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 losing weight 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 in order to get the most out of your resistance training regimen, it's important to know about progressive overload training.

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 regime, and more.

What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload is an exercise 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 may feel challenging. But as you build muscle over time, your resistance training will get easier. 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 by increasing weight, adding more repetitions or sets, or increasing the tempo of your workout. Any of these changes will prompt your body to continue building strength and adapting to the additional stress, and help you get one step closer to hitting your fitness goals.

Why is progressive overload training important?

Your 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.

However, 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 overload:

1. Muscle hypertrophy and growth: Overloading the muscles with heavier weights encourages muscle hypertrophy (aka growth in size and strength)
2. Improved endurance: Adding more repetitions or reducing rest intervals improves muscular endurance and stamina [5]
3. Enhanced performance: 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, in a way that allows you to maintain good form. This way, you can avoid injury and give your muscles enough time to recover between training sessions.

It's important 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.

Examples of progressive overload training

Progressive overload isn’t just about increasing weight when lifting. Here are four ways to implement progressive overload in your resistance training:

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 a new exercise or lift into the mix. This will give your muscles a new challenge and promote muscle growth once again.

How to apply these principles

Resistance

For strength training, you can gradually increase the load you lift, whether in the lower body (squats, deadlifts) or the upper body. 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 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 lifts can enhance power. When used strategically, both methods contribute to strength adaptations.

Reps

Repetition progression is another simple tool. 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, then it's a good time to look at increasing 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 it better to increase reps or weight?

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), then increasing the weight over time will be your best bet for an 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.

5 tips for effective loading

1. Start small: Always slowly increase load, whether by adding weight in small increments or making slight changes to rest time or tempo.
2. Prioritise 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.

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