

We must change to the least one of the variables involved in the workout:
Most pro bodybuilders speak wonders and encourage you to lift heavy, and so do I, but in due time. The word “heavy” means “difficult to lift or move” and this is a different weight to each person. Whatever is difficult to lift today for you, it will be easier to lift next month.
How do we lift heavier safely and effectively?
According to the Progressive Overload Principle, no matter what range of reps you work with, you should try to add some weight to the equation every week.
E.g. You perform 4 exercises on Mondays targeting a specific muscle group. The first day goes like this:
Next Monday you try:
The third Monday:
The fourth Monday:
As you see, you´re progressively adding more weight to each session, assuring continuous progress. Do not try to make big jumps, because you risk an injury.
Manipulating frequency while regulating volume is another way of progress.
If you were to train, for example, your legs once per week, that´s 52 times per year. If you were to train your legs twice per week you would have 104 times per year. Don´t forget that it´s not only to double the frequency but to adjust the volume. How do we do that?
Frequency | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total Sets |
1 x per week | Leg (16 sets) | 16 | ||||
2 x per week | Leg (8 sets) | Leg (8 sets) | 16 |
The total volume is the same at the end of the week but the number of stimuli per week is different.
Several factors must be considered: available days per week, time available each day, personal stress levels, etc.
This is the most tricky variable to play with. Rest time between sets. The best amount of rest between sets depends on what specific goal you’re training for. So, if you change your rest time drastically, you could totally miss your goal.
With these ranges in mind, you can vary rest periods between sets, as long as you keep your resting in the right range for your goal. Meaning, if your goal is to get stronger, you shouldn´t rest for less than 3 minutes. If your goal is to get bigger, don´t go for less than 2 minutes.
The Progressive Overload Principle is a basic, easy, yet effective way to constantly progress to a greater physique. It allows you to experiment with different training variables such as weight, set, reps, and rest time, and see which ones work best for you.
You will need some time (we are talking about several months) to be able to test everything that this principle has to offer you. For no means I say this to discourage you, on the contrary, I´m trying to tell you that this principle opens you to a universe of opportunities ahead.
It’s up to you to challenge yourself in each training session and go one step further, one repetition further, one set further … Well, you get the idea.
If you think that I have left something behind, or you want a further explanation, let me know in the comments.
What´s the Priority Training Principle? Priority training is a Weider´s training principle, used when a muscle (or muscle group) is not developing at the same…
How to avoid emotional eating You just finished your lunch and you’re already thinking about what you’ll have for dinner? Do you feel that in…
Read First 😉 Challenge yourself to an advanced core routine. These exercises will further build core strength by engaging your muscles in more complex ways.…
Evernote for Fitness Today I´m going to show you how to use Evernote for fitness, as your digital training diary. But first, give me a…
Protein. All you need to know. Share: Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Protein is one of the most…
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Frequency | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total Sets |
1 x per week | Leg (16 sets) | 16 | ||||
2 x per week | Leg (8 sets) | Leg (8 sets) | 16 |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category . |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
CookieLawInfoConsent | 1 year | Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. |
elementor | never | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. |
PHPSESSID | session | This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
woocommerce_cart_hash | session | This cookie is set by WooCommerce. The cookie helps WooCommerce determine when cart contents/data changes. |
__stripe_mid | 1 year | Stripe sets this cookie cookie to process payments. |
__stripe_sid | 30 minutes | Stripe sets this cookie cookie to process payments. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
loid | 2 years | This cookie is set by the Reddit. The cookie enables the sharing of content from the website onto the social media platform. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
CONSENT | 2 years | YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. |
tk_ai | 5 years | JetPack sets this cookie to store a randomly-generated anonymous ID which is used only within the admin area and for general analytics tracking. |
tk_lr | 1 year | The tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack. |
tk_or | 5 years | The tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack. |
tk_qs | 30 minutes | JetPack sets this cookie to store a randomly-generated anonymous ID which is used only within the admin area and for general analytics tracking. |
tk_r3d | 3 days | JetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience. |
_ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
_gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
edgebucket | session | Reddit sets this cookie to save the information about a log-on Reddit user, for the purpose of advertisement recommendations and updating the content. |
remixlang | 1 year 2 days 23 hours | This cookie is set by the provider vk.com. This cookie is used for advertising purposes. |
session_tracker | 2 hours | This cookie is set by the Reddit. This cookie is used to identify trusted web traffic. It also helps in adverstising on the website. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. |
YSC | session | YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
csv | 2 years | No description available. |
influence_vid | session | No description available. |
m | 2 years | No description available. |
remixir | past | No description |
wcf_active_checkout | 30 minutes | No description |
woocommerce_items_in_cart | session | No description available. |
wpcom_highlander_3pc_check | session | No description |
wp_api | past | No description |
wp_api_sec | past | No description |
wp_woocommerce_session_9a17e75e2a38c76cee710a43796fcacc | 2 days | No description |
There was a problem reporting this post.
Please confirm you want to block this member.
You will no longer be able to:
Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
I actually remember him and all the Weider products by him back in the day. My ex won Mr. California once and was a big advocate of body building.
Wow! You always surprise me, Jolie 😃 I’d bet you had to do a lot of sacrifices to help and support your ex back in the day. There should be prizes for bodybuilder’s family and friends, not just for the competitors, right? 😉
Big hugs!
Actually, he did that some time after we split up. He had been an alcoholic, teaching our girls how to pour a mug of beer without a head and up until then refused to acknowledge he had a problem. After the split, he realized he had to do something, so he redirected his focus. It’s too bad it took our split and that of his next marriage for him do do something. Now, he rides his bike all over the world as well. I’m happy he finally took care of himself.
So sad he needed a divorce to realize he had to change. He lost a great woman!
Now, if you´re happy, it´s all that matters ;)
Big hugs!
I’m happy. Got a great guy now.
[…] when you think of progressive overload, you think of increasing how much weight you lift. But another way to increase overload is simply […]
[…] gradually increases volume, intensity, and work by mesocycles in an annual training plan. Progressive overload is a major key to the success of this training style. This style is characterized by longer […]
[…] one of the seven main principles of exercise, states that overload of exercise should occur in gradual progression rather than in major bursts. Keeping track of […]