Progressive Overload Is Overrated
Author’s note: I’ve been sitting on this article for a little while. It isn’t perfect, but I do think it raises some important questions. And, as Terry Todd once told me, it’s a mistake to let perfect become the enemy of good. So, read on — but, as always, please think critically about what you read.
That headline isn’t clickbait. If you’re a physique athlete past the beginner stage, focusing exclusively on progressive overload at the expense of other aspects of your training is probably a big mistake. This article explains why that’s the case, and what you should do instead.
Why Progressive Overload Isn’t Enough
Most coaches frame progressive overload as a training input. In other words, to get bigger and stronger, they say, you need to add weight to the bar every week.
If you think about this for longer than about 5 seconds, you’ll realize it’s a useless concept, because adding weight to the bar is getting stronger. These coaches are literally telling you “to get bigger and stronger, you need to get stronger.” That kind of advice might have worked for John Madden, but it won’t work for you.
In reality, progressive overload, like hypertrophy, is the result of a well-designed training and diet regimen. In other words, if you do the right things in the gym and eat right, you’ll add muscle and be able to add weight to the bar.
As soon as you frame progressive overload as an output instead of an input, you start to look at programming as a whole differently. That’s huge, because it means that instead of obsessing over nuances like exact set and rep schemes, perfect exercise selection, or optimal frequencies, you’ll instead start to think about diversifying your training.
Why Progressive Overload Isn’t Always Necessary
I could write a bit here, but Lyle Macdonald has already done an absolutely phenomenal job of breaking down progressive overload and its relation to hypertrophy. I strongly suggest you read his Muscular Tension and Muscle Growth series:
Now, I don’t agree with everything he writes, but the overwhelming majority of it is spot on. And I want to highlight this section in particular (from Part 3):
Rather than worrying about day to day or week to week progression or any of that at this level of training, just set up a proper workout in terms of volume, frequency and intensity and wait for the adaptation to occur. You don’t have to add or change anything at this point over fairly extended periods. A proper overloading workout will stay a proper overloading workout until it’s not and that takes a while. It might be a few weeks it might be longer. Change when you need to change and it’s all good.
Honestly, if that one paragraph is all you take away from this article, I’ll be happy.
Why Progressive Overload Can Be Counterproductive
So far, this article has suggested that progressive overload might not be the most helpful barometer of progress for a physique athlete. In this section, I want to suggest that in many circumstances, focusing on progressive overload can actually slow your progress. Consider these scenarios:
You add weight to the bar, but you perform fewer reps.
You add weight to the bar, but you perform lower-quality reps (for example, you might cut depth on a squat or swing your body up on a chin)
You’re feeling a bit off, try to add weight to the bar anyway, and injure yourself.
You’re feeling great, try to add weight to the bar, fail, and get frustrated.
In my experience, hardcore proponents of progressive overload will dismiss these pitfalls by claiming that you should just avoid them. Any lifter who’s the least bit passionate about their training knows that’s impossible. You’re a human, not a robot. When you’re focused exclusively on progressive overload, there will be times when emotion, fatigue, or even just absentmindedness will cause you to attempt a set or rep you probably shouldn’t. You’re less likely to make that sort of a mistake if you follow the recommendations in the next section.
A Better Way to Track Your Progress
At this point, I want to reiterate that I’m not suggesting you forget about progressive overload. If you’re not able to add weight to most of your lifts most of the time, that’s a problem.
However, for physique athletes, progress isn’t measured by weight on the bar, or even weight on the scale. The goal is to change how you look in the mirror. Now, visible physical changes happen slowly, and I understand that most people want a more immediate identifier of success. So, my suggestion is simple: perform a “training inventory” every morning. Ask yourself the following questions:
Daily Progress Inventory
Did you enjoy your training the past day? Were you able to add weight to some or all of the movements you performed? Did you get a good pump?
Were you hungry throughout the past day? How was your digestion? Did it change after training?
Did you sleep well last night?
How was your mood throughout the past day? Did it improve after training?
This is a qualitative exercise, but over time, you’ll be able to identify trends and learn to use these questions to keep your training on track. If you’re consistently having enjoyable training sessions, have good digestion, sleep, and mood after training, and are able to add weight to the bar at least occasionally, I guarantee you’ll make excellent progress.