Progressive overload is a method of strength training and hypertrophy training that advocates for the gradual increase of the stress placed upon the musculoskeletal and nervous system. The principle of progressive overload suggests that the continual increase in the total workload during training sessions will stimulate muscle growth and strength gain by muscle hypertrophy. This improvement in overall performance will, in turn, allow the athlete to keep increasing the intensity of their training sessions.
Progressive overload can be achieved in several ways, including increasing resistance by adding more weight or moving to a tougher resistance band, increasing the number of repetitions, or doing repetitions more quickly. It is important to note that simply increasing weight or resistance is not the only way to accomplish progressive overload.
The benefits of progressive overload include stimulating muscle hypertrophy, developing stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, incrementally increasing blood flow to regions of the body exercised, and stimulating more responsive nerve connections between the brain and the muscles involved. Progressive overload may also be beneficial for the overall health of the individual since it is a good method to increase muscle strength, which was found to decrease the risk of all-cause mortality regardless of muscle mass.
To implement progressive overload, it is important to design a program that takes you through increasingly challenging workouts to help you work through plateaus and see continuous growth in your strength, endurance, hypertrophy, power output, or whatever your goals might be. It is also important to consider recovery, as giving the body adequate time to rest and recover is necessary for it to adapt to the increased stress of workouts.
In summary, progressive overload is a method of gradually increasing the stress placed upon the musculoskeletal and nervous system during training sessions to stimulate muscle growth and strength gain by muscle hypertrophy. It can be achieved in several ways, and its benefits include stimulating muscle hypertrophy, developing stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, incrementally increasing blood flow to regions of the body exercised, and stimulating more responsive nerve connections between the brain and the muscles involved.
