Progressive overload is a technique that’s as outdated as 6^th century athlete Milo of Croton and his legendary bull carrying routine. With this coaching type, you’re making an attempt to improve the depth of every exercise to keep away from a plateau in measurement and energy. Mainly, it’s doing a bit greater than you probably did beforehand. This may increasingly appear a no brainer to a lot of you studying, however a few of us overlook the apparent, so it pays to refresh the message.

Growing weight, reps, and units is the only method to obtain progressive overload. Increase, prompt positive factors, however plateaus are unavoidable for those who’ve been within the lifting sport for any size of time. Then, making an attempt to bust out of them could result in some ego lifting, that’s good for the ego however not so good in your physique. You’ve all seen that individual half-repping heavy squats or getting the barbell caught on their chest.

There’s no disgrace in pushing the envelope, however three higher and safer methods exist to realize progressive overload with out rising load. It’s so easy you want you’ll’ve considered it.

3 Strategies To Attaining Progressive Overload

Growing Vary of Movement

Placing the muscle by way of a higher ROM makes any train tougher as a result of it will increase your time below stress (mechanical stress) and the suck. The muscular time below stress (and never the suck) is a driving power for muscle. Not solely does it encourage muscle-building, however it could strengthen weak factors inside a raise.

For example, rising the ROM with a deficit deadlift will work on weak factors like being sluggish off the ground and lockout.

One other instance is the Rear Foot Elevated Cut up Squat. The elevated floor will increase the demand for hip mobility and makes the glutes and quads work arduous to tug you up from the underside of the squat. The break up squat and the elevated variation are the identical train, however the elevated ROM will increase the depth.

[Please note this works for only specific exercises like the ones described above but not for pressing variations like the bench press, where increasing the ROM puts the anterior shoulder at risk.]

Including half a rep to an train is one other underrated methodology of accelerating ROM and time below stress. You take probably the most difficult a part of the train, like the underside of a press or a squat, rise midway up, return down once more, after which rise all the best way up.

One in a half-rep methodology works for many workout routines however is especially efficient with squat and press variations.

Advantages of Growing Your Vary of Movement

There’s an outdated saying round health club circles that mobility coaching is energy coaching and vice versa. Taking your muscle groups and cellular joints by way of an entire and prolonged ROM safely will increase time below stress and can enhance your mobility with out fancy drills. Including half a rep to particular workout routines will strengthen probably the most difficult a part of the raise, hopefully strengthening your raise whereas including muscle.

How To Incorporate It

Growing ROM and including half a rep works finest utilizing sub-maximal weights (60-85% 1RM) as a part of your accent routine. Including half a rep works for many workout routines, whereas rising ROM primarily works for leg workout routines; exceptions to the rule exist. Performing two to 4 units utilizing a rep vary of six to fifteen works finest. Right here’s an instance.

1A. Rear Foot Elevated Cut up Squat: 8 to 12 reps per aspect

1B. Unilateral Dumbbell Row With Pause: 10 to fifteen reps per aspect

Attaining Mastery

The extra you push it, the extra good kind begins to slide, which is okay typically however turns into an issue whenever you do it persistently.  Sure, I see the one who’s swinging forwards and backwards doing barbell bicep curls.

Weaknesses and compensations could seem in your raise that don’t occur with sub-maximal weights —for instance, combating a lockout within the barbell overhead press or dropping full physique stress within the deadlift. If that sounds such as you, utilizing accent workout routines to strengthen weaker factors to forestall compensations from taking place is a great guess.

Some lifters make the frequent mistake of testing energy relatively than constructing it as a result of who doesn’t wish to see how a lot they’ll raise? Often, testing your 1 RM is inspired, however concentrating on good kind and mastering the train with the burden you’re utilizing is what you ought to be doing more often than not.

Mastery is a extremely underrated type of progressive overload.

As a substitute, make sure you do the train to the very best of your capability and with good approach. Take psychological notes on the way you’re doing and whether or not the burden is inflicting any kind points. Work on these kind points by programming accent workout routines to strengthen weak spot, lighten the burden, or scale back the reps to concentrate on approach.

Advantages of Attaining Mastery

You raise to get higher trying and carry out higher at life or your chosen sport; none of that occurs if you end up damage. Searching for mastery along with your energy work will maintain you more healthy for longer. Moreover, creating a greater mind-muscle connection offers you a greater sense of consciousness and help along with your muscle-building positive factors.

How To Incorporate It

There’s a time and a spot for physique English to get the job carried out, however you ought to be searching for mastery of your principal lifts more often than not.

Tempo Lifting

Every repetition you carry out has 4 components: the eccentric, backside place, concentric contraction, and lockout. Shortening or lengthening how lengthy every a part of the rep takes is tempo. Tempo, every a part of the rep, is represented by the variety of seconds it takes.

For example, let’s use a 3322 tempo barbell squat for example—it takes three seconds to decrease into the underside of your squat (eccentric), a 3-second pause on the backside, 2 seconds to push again up (concentric), and a couple of seconds to pause on the prime.

Essentially the most vital good thing about performing tempo lifting, in addition to embracing the suck, is it will increase the time below stress. Utilizing tempo encourages you to sluggish the train down and concentrate on kind, which is important for mastery and selecting up any kind glitches. Type hitches are simpler to choose up whenever you’re going sluggish relatively than quick.

Advantages of Tempo Lifting

Growing the muscle’s time below stress is the place it’s at for constructing muscle and for higher kind and approach. Tempo lifting, much like mastery, will create a greater mind-muscle connection to enhance your consciousness and positive factors,

How To Incorporate It

For tempo, use a 2-3 second concentric, and a 3 to 4 eccentric contraction works nicely for muscle and energy. The pause and lockout could be manipulated to fit your objectives.

Like rising the vary of movement, tempo works finest as a part of your accent routine utilizing weights between 60-85% of your one rep max. You won’t be able to carry out as many reps as you often do with a given weight, however the improve in stress will compensate for that. Three to 4 units utilizing a rep vary of six to 12 reps works nicely for many workout routines. Right here’s an instance.

1A. Tempo Bench Press (3131): 6 to eight reps

1B. Higher Again Foam Roll: 10 to fifteen instances.