You’ve probably heard the term progressive overload thrown around in conversation, or read about it online, particularly when it comes to building muscle and getting stronger. At T3, we’re constantly mentioning it in our workout articles. But do you actually know what it is?
If not, your training is missing a trick, quite literally, and you’ll struggle to see those strength and muscle gains. But fear not, with the help of an expert we jump into everything you need to know about this golden training principle, so you can unlock the results you’re looking for.
What is progressive overload?
Progressive overload is when we increase the intensity of an exercise to create greater stimulus to our muscles, in turn helping us to get bigger and stronger. “It’s the cornerstone of making gains on the gym floor,” says Steve Chambers Certified Personal Trainer and Gym Manager at Ultimate Performance.
“This can be achieved by gradually adding more weight to the bar, or using heavier dumbbells, depending on the exercise. For example, if you manage to bench press 60kg for your allocated sets and reps, in your next workout you might try 65kg. If you complete all sets and reps, you would add more weight again in the next workout and so on.”
There are other ways you can implement progressive overload without simply reaching for more weight; you can reduce your rest periods, slow down the eccentric (the lowering portion of the exercise), increase the number of repetitions/sets that you do, or even increase the range of motion for an exercise.
“In essence: progressive overload means doing more (or something harder) than you did before, in a measurable, controlled way, so that your body has to adapt,” says Chambers.
The benefits of progressive overload
Let’s start with the most obvious…
It stimulates hypertrophy
“By gradually increasing either the load, volume, tempo, or reducing rest, (or a combination of those factors) you are increasing not only mechanical tension and metabolic stress, but also damage to your muscle fibres during training, all of which contribute to muscle growth,” explains Chambers.
It builds strength and neural efficiency
It’s not just your muscles that will grow, Chambers says that progressive overload helps our nervous system get better at recruiting muscle fibres and coordinating movement. “Here, progressive overload is of paramount importance. Without attempting to improve on past performances, you are simply just completing an array of exercises in the gym and going through the motions. For example, when a client of mine improves their deadlift or squat numbers (or simply lifts with better form and speed), that's a neural adaptation driven by overload.”
It improves work capacity and long-term performance
“When you progressively increase the training demands your body can handle, you’re building not just muscle, but greater tolerance to stress, better recovery capacity, improved conditioning, and a stronger base for further training.”
It helps avoid regression/muscle loss in dieting phases
If you’re in a calorie deficit, then you’re at a higher risk of losing muscle mass, unless there is a signal to maintain it. “Progressive overload provides that signal,” says Chambers. “Strength training, combined with progressive overload, helps maintain muscle mass when dieting. I always explain to clients that if they’re in a deficit, lifting as you did last month won’t be enough to maintain your muscle mass; you need to either maintain loads or find other ways to overload (via technique, tempo, frequency) to keep your muscles engaged.”
It boosts psychological momentum
Nothing beats that feeling of getting stronger, or catching yourself with a little more muscle as you walk past the mirror – and it can create a positive domino effect. “That momentum reinforces consistency, which is one of the biggest factors in long-term success,” says Chambers. “When progress is visible, motivation stays higher. It’s a self-reinforcing positive feedback loop.”
When should we use progressive overload in our training?
As soon as possible! “Even if you’re a true beginner and a total newbie to weight training, you will benefit massively from increasing your load/reps/volume over the first few weeks as you learn technique and build your strength capacity,” says Chambers. “The principle of progressive overload should not wait until you’re ‘advanced’ – apply it early on!”
That being said, Chambers emphasises that you don’t want to go too hard too soon, as this could lead to injury and sloppy form. Mastering the basics and nailing good form first is key.
For new lifters, increasing the load a little each week is usually doable, however, for advanced and intermediate lifters, there’ll come a point where this becomes impossible. That’s where other methods come into play, such as increasing the volume, frequency, slowing down the tempo, reducing your rest times or increasing the range of motion.
“Progressive overload is not linear and cannot be a continuous upward curve without modification, so programming cycles are essential,” says Chambers. “With my clients, I often schedule specific blocks of training: an initial accumulation phase (volume higher), an intensification phase (load higher), a de-load or regeneration phase/week, then repeat. Overload is applied differently in each block, but it’s always present."
As he rightly puts it: "It’s thread that keeps everything moving forward.”
