What is progressive overload and why you should be incorporating it into your workout routine to get
stronger, leaner, blast more body fat and feel amazing. That's what
I'm going to be breaking down for you guys in this week's video.
If you're a beginner or you've been exercising for a really long time, and
you're not seeing the results that you want and you're not getting stronger,
you should watch this video right to the end because I'm
going to break down what is progressive overload. The most simplest, basic
explanation that I can give you, to really help you understand
and why you should be doing it if you want to build lean muscle, get stronger and blast body
fat. And I'm going to go through two different scenarios. If you are someone who goes to
bootcamps or group type classes, how you can apply progressive overload to yourself
and your training in these classes. And second, I'm going to explain how, if you are
someone who goes to the gym on your own or works out at home, how you can apply these progressive
overload principles to your own training program. But just quickly before we dive right in,
if you're new here, my name's Michelle Roots. Welcome to my
YouTube channel. If you're not, welcome back, guys. I'm a kinesiologist,
personal trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist,
nutrition coach, and fitness and fat loss motivation specialist. Make
sure you subscribe to my channel and hit that bell to be notified because I'm bringing you new videos
every single week to help you on your fitness and fat loss journey. And if you
find any of the information in this video helpful,
make sure you give it a like and leave any questions in the comments below. I'm
always happy to help you guys out. Okay, let's not waste any more time.
What is progressive overload? Progressive overload is simply a
principle of doing more over time. So when we're talking about your training program, progressive
overload is consistently challenging your body and stressing your muscular and neuromuscular systems
to continue to improve and continue to get better, stronger, leaner. When it comes to training our
bodies, our bodies are constantly in a state of adaptation. So
we are constantly trying to meet the stresses placed on the body. And if
you are consistently putting the same amount of stress on your
body, whether it's lifting the same weights, running the same distance,
you are never progressing it and putting more stress, you are never
going to improve because eventually your body is just going to adapt
to the stresses placed on it and you will just do, what we call, plateau.
And this is often the number one reason why I see a lot of people
not getting the results that they want, when they're going to the gym seven days
a week, people are putting in the work. That's sometimes not
even the problem, people are putting in the work, they're going to their bootcamp classes, they're
showing up at 6:00 AM, they're doing all the things, but they're
not following this basic principle. And often what I talk about on social media
is hashtag challenge yourself, so they're not actually pushing
themselves past their comfort zone and that quote you always hear,
"success lies outside your comfort zone," that is true. Consistently
challenging yourself and pushing your body to its limits. It doesn't mean
that you have to be dead on the floor at the end of the workout, it's consistently progressing the
stresses placed on your body and that is where progressive overload comes.
In order to really get the best results from all of
the work you're putting in. So, because I focus mainly on
strength training with all of my clients, whether it's in person or online, I'm
going to focus, mainly, on progressive overload in strength training in this video today. But again,
progressive overload can be applied to running, it can be applied to swimming, whatever you choose to
do for your training, you can still apply the exact same principles I'm
going to talk about in this video. But again, I'm going to focus,
mainly, on strength training. So let's talk about two different scenarios. So
first scenario is someone who goes consistently to group fitness classes,
which is amazing. Maybe you're doing strength training and cardio.
A lot of bootcamp style classes incorporate both. So maybe you're
doing battle ropes, you're doing stair sprints, you're doing strength training
in an interval type setting where you're maybe
lifting everything for a timed interval of 30 seconds, 40 seconds, whatever it might
be at your bootcamp. I'm going to talk about
how you can apply progressive overload on your own in a bootcamp class. And
then next in the second scenario, I'm going to talk about how, if you go to the gym on
your own or you workout at home,
how you can apply progressive overload to your own personal workouts. Okay. Let's
start with scenario one. So maybe you're someone who goes to a bootcamp class or maybe you do
workouts that you find right here on YouTube. I've got lots on my channel
as well. All body workouts, I'll link those in the description below,
and I've also got a free four week workout calendar. I'll link all that
below. But that aside, you can also apply progressive overload principles to
these workouts that you're doing. But if you're in a
class with 20 other people, it is very hard for the trainer to make sure that you're
challenging yourself. So that's where it comes down to
the responsibility on you to make sure you are pushing yourself and
challenging yourself to lift heavier and work harder. But
I'm going to give you two tips. If you are someone who goes to bootcamp of how you can apply
progressive overload to make sure you are taking responsibility to progress your strength
and really start to get stronger. First tip. If your exercise class
you are working for 30 second rounds. So it is a class where the timer is on
and you're doing kettlebell deadlifts for 30 seconds,
you're doing stair sprints for 30 seconds. Start to take a mental note of how
many reps you're doing in 30 seconds. So for example, if
you are doing a kettlebell deadlift, say you are lifting the 45 pound kettlebell, and for that 30
seconds count in your head, how many reps you're getting. When you are coming back to
that exercise, try and beat how many reps you did, maybe not in
that specific class, the following week or think, oh, I lifted the 45 pound kettlebell
last week and it felt pretty good.
I'm going to move myself up to the 55 pound kettlebell or
whatever, if you have a 50 pound kettlebell. But try and continue to make a mental note
and take responsibility for the weights that you are lifting.
And even if you can't remember, grab your phone, type it in, I did the deadlift with the 45 pound
kettlebell or a single arm dumbbell row, I lifted the 15 pound dumbbell
for 10 reps, I could probably push heavier. So that's where
you can start to take responsibility for your own progressive overload in
the group class setting. Just because you're going to a group
class and the coach is looking the other way and you're like, I'm going to slack off,
you're only hurting yourself. You are there to get the best results
you can and this is what I tell all of the clients that walk into my class and into my studios.
I'm always like, I think we can add weight to that, that looked too easy.
Not to the point where they're feeling uncomfortable or that
they're doing things wrong. If someone is able to perform something with
perfect form for about 15 reps, that's when we're increasing their weights. I'm like,
I want you to slow it down,
increase your weight until you can do that weight for 12 to 15 reps and then we continue to do it
that way. That's one simple way that you can take control,
if you are in a bootcamp setting and you don't have a trainer breathing down your neck,
making sure that you are lifting heavier weights. The
second way is often, if you are going to a bootcamp or a class,
you don't know what exercise you're going to be performing until you get
there. You as an individual, if you are going into a bootcamp and
you notice a lot of exercise, continue to repeat, for example, most likely you're always be doing
deadlifts. You're going to
be doing some kind of a squat, you might be doing some kind of a rowing exercise, a chin
up, a lat pulldown. So this is where you can make a mental note in each
month. You say this month, I'm going to focus on trying to
increase my deadlift. Every time I come into this bootcamp class, I'm either
going to try to increase my reps or I'm going to try and increase my kettlebell. Sorry.
I digress. Don't try and increase every single time.
So every week you want to try and be increasing by 10%, whether that is
your rep range or the weight that you're lifting. So don't think
that every single class you're going to get stronger. That's how we end up getting hurt.
So you want to just take note of how you feel after you lift
each weight. So for example,
it's January 1st, my goal this month is to increase my deadlift. I'm still going to work hard
in all the other exercises but my mental focus is on my deadlift. So
you go into that class, every time there's a deadlift in the class,
you take note of what weight you're lifting, how many reps you lifted that
weight for and then even if you write it down in your phone,
you carry a notepad around, you ask the trainer to write it down for you so you'll
remember, anything like that. And then a week later, continue
to just take mental note and focus on that exercise. My
recommendation is maybe pick an upper body exercise and a lower body exercise and maybe one
cardiovascular type exercise, again, depending on the group class setting that you go to. Anything
that you want to improve on, that you're continuing to
see progress and you're not just worrying about the weight on the scale.
So there you go, guys. Those are my two tips for someone who goes
to a group class setting of how you can apply progressive overload on your
own and take that responsibility for your own gains. Scenario
two, you are someone who goes to the gym on your own and works out, or you work out at home on
your own. You want to know how you can start to apply progressive overload principle to your own
independent workouts. To make sure your body is not going to adapt and you're going to continue to
build strength, build lean muscle and blast body fat. So I want to
start off by saying when it comes to progressive overload, again, it's not
all about increasing your weights every time. There are so many other ways you can manipulate
progressive overload into your training plan. For example, you can lift the same load for
a longer distance in a farmer carry, for example, if you are
holding the dumbbells, walk for a further distance with the same weight. Example number two, of
course, lifting a heavier weight than you did last time. Example number three, you can lift the same
weight with the same volume, meaning the same amount of reps and sets,
but with better form, better efficiency and better
muscle contraction. That is progressive overload. That means you are continuing to
challenge yourself because you are focusing on form. Example number four, you can lift the same
weights, the same reps with less rest time in between. Example number five,
there are so many more, but lifting the same weight,
the same volume with more speed or acceleration. So as you can see, there
are so many ways to apply that progressive overload principle and the main
thing you want to focus on is the word progressive,
meaning I'm not going to go from deadlifting a 100 pounds to deadlifting 200
pounds the next week. So progressive overload.
So how do you apply this principle to your own individual workouts? If you are
someone who just wings it every time you go to the gym and you
don't really know, I think I'll do legs today, I think I'll do upper today,
maybe I'll do some deadlifts, I'll do some of this. That could be the
problem. So one, that also is a problem with motivation is
if you don't have a plan to follow that's often why people hire people like me, personal trainers,
because we hold you accountable and we create a training program for you that keeps holding you
accountable and makes sure that you are following progressive overload and continuing to challenge
yourself. More info about my online coaching at the
link below, just in case you're wondering. So when looking at applying progressive
overload to your own independent strength training workouts,
whether it's at the gym or at home, just take note again of what you are lifting, how much you are
lifting, how you felt after you lifted that specific weight for a certain amount of reps.
My best advice is write it down,
take note and that's the only way you're going to remember. I, personally, write down
everything for all of my clients. I, personally, write down everything. I
have the notepad in my phone and I also have a whiteboard
at my studio, where we keep track of all these things, because we are not
going to remember. We all have busy lives. And when it comes to specific weights and reps and how
long it took you to do something, all of these things, take note of what you lifted
and that's how you're going to know what you're
going to lift the following week. So, again, even if you're doing your
own workouts, you can do the exact same principle I talked about in
the people who go to bootcamp classes. Maybe you are going to continue with your lower body days,
you're going to continue with your upper body days, but maybe this month, you are going to focus
specifically on your barbell back squat and your barbell deadlift,
maybe a dumbbell goblet squat and a kettlebell deadlift or a dumbbell deadlift.
It doesn't have to be a barbell exercise. Maybe these are the
two lower body exercise you're going to focus on and then focus on upper body. Best case scenario,
you're applying progressive overload to all the exercises you were doing
to ensure you are continuing to challenge yourself. But, again,
depending on if you're a beginner, I honestly say pick two exercises, two
upper body, two lower body exercises, focus on that for the
month and try and increase rep ranges. A lot of people ask me, when do I know
when it's time to increase the weight that I'm lifting? So for
muscle gain and strength you want to try and stay in this six to eight rep range.
What I mean by that is let's say you're lifting
a 20 pound dumbbell for a single arm dumbbell row exercise. Once you lift that
dumbbell for your sixth rep, if you're not dying and you're like, oh, I could
probably push to eight reps. Once you get to that eighth rep,
if it's a struggle and you're really feeling the challenge on that eighth
rep, that's a great range for you. So you want to make sure when you hit that last rep, that it's a
challenge and you probably couldn't have done anymore
with good form or you get to that seventh rep and your form starts to look a little sketchy.
That's when you stay in that six rep range, don't push that
extra rep. That's how we get hurt. Stay in that six to eight rep range
until you can do eight reps, once you can do 10 reps with great form
and you're like, I probably could have done 10 to 12,
that's when you're increasing your weight. So for example, in a single arm dumbbell row,
maybe you're going to go from 20 to 25 pounds and you start
again. I'm going to start lifting once I can do six reps, once I've
done eight reps and I can do it with good form and I probably could have done 10,
that's when, again, you're continuing to increase your weight.
So this is the same principle you can apply to every single
exercise you do in your workouts. If you guys want me to make a video about how to create your
own training program, that will best hit every muscle group and for beginners,
if you're looking for a beginner's strength training workout that you can
do at the gym, let me know in the comments below. I'd be happy
to do a video on that to break it down for you guys of how to create your own
workout plan. If you don't want
to hire a personal trainer, I would love to break that down for you guys and show you a
simple workout plan that you can follow and then you can start to apply this progressive overload
principle to your own training plans. So there you guys go,
that is the most basic explanation of progressive overload that I can give you,
again, this video is more so for you if you are a beginner to
moderate experience in the gym and you are just looking to learn how to challenge yourself safely
without injury. So with that being said, there are three simple principles I want
you to follow when you are applying progressive
overload to your own workouts. One, never compromise form. So if you are
wanting to increase your weight or you're wanting to increase your rep range or your speed or your
volume, any of those things, if you lose form in any of those exercises, stop.
That is how we get injured and in the end, if you're not doing the exercise properly
but you're lifting heavier weight,
you're still not going to get anything out of the exercise because you're not activating
the muscle properly. We've all seen these people at the gym
who do the bicep curls and they're not able to lock in their core and they're not lifting
a weight that they can actually stabilize their body, activate
their bicep muscles properly and curl. They're using their hip bones and their
back and everything to try and get that weight up.
That's not what I want to see from any of you guys, please. Second thing I want
you guys to remember is if you are a beginner, progressive overload will
be the funnest in the initial stages. First three months,
four months of your journey. That is when you are building muscle and you
are learning new movements. You're really learning your form.
That is when you're going to see the most progressions
as you start to build more muscle and you get stronger and you're doing bigger lifts,
you will see that progressive overload start to slow down. Maybe
you're not jumping up by 10, 20 pounds at a time you might be
jumping up by two and a half, one and a half pounds sometimes. Just be humble.
Continue to apply the exact same principles I talked about in
this video. But remember it's not always going to be the same jumps up in weight or the same jump up
in reps as it was when you first started tracking your weights. And
the third thing I want you guys to remember, if you are looking to
get stronger and you want to apply this progressive overload principle
to your own workouts and continue to increase your weight, continue to get stronger, increase your
reps, increase your volume. You need to make sure you are fueling your body properly.
Don't start no fad diet, starvation type 1200 calorie diet
and expect to get stronger and get leaner and build more muscle.
If you are looking to build lean muscle and apply this progressive overload principle
with the goal of building lean muscle, you need to eat to fuel your body.
I have a lot of videos, already on my channel, talking all
about this as to why you shouldn't be starving your body and it will be much
harder to get stronger. You can check out these videos here,
these videos here. I'll leave a bunch of links in the description below, if you are looking
to learn more about nutrition and how to properly fuel your
body to build lean muscle and blast body fat and, of course, get really strong.
And, of course, when we talk about all of that nutrition stuff, protein, protein,
protein, I've got a free high protein foods
cheat sheet. I'll leave a link in the description below where you can download that.
I've also got a free calorie deficit guide, you can download that below
as well. Just to help you guys out, learn more about fueling your body
versus starving it and still achieve fat loss and build lean muscle and
get stronger in the gym and most importantly, feel amazing, not feel tired and starving all the time.
That is my simple breakdown of progressive overload. I hope
this video is helpful and I hope you learned something. Again, if you did make sure you give
this video a like, leave any comments or questions below, let me know what you thought, let me know
how you liked it and what you learned and what else you want to learn from me. I'm happy to
take ideas of what you want my next video to be. I'm here
for you guys to help educate you. And, of course, I'll leave a link
in the description below of where you can learn more about my one-on-one online
personal training. If you really want to take your results to
the next level and have me on your butt, 24/7, making sure you
are doing the right exercises and the right progressive overload principles
to make sure you are going to get the results that you want. Thanks
again for watching guys and I'll see you next week.