPE we can set an intensity, or proximity to failure, and allow ourselves to choose the weight or do a number of reps that matches that intensity. Over time if we keep the intensity the same we will accumulate enough training to where we will inevitably get stronger.
