Episode 240: The secret to makin' killer progress in your training [progressive overload part 1]

Author: Amy Bowe
Published: Wed 06 Dec 2023
Episode Link: None

Show notes

Sometimes in our training it can be hard to find that sweet spot. The perfect balance between technique, weight, quality and control. For some of us, we always err on the side of caution. Not pushing the weight, or ourselves too much. We conserve. Maybe due to fear of injury, or not being able to finish the session.
For others, we are driven by weight. It's often our only measure of 'success' and sometimes this is at the detriment to our technique and tempo.

So, how do we find our sweet spot?

That combination of performing the movement correctly (so we get the most out of it), pushing ourselves hard enough (so we are makin' gains') and not just measuring our success by how much we lift...
The secret is all about combining 'the variables' in the right way, and introducing fresh stress to your muscles. If you have the variables right the movement should feel good and progress over time and your body will change.

How do you do that?

There are five key variables in your session - reps, sets, weight, rest and tempo. At least one of these variables needs to be changing over time in a way that challenges you. The technical term for this is progressive overload. If you fail to do this right your body gets used to the stimulus and your results plateau. In fact increasing weight is a really overused variable.

Women get so stuck on trying to increase the weight on the bar, which can often lead to them making very small improvements to their physique and strength.
Over the next two weeks we are going to look at the five ways you can progress your training with ease and confidence in our two part teaching call series.