Well when you here of Progressive Overload it simply means the process of challenging your muscles more over a period of time by doing more work than expected, that is Making them work harder than they did the last time you were in the gym.
Now wait a minute last time I checked not every body have access to a proper gym,so you can either buy your own set of gym equipment or look for somebody who you can team up with to buy or rather make it your self with cement and bucket like we used to.
Now to my second question " How Do I apply it to my training?"
Now about that, first thing first have a goal, you can put up a photo of arnold as a reflective calculator,of where you want to be, Regardless of what exercise you are doing your goal each and every time should be to do more work, which can happen in a variety of ways. Below I will outline the most common ways that you can apply progressive overload.
So here are some tips
1. Lifting the same weight with a greater range of motion. If you have been doing squats with 135lbs, but not going down to parallel, then the next workout you could stick with 135lbs and go to parallel or lower.
2. Lifting the same weight with more control and emphasis on the muscle. Try to control the whole movement rather than swinging or using momentum to complete the lift.
3. Lift more weight!
4. Lift the same weight, but complete more repetitions.
5. Lift the same amount of weight, but do it in less time, ie shorten your rest periods between sets.
Let's take an example,
Festus likes to lift in the 8-12 rep range as well. Previously Festus's bench press sets have looked like this:
Set 1 - 185lbs x 10
Set 2 - 185lbs x 9
Set 3 - 185lbs x 8
He has not hit 12 reps yet with 185lbs, so he just sticks with that weight and tries to increase the number of times he can lift it. Next week Festus comes in and his sets look like this:
Set 1 - 185 x 12
Set 2 - 195 x 10
Set 3 - 195lbs x 8
Festus hit the top number in his rep range on his first set, so he knew he could move up in weight. This is how you should approach your workouts.
Things to keep in mind:
You will not be able to add 5-10lbs every single week. Your body isn't a machine and should not be treated like one. Strength happens in waves rather than a straight line.
The amount of improvement you have WILL slow down at some point and you will have to adjust in other ways.
Form should never be sacrificed to add more weight. You should keep flawless form on all of your exercises regardless of the weight.
If you have stalled in strength on your lifts for more than 2-3 weeks you may need to check your diet. You may not be eating enough to support new muscle growth or it could be that your body just needs rest and time to recover from all the stresses of lifting heavy.
If you are trying to lose weight and you are in a caloric deficit, it will be much more difficult for you to progress on your lifts. Your body is not getting enough calories to fuel your workouts. When you are dieting your main focus should be to maintain your strength.
Hope this helped,do come again tomorrow,for a fresh tip you never might know what secret I would be letting you into.
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