Progressive overload is a technique that’s as previous as 6^th century athlete Milo of Croton and his legendary bull carrying routine. With this coaching model, you’re making an attempt to enhance the depth of every exercise to keep away from a plateau in measurement and power. Mainly, it’s doing just a little greater than you probably did beforehand. This will likely 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.

Rising weight, reps, and units is the only approach to obtain progressive overload. Increase, instantaneous positive factors, however plateaus are unavoidable when you’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 particular person 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’d’ve considered it.

3 Strategies To Attaining Progressive Overload

Rising Vary of Movement

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

As an illustration, rising the ROM with a deficit deadlift will work on weak factors like being gradual off the ground and lockout.

One other instance is the Rear Foot Elevated Break up Squat. The elevated floor will increase the demand for hip mobility and makes the glutes and quads work onerous 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 underneath stress. You take essentially 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 way in which up.

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

Advantages of Rising Your Vary of Movement

There’s an previous saying round fitness center circles that mobility coaching is power coaching and vice versa. Taking your muscle tissue and cellular joints by means of an entire and prolonged ROM safely will increase time underneath stress and can enhance your mobility with out fancy drills. Including half a rep to particular workouts will strengthen essentially the most difficult a part of the carry, hopefully strengthening your carry whereas including muscle.

How To Incorporate It

Rising 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 workouts, whereas rising ROM primarily works for leg workouts; 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 Break up Squat: 8 to 12 reps per facet

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

Attaining Mastery

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

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

Some lifters make the widespread mistake of testing power somewhat than constructing it as a result of who doesn’t need to see how a lot they will carry? Often, testing your 1 RM is inspired, however concentrating on good type 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 means and with good method. Take psychological notes on the way you’re doing and whether or not the burden is inflicting any type points. Work on these type points by programming accent workouts to strengthen weak spot, lighten the burden, or cut back the reps to give attention to method.

Advantages of Attaining Mastery

You carry to get higher trying and carry out higher at life or your chosen sport; none of that occurs if you find yourself damage. Searching for mastery together with your power work will hold you more healthy for longer. Moreover, creating a greater mind-muscle connection provides you with a greater sense of consciousness and help together with your muscle-building positive factors.

How To Incorporate It

There’s a time and a spot for physique English to get the job performed, however you ought to be searching for mastery of your fundamental 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.

As an illustration, let’s use a 3322 tempo barbell squat for instance—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.

Probably the most important advantage of performing tempo lifting, in addition to embracing the suck, is it will increase the time underneath stress. Utilizing tempo encourages you to gradual the train down and give attention to type, which is crucial for mastery and selecting up any type glitches. Kind hitches are simpler to choose up once you’re going gradual somewhat than quick.

Advantages of Tempo Lifting

Rising the muscle’s time underneath stress is the place it’s at for constructing muscle and for higher type and method. Tempo lifting, just 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 effectively for muscle and power. The pause and lockout might 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 will be unable to carry out as many reps as you normally do with a given weight, however the enhance in stress will compensate for that. Three to 4 units utilizing a rep vary of six to 12 reps works effectively for many workouts. Right here’s an instance.

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

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