Often the first hurdle to an effective exercise routine can be getting started in the first place. Once we get a routine established, however, we will often see great short-term effects due to the initial stimulus aiding in building strength, endurance, or fitness. Over time, our body goes through the physiological adaptation process – where it becomes more efficient at performing our exercises/movements, and we tend to respond more rapidly to new demands or stress that our body is not used to.

Fast-forward a little bit down the track, and we may find that our fitness or strength is no longer progressing at the same rate or that we reach a plateau stage. This will often happen if we continue doing the same exercises with the same intensity or volume without change, and this is because now that our body has become accustomed to the loads or movements we began with, our muscles no longer need to adapt or grow above that initial improvement. To break through this plateau, or avoid getting in a rut with an exercise program, we need to be changing things up often and providing a new challenge for our body. This is where the progressive overload principle of exercise training comes in.

What is progressive overload?

Progressive overload principle is the concept of gradually increasing the intensity, volume, or difficulty of your workouts over time to continuously challenge your body and promote improvement. The idea is that to make progress, you need to progressively challenge your muscles, cardiovascular system, or other energy systems beyond their current capacity. By slowly increasing the stress or load on your body, you force it to adapt, leading to greater performance or strength improvements

Examples of progressions to an exercise program

Progressive overload can be applied in several ways:

• Increasing weight: Adding more weight to your exercises.
• Increasing reps: Doing more repetitions of an exercise.
• Increasing sets: Adding additional sets to your workout.
• Increasing frequency: Working out more often.
• Improving intensity: Reducing rest time or increasing the speed of exercises.
• Improving technique: Focusing on better form to challenge your muscles in a more effective way.
• Changing range of motion: Completing movement through a larger range, or in a more difficult/challenging position.
• Compound movement: Merging exercises together to utilise dual-tasking and challenge the body to coordinate multiple areas of the body at the same time.

The key is to make small, manageable adjustments over time, ensuring that the body has enough time to adapt and recover between sessions. Without this gradual increase, progress can plateau.

How can an Exercise Physiologist help you implement the Progressive Overload principle into your exercise?

An Exercise Physiologist can assist to create a tailored exercise plan that aligns with your goals and fitness level. This may involve:

• Assessing Your Current Fitness Level: Understanding where you are starting from to establish a baseline to work from, which can then be tracked to ensure continued progress
• Setting Realistic Goals: Achievable, yet challenging, short- and long-term goals ensure we have sensible expectations and will progress at a pace that is optimal for your body.
• Gradual Progression: Specific design of a program that gradually increases the intensity of your workouts and minimising the risk of injury or exacerbation of pain. 
• Ensuring Proper Technique: As we make our activity more challenging and complex, it is important to prioritise good form.
• Monitoring and Adjusting: An Exercise Physiologist will track your progress and adjust as needed. If you are progressing too fast or hitting a plateau, they can modify your plan to keep you on track.

Educating You: Understanding how to recognise signs of overtraining or fatigue, and knowing when to dial back or rest, and when it’s safe to push further.