August 09, 2023
We get questions all the time about the best ways to optimize your training and how to be more efficient in the gym so that you can achieve your fitness goals faster. Two words; progressive overload. Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the demands placed on your body to promote continuous improvements in strength, endurance, and muscle growth. This can be done by increasing the intensity, duration, or volume of your workouts. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, we have a FREE workout for you to try that is all about it. But before that, here are five simple ways you can incorporate progressive overload into your workout routine:
Increase Weight
When you gradually increase the amount you lift, your muscles have to overcome more resistance. As your muscles adapt to the added challenge, they grow stronger and bigger over time. Lifting heavier also means that you will recruit more muscle fibres to complete the exercise. This leads to greater muscle activation and development. While adding weight to your lifts can make you stronger, it’s super important to do this safely and gradually. Here are some tips:
Increase Volume
Doing more work during a workout is another effective progressive overload technique. You can achieve this by doing more reps or sets of an exercise. For example, if you're doing three sets of 10 reps for a certain exercise, you can aim to do four sets of 10 reps, and eventually increase the reps to 12 or 15. By doing more volume, you create additional stress on your muscles and promote greater adaptation and growth.
Increase Time Under Tension
Time under tension is the amount of time that your muscles are actively engaged during an exercise. When your muscles are engaged for longer, you activate more and deeper muscle fibres. This leads to enhanced muscle activation and development. Incorporating tempo reps into your workouts is a great way to increase time under tension. Here are some ways we like to do this:
Reduce Rest Time
Shortening your rest time between sets or circuits will increase the intensity of your workouts. With less recovery time, your muscles may still be fatigued from the previous set, increasing the challenge of the next set. This means that you will need to exert more effort during each set, leading to greater muscle recruitment, metabolic stress, and adaptation. Make sure to reduce your rest periods gradually and progress as your conditioning improves. Keep an eye on your form as you do this because fatigue can make it more challenging to maintain proper technique.
Increase Range Of Motion
Range of motion is how far your joints move when you do a specific exercise. It is the distance your body parts go from the starting to the ending position. By working through a greater range, you stimulate more muscle groups and activate muscle fibres. This increased muscle activation places greater demands on the muscles, promoting growth and adaptation. Deficit training is one of the best ways to do this. This form of training involves increasing the range of motion through elevation. Here are some examples you can try:
To reduce the risk of injury, make sure you are able to move through the full range of motion for a specific exercise before adding this extra element.
Give these strategies a try if you want to take your training up a notch. You'll jumpstart your muscle growth or help overcome those dreaded plateaus. To see progressive overload in action, watch and lift along with this 45 minute full body workout. It's completely free to try, no sign up required. Happy sweating!
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