What is progressive overload? A beginner’s guide to smarter training

If you've been on a fitness journey, chances are you've heard all about the benefits of a good resistance training regimen.

It's not just about cutting out the beer belly and toning up, either. Strength training has plenty of benefits, from preventing injury as we age to pain management, improved stamina, and more. It's even linked to better sleep quality and mental health [1].

But to get the most out of your resistance training regimen, it's important to understand progressive overload.

In this article, we'll break down everything you need to know about progressive overload training, from what it is to why it's important, how to implement progressive overload training in your fitness regimen, and more.

What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload is an exercise and sports medicine principle that involves gradually increasing the difficulty of your strength training program over time [2].

When you start any type of resistance training program, it's going to feel like a slog. But as you build muscle over time, it does get easier as your body adapts to the training intensity. That's why progressive overload training is so important. It's all about making small, deliberate increases to your training program so that you continue making progress, building strength in your muscles, bones and connective tissues, rather than hitting a plateau as your body adapts to the training you've been doing.

You can create a progressive overload workout plan by increasing weight, adding more repetitions or sets, or increasing intensity. Whether it's load or repetition progression, it's going to prompt your body to continue building strength, overall muscle mass, and adaptation to the additional stress, and help you get one step closer to hitting your fitness goals.

Why is progressive overload training important?

The human body, and more specifically, your muscles and nervous system, are highly adaptable. What this means is that over time, your body gets used to the training regimen you've set for it. It starts to feel easier, sure, but it also means that your progress slows. That's why sticking with lighter weight, or the same weight, forever, isn't going to increase muscle size.

However, strength and conditioning research shows progressive overload training prevents this stagnation and fitness plateau [2]. By gradually increasing the weight and intensity of your strength training, you can create the small amounts of muscle damage that trigger recovery, as well as muscle strength, muscle growth, and muscular endurance [3].

In turn, progressive overload training helps you gain strength, improve endurance, and get closer to reaching your fitness goals.

What are the benefits of progressive overload?

There are four main benefits to a training program that includes progressive load:

1. Muscle hypertrophy and growth – Overloading the muscles with heavier weights encourages muscle hypertrophy (aka growth in size and strength)
2. Improved muscle endurance – Current sports medicine reports that adding more repetitions or reducing rest intervals improves muscular endurance and stamina [5]
3. Enhanced performance – Sports physical therapy research demonstrates that progressive overloading builds resilience across both the upper and lower body, which improves balance, agility, and cardiovascular health over time [4]
4. Preventing plateaus – Making small, consistent adjustments keeps your training program effective, helping you stay motivated and avoid stagnation in your fitness journey

Are there any limitations of progressive overload?

When it comes to a progressive overload regimen, slow and steady wins the race [2].

The key is to increase the load or intensity of your strength training over time while maintaining good form. This way, you can avoid injury in your training cycle and give your muscles enough time to recover between training sessions.

It's essential to go slowly when working toward a progressive overload, because while it's safe when applied correctly, there are risks if you push too quickly [1]. Adding weight too soon or lifting too much weight can compromise your form and increase the risk of injury. And, overloading without also getting enough rest time can cause overtraining, fatigue, and even regression. That's why working with a certified personal trainer can be so useful when lifting weights.

Examples of progressive overload training

Progressive overload isn’t just about increasing weight when lifting. Here's how to implement progressive overload in your resistance training as part of a well-rounded exercise prescription:

• Increasing resistance – Gradually work toward training with heavier loads
• Endurance training – Increase your running distance by a few hundred metres every few weeks, or cycle at a higher resistance to build muscular endurance
• Tempo – Slow down the pace of your lifts to create more tension. This increases blood flow and stimulates muscle growth
• Add reps or sets – Add one or two more repetitions to your sets. This repetition progression helps you build muscle while keeping proper form
• Switch things up – If your current fitness routine starts to feel easy, try adding some new training stimuli, like a new exercise or lift. This will give your muscles a new challenge and promote muscle growth once again

How to go about applying progressive overload principles

Resistance

For strength training, you can gradually increase the load you lift, whether in the lower body (squats, deadlifts) or the upper body (bench press, overhead press). However, it's important to always focus on keeping good form over lifting more weight, as lifting too quickly without control can cause injury [2].

Endurance

For endurance-based exercise, you can progressively overload by extending the duration or intensity of your workout. For example, you could run at a slightly faster intensity or cycle for a longer distance every few weeks in order to challenge your muscles with sufficient stimulus without overwhelming them.

Tempo

Adjusting the tempo of your strength training is also part of velocity-based training. On the one hand, slowing down your movements increases muscle stress, and on the other, speeding up your lifts to a quicker pace can enhance power. When used strategically, both methods contribute to strength adaptations.

Reps

Repetition progression is another simple tool. Increasing repetitions by adding one or two reps to your working sets every few weeks helps ensure a gradual increase in load and intensity without needing more weight right away.

When to progress your training

When it comes to progressive overload training, a common guideline to follow is the 2-for-2 rule: if you can perform two more reps than your goal in the last set, for two consecutive training sessions, it's a good time to increase the weight or intensity of your workout.

For example, if you had been performing two sets of eight reps with hand weights, you would increase your second set to 10 reps for two workout sessions. If you found that manageable, you could then increase the weight and drop the reps back again [6].

The 2-for-2 rule prevents you from progressing too quickly and risking injury via poor form, while still applying load progression. For most people, progressing every few weeks is enough to promote steady muscular adaptations.

For cardio workouts, the 10 per cent rule is commonly recommended, in which you aim to increase the frequency, intensity or volume of your workout by no more than 10 per cent per week [7].

Is increasing repetitions or increasing weight better?

Progressively overloading with either more weight or more reps will increase your strength, but when it comes to which is better, it depends on what your goals are.

If your aim is to increase muscle mass (muscle hypertrophy), increasing the weight over time is your best bet for effective progressive overload. On the other hand, if your goal is to build endurance, then you may find more success by adding more reps to your sets.

Tailoring your approach to your personal fitness goals will yield the best results when applying progressive overload.

5 tips for effective load or repetition progression

1. Start small – Always increase load slowly, whether by adding weight in small increments or making slight changes to rest time or tempo. Don't head for the big gains too early. Start at a lower weight
2. Prioritise correct form – Maintaining proper form and your full range of motion is more important than chasing heavier loads, which can lead to injury when performed incorrectly
3. Balance stress and recovery – Rest intervals allow muscles to recover and adapt, which is crucial for maintaining progressive overload over time
4. Track your progress – Logging working sets, number of repetitions, and load ensures you can implement progressive overload safely and effectively

But the fundamental principle of weight loss and increased athletic performance is hitting all the right parts of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Lifting and doing the same workouts won't get you there alone, but adopting a healthy diet with medically-backed options like Pilot's Weight Reset Program will, over time. The best way to get started and set yourself up to become the best possible version of yourself is to schedule an appointment with a GP to get the green light.

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