The Poor Man’s Progressive Overload

There are very few foundational principles in training. One of them is the concept of progressive overload, which states that increased volume, load, and/or intensity is required to continue a training adaptation. Without it, we succumb to the law of accommodation as put forth by Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky which says “the response of a biological object to a given constant stimulus decreases over time.”

The concept of progressive overload is to training what Vitamin C is to supplements. It’s a truth. 

I can’t underscore how serious I am when I say, I can tell you the exact day my training changed forever. You see, in an NCAA weightroom there are many protocols to maximize efficiency of time and space. Getting thirty young men through the best possible training in less than sixty minutes sometimes means standardization, especially when it comes to accessory work.

I remember like it was yesterday getting set up for some GHD hip extensions while holding a twenty-five pound plate and thinking, “I always grab a 25. I could totally do a 45.” So I did and the paradigm shift was on! I found countless places where I said to myself, “I’m going to do the exercise anyway. I could throw extra 10s on..” I remember thinking that I was going to just act a little stronger than I used to and it was that simple.

My performance exploded. Naturally, I was just practicing the poor man’s progressive overload. Now, you might not be following the same program I was following then, but I bet you’ve got a kettlebell weight that is assumed to be the right weight for you, you likely have a weight you tend to squat with, and surely there’s a familiar pair of dumbbells you keep returning to again and again. 

Force the issue. You can’t get where you want to go by doing the things you’ve always done. The gym is where you challenge what you can tolerate. Progress your loads.