Progressive overload: how to increase weights correctly

For muscles to grow and strength to increase, the load must gradually increase. But how exactly - add kilograms every week, do more repetitions or make the exercises harder? The editorial team explains what the principle of progressive overload is based on, which progression methods have an evidence base and how to increase weights without stagnation or injury.

The principle of progressive overload

Progressive overload is a gradual increase in the demands on the body so that it continues to adapt. The principle was formulated back in the 1940s by military doctor Thomas DeLorme, who rehabilitated patients after injuries with the help of gradually heavier exercises. Since then it has become the basis of practically all strength-training programs and has entered the position statement of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM, 2009).

The logic is simple: the muscles, tendons and nervous system adapt to a specific stimulus. If the stimulus does not change, adaptation gradually fades - the body already 'knows how' to do this work. For progress to continue, the load must be gradually increased.

At the same time, progressive overload is not only 'more plates on the bar.' The load can be increased in various ways: by the number of repetitions, sets, range of motion, control of tempo, shortening of rest, complexity of the exercise. All of them increase the demands on the muscles but affect fatigue and the risk of injury differently.

The most frequent mistake is trying to add weight every workout regardless of circumstances. For a beginner this may work for a few months, but eventually such an approach inevitably hits a ceiling, and the person either gets stuck or breaks their technique for the sake of the numbers.

Ways to increase the load

There are several main 'levers' of progression. They can be used in turn or combined depending on the goal and level of training.

Interesting data were obtained by Plotkin et al. (2022): in their study the groups that progressed by weight or by repetitions showed a similar gain in muscle mass. This means that for hypertrophy it is not necessary to constantly add kilograms - it is enough for the work to gradually become harder.

For maximal strength the situation is different: the principle of specificity requires working with heavy weights, so increasing weight within low repetitions remains key.

A practically advantageous approach is double progression: first increase the number of repetitions within the target range, and after reaching the upper limit in all sets, add weight and return to the lower limit.

Double progression in practice

Let us consider double progression in more detail. The athlete chooses a range, for example 8-12 repetitions, and a weight with which they can perform 8 repetitions in each set with quality technique. Each workout they try to add at least one repetition in one of the sets.

When 12 repetitions are reached in all sets, the weight is increased by the minimum step, and the number of repetitions again drops to 8-9. The cycle repeats. This method naturally 'dampens' the risk of too rapid a jump in weight and gives a constant sense of progress.

In basic exercises, where the minimum weight step is relatively large, it is useful to have lightweight plates of 0.5-1.25 kg. For the bench press or overhead press a difference of 5 kg at a time may be too abrupt, whereas 1-2 kg makes it possible to move smoothly.

You should not expect linear progress every workout. It is normal if on some days the number of repetitions does not grow. Focus on the trend over 3-4 weeks rather than on a single session.

Autoregulation: when to listen to your body

An athlete's well-being changes from day to day: sleep, stress, nutrition and previous workouts affect strength. A rigid plan of 'adding 2.5 kg every week' does not account for these fluctuations. That is why in modern practice autoregulation - adjusting the load by subjective sensations - is increasingly used.

The most common tool is the repetitions-in-reserve scale (RIR), which was adapted for strength training by Zourdos et al. (2016) and Helms et al. (2016). After a set the athlete assesses how many more repetitions they could perform with proper technique. For example, a plan of '3 sets of 8 with RIR 2' means selecting a weight such that after 8 repetitions about two remain.

Autoregulation helps to progress safely: on a good day the weight naturally grows, on a hard one it drops a little, but the quality of the stimulus is preserved. The accuracy of RIR estimation improves with experience, especially in the range close to failure.

Another guideline is the speed of the bar's movement. When it drops noticeably, fatigue is accumulating. This approach requires special sensors, so for amateurs RIR is simpler and more accessible.

Common mistakes and safety

The most dangerous mistake is sacrificing technique for the sake of weight. A shortened range of motion, 'heaving' the bar, rounding the back in a deadlift create the illusion of progress but in fact reduce the load on the target muscles and increase the risk of injury.

• too large a step in increasing weight;
• progression in all exercises at once without regard to fatigue;
• ignoring deload weeks;
• absence of a training log;
• comparing yourself with others instead of your own dynamics.

Another problem is progression without regard to tendons and ligaments. Muscles adapt faster than connective tissue, so too rapid an increase in weights, especially against a background of rapid mass gain, can cause tendinopathies.

Finally, it is worth understanding that with experience the rate of progress naturally slows down. For an experienced athlete a normal result is a small increase in working weights over several months rather than every week.

We also recommend reading our articles on training periodization, on the optimal number of sets per muscle group and on training to failure.

Editorial conclusions

Progressive overload is a fundamental principle of training: without a gradual increase in demands, adaptation stops. However, one can increase not only weight but also repetitions, sets, range of motion and exercise complexity.

For hypertrophy, progression by repetitions and by weight produce similar results; for maximal strength, working with heavy weights is more important. Double progression is a simple and reliable method for most athletes.

Autoregulation by the RIR scale, keeping a log and preserving technique make it possible to progress for a long time and safely.

References

1. American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687–708.
2. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Fundamentals of resistance training: progression and exercise prescription. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;36(4):674–688.
3. Plotkin D, Coleman M, Van Every D, et al. Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ. 2022;10:e14142.
4. Zourdos MC, Klemp A, Dolan C, et al. Novel resistance training-specific rating of perceived exertion scale measuring repetitions in reserve. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(1):267–275.
5. Helms ER, Cronin J, Storey A, Zourdos MC. Application of the repetitions in reserve-based rating of perceived exertion scale for resistance training. Strength Cond J. 2016;38(4):42–49.
6. Haff GG, Triplett NT, eds. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 4th ed. Human Kinetics; 2016.