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Why Progressive Overload is So Important for Fitness Progression and Health
If you’re an athlete or fitness enthusiast, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of the term “progressive overload.” Progressive overload is a fundamental principle of strength training, and it’s essential for anyone looking to increase their physical fitness and health. Here’s a closer look at why progressive overload is important for physical health and fitness progression.
What is Progressive Overload?
Progressive overload can be defined as the gradual increase of physical stress placed on the body during exercise. It’s a technique used to challenge the body and forces it to adapt, leading to increased strength, endurance and muscular growth.
The Benefits of Progressive Overload
By utilizing progressive overload, athletes and fitness enthusiasts can push past plateaus, reach their goals more quickly and improve their performance in strength-related sports such as weightlifting and powerlifting. Other benefits of progressive overload include increased muscle mass, a greater range of motion, improved muscular control, better stability and a faster, more efficient metabolism.
How to Incorporate Progressive Overload into Your Workout
To achieve success with progressive overload, fitness enthusiasts should strive to increase the amount of weight they’re lifting or the number of reps they’re performing in every workout. Increasing the level of difficulty of each exercise is another way to induce progressive overload. For example, rather than doing basic bicep curls, you could incorporate variations such as hammer curls or concentration curls into your routine.
The Takeaway
Incorporating the principles of progressive overload into your workout regime is the key to achieving your desired fitness and health goals. Progressive overload offers a way to continuously challenge the body, avoiding plateaus and ultimately leading to improved physical performance, increased muscle mass, better control and a higher metabolic rate.
