Episode 102: Understanding Progressive Overload for Effective Strength Training

Understanding Progressive Overload for Effective Strength Training

In this episode of the Booster Metabolism Podcast, host Janine dives into the fitness principle of progressive overload and its importance for building strength and muscle. She explains how strength training, done at least three times per week, preserves muscle mass, boosts metabolism, and offers numerous health benefits. Janine outlines various methods to achieve progressive overload, including increasing reps, weight, sets, and implementing tempos or static holds. She also shares practical tips for tracking workouts to ensure consistent progress. The episode concludes with a preview of next week's topic: the impact of mindset on fitness progress.

00:00 Welcome to the Booster Metabolism Podcast

00:32 The Importance of Strength Training

01:46 Understanding Progressive Overload

02:44 Implementing Progressive Overload in Your Routine

03:55 Advanced Techniques for Progressive Overload

04:57 Tracking Your Progress

06:04 Recap and Additional Strategies

08:07 Conclusion and Next Week's Preview

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hi everyone.
Welcome back to the BoosterMetabolism Podcast.
I'm your host, Janine, and I'mso glad that you're here today.
If you've been tuning in thepast few weeks, you know that we
are breathing new life back intothis podcast, and I hope that
you've been enjoying it so far.
Last week we talked aboutnutrition and got back to the
basics by covering macros.

(00:20):
But this week is our fitnessfocused episode, and we're
diving into a key principle forbuilding strength and muscle,
which is progressive overload.
So let's jump right in.
At Couture Fitness, we encourageall of our clients to strength
train at least three times perweek.
Why?
Because as we age, our musclemass naturally declines.

(00:42):
It's just part of life.
And muscle tissue burns moreenergy at rest than fat, which
means more muscle can result ina healthier metabolism.
Strength training helps uspreserve and even build muscle,
which is a big contributor forkeeping our metabolism strong.
But also strength trainingimproves bone density, supports

(01:04):
joint health, reduces your riskof injury, helps you be able to
run around with those kiddos orgrandkids or friends.
But let's be honest, it helpsyou achieve that tone fit.
Look, most people are going for,I have heard that.
From so many clients that theyjust wanna look fit and toned.
And ladies, let me just reassureyou that lifting weights will

(01:27):
not make you bulky.
To be honest, building largeamounts of muscle mass takes
years of focused effort andoften other factors that most
women aren't pursuing.
What you'll get instead bystrength training are all the
health benefits plus a leaner,stronger, more confident body.
So let's talk about progressiveoverload.

(01:49):
If you head into the gym and youuse the same 20 pound dumbbell
for four sets of 12 bicep girlsweek after week, eventually your
body is going to stop changing,and that's because our bodies
are so smart and they adaptquickly to keep seeing results.

(02:10):
We have to challenge our musclesand continue to switch things
up.
Now when you strength train yourmuscles, experience small
amounts of stress and breakdownafterward, your body repairs and
rebuilds them, making themslightly stronger and more
resilient than before.
But if you never increase thechallenge, your body just stops

(02:32):
adapting and progressiveoverload is simply the process
of continually giving yourmuscles a reason to grow
stronger.
Our bodies really are amazing.
So how do you do?
Progressive overload.
What does that look like?
First of all, you have to have astructured training plan that
you stick with for at leasteight to 12 weeks.

(02:54):
Consistency in nutrition andyour workout plan really is key
to seeing changes.
I typically recommend working inthe eight to 12 rep range for
most movements, maybe eight to14 rep range.
It just depends on maybe whatyou're looking for.
But I would start with aconsistent structured training

(03:16):
plan again, that you're going toexecute week after week for
about eight to 12 weeks.
So what I mean by that is you doan upper body workout on Monday
this week.
Well, next week you're gonna dothat same upper body workout on
Monday.
So you're not constantlyswitching out the workout
movements that you're doing.
You're focusing on consistency.

(03:38):
Because if you don't do that,it's really hard to see
progress.
And to be able to achieveprogressive overload.
'cause you're constantlychanging up what your workout is
and what your plan is, and soyou just don't know, well, what
weight did I do last week withthis to be able to ensure that
you are achieving progressiveoverload.
So let's talk about a few mainways of achieving progressive

(03:59):
overload.
So first, you can increase yourreps.
So start with a weight where youcan complete eight reps with
good form.
But it still feels challenging.
Each week, try to add anotherrep until you can hit about 12
reps.
The other option is you canincrease your weight.
So once you can perform 12 repsconsistently, it's time to bump

(04:21):
up your weight.
When you do, your reps mightdrop back into the eight to 10
rep range, but from there, youbuild back up to 12 reps again.
And then the other way is youcan increase your sets.
So maybe you're not ready tolift heavier and to pick up the
next set of dumbbells or toincrease that weight on that

(04:42):
machine.
What you can do is you can addanother set.
So for example, if you've beendoing three sets of.
12 reps of bicep curls tryadding a fourth set of 12 reps
of bicep curls.
And one thing that is importantwhen it comes to progressive
overload is, I don't know aboutyou, but I have so much going

(05:03):
on.
There is not a chance in theworld that I'm going to remember
what.
Weight and how many reps Icompleted for my bicep curls
last Monday to ensure that thisMonday I am increasing or
pushing myself a little bitharder.
And so I recommend that youeither use an app or you have a

(05:24):
notebook that you write downyour training plan in, and you
keep a record of how youcompleted your workouts, what
reps, how many sets, what weightyou used, so that way you can
ensure that you are.
Pushing yourself and continuingto challenge your body and your
muscles.
An app that you can use, there'slots of apps out there, to log

(05:46):
your, workouts, but if you areusing MyFitnessPal for your
nutrition tracking, you also canload your workouts in there and
log it in there.
And then at Couture Fitness weuse an app that our clients can
log all of their workouts in aswell.
So.
Let's just recap real quick,some of the main ways of

(06:08):
progressively overloading, yourworkouts is increasing, reps
increasing weight and increasingsets.
But there are some otherstrategies too that I wanna make
sure we discuss.
I do most of my workouts in mygarage.
I don't really have the abilityto go to the gym just with what
I have going on in my life andhow my life is set up right now.

(06:30):
And I have dumbbells up to 35pounds, a kettlebell and some
basic equipment.
But to be honest, I max out myweights with certain movements
and I can't just go and grabsomething heavier because I
don't have anything.
In that case, that's when Iimplement tempos or holds to
keep progressing.

(06:50):
So let me give you an example ofthis.
So in a bicep curl, I might liftthe weight up at a normal pace,
but as I'm lowering it back downto the starting position, I will
slowly lower it in a tempo.
And so I will count maybe threeto five seconds and make sure

(07:10):
that I am very slowlychallenging my muscles by.
Bringing that weight back down.
Or another option is I mightpause halfway down when my elbow
is at 90 degrees and hold it forthree to five seconds before
finishing that movement.
A hold like that or a pause anda lift is called a static hold.

(07:31):
And man, let me just tell you,those are killer.
They can be a game changer,especially if you're maybe not
ready to increase your weight oryour reps or add another set, or
you're like me and you're maxedout on weight.
So these small changes can makethe exercise so much harder and

(07:51):
keep your muscles adapting evenwithout adding more weight.
So remember, progressiveoverload isn't only about
lifting heavier, it's aboutfinding ways to keep challenging
your body while maintaining asafe and solid form.
So I hope that this gave you aclearer understanding of
progressive overload and how toapply it to your workouts.

(08:13):
If you'd like a coach to designa customized strength and
nutrition plan that fits yourlifestyle and your schedule.
Book us a free strategy callwe'd love to chat with you about
it.
We'll even review your formthrough video feedback to make
sure that you're lifting safelyand effectively if you become
one of our clients.
If you found this episodehelpful, share it with a friend
who's also working on theirhealth and fitness goals, and be

(08:35):
sure to join us next week.
We will be shifting gears totalk about mindset and how it
impacts your progress.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week everyone.