What is progressive overload - gym and home workout strategies
- Clem Duranseaud
- 4 hours ago
- 11 min read
I played a lot of Halo growing up. I didn’t have an Xbox at home, so most of my afternoons were spent at my best friend’s house, guiding Master Chief through endless battles against the Covenant and the Flood.
Eventually, the game just got too easy. We knew every level inside out, and even Legendary mode (the toughest one) wasn’t enough. So we invented our own challenges—like using only the weakest weapons or cranking up enemy difficulty with cheat codes. Without that extra challenge, it just wasn’t fun anymore.
This concept applies to more than just video games. It’s the same with your workouts.
As your body adapts to a fitness routine, that once-difficult weight, pace, or circuit becomes your new baseline. If you want to keep getting stronger, fitter, or faster, you need to level up.
This is called progressive overload.
Unlike gaming, though, adding challenge in the gym hurts a little more: running faster burns more, lifting heavier feels intimidating, and pushing further takes grit.
But it’s also where the magic happens.
In this post, we’ll explore practical and sustainable ways to add progressive overload to your home and gym fitness routine, so you can keep levelling up without burning out.
Progressive overload at the gym
The gym is the easiest place to increase the difficulty of your training. To do so, you have three options:
Do more reps at the same weight
Do the same amount of reps with a heavier weight
Do less reps with an even heavier weight
Let's pretend there are four friends working out together. Last week, they all did three sets of eight squats with 60 kilos on the bar. This week they all decide to make their squat workout a little different:
Carry does three sets of 10 reps with 60kg, increasing her total reps by 6
Graham does three sets of 8 with 62.5kg, increasing the weight he is working with
Lucy feels adventurous and does four sets of 6 squats with 65kg
Hector decides to be lazy and does the same workout as last week, three sets of 8 with 60kg
All of the friends, except Hector, successfully applied progressive overload to their training. And this is just when we compare two weeks of training. There are many, many ways you can apply this to your own training.
Progressive overload will create a cyclical training program. Let's take Carry's example to understand this.
If they keep progressing this way, you could imagine that in their third training week, they would increase the intensity by doing three sets of 12. Then 3 sets of 15 the following week. Where would it stop?
In Lucy's case, she could do three sets of 4 reps in her third week and then 3 reps in the fourth week, but what would happen when she only does 1 rep? She can't keep going this way, not more than Carry can keep adding reps indefinitely.
This is where the cyclical nature of training comes in. After a few weeks, we go back to our initial workout, but this time we use a heavier weight, making it our new benchmark.
After 4-5 weeks of training, Carry, Graham and Lucy would be able to come back to three sets of 8 squats and perhaps use 65kg instead of 60.
Hector would be stuck at his three sets of 8 at 60kg because he did not use progressive overload and his body was not able to adapt and grow to handle heavier loads.
For beginners, there are two easy methods to apply progressive overload.
The 8-10-12 method of progressive overload
This method involves keeping the same weight but adding reps when possible.
Start by doing three sets of 8 reps on a given exercise. The following week, aim to do three sets of 10 with the same weights. But remember: this may not happen in a week and that's completely fine.
Once you can do three sets of 10, your next goal is to do 3 sets of 12. Once you can comfortable complete those, go back to 3 sets of 8 and use 5%-10% more weight than your initial workout.
As you get stronger and fitter, you'll notice that it takes longer and longer to reach the different reps. That's also normal.
This is my go to progression with beginner lifters. Doing more reps with the same weight is better to learn technique, is very straight forward, reduces the risk of injury and helps develop a sense of relative intensity for RIR purposes.
When you stop progressing with this method, try the following one.
The 8-6-4 method of progressive over load
In this strategy, we lower the reps and increase the load. You can do this on a weekly basis or every other week, it all depends on how you feel.
Let the recommended reps dictate how much you increase the load by. So if Lucy is going from 8 reps to 6 reps, she's not going to double the load. She went from 60kg to 65kg which is a 7% increase. Nothing too crazy.
Lucy would then go on to do 3 sets of 4 with maybe 72.5 (an 11% increase). Remember that she is spending a couple of weeks at each levels here. Once she has done two weeks of 3 sets of 4, she can go back to 3 sets of 8 and increase the weight from 60kg to whatever her new strength allows her, maybe 65kg, maybe 67kg.
After doing the 8-10-12 method, you'll have a pretty good understanding of what kind of weights you can handle for different rep numbers so that will help.
Always remember thought:
Slow increases are better than huge increases
You must be able to complete the sets. If you fall short of the indicated reps, you went too heavy and should use a lighter weight.
This method of progressing requires good technique. Give yourself 4-6 months of the 8-10-12 one before tackling the 8-6-4.
Beyond basic progression
After going to the gym consistently, you'll notice a force of nature as sure as my clients leaving me on read after I text them about working out: the law of diminishing returns.
The more you do the two methods above, the less results you'll get from them.
You can do 4-6 months of the 8-10-12, then 4-6 months of the 8-6-4, then switch back a few more times. But after a certain period of time, these two methods won't do much for you.
When you reach that point, congratulations! You've levelled up to the intermediate/advanced portion of your gym progression.
You are now entering the fun world of periodization. This is just a fancy word for what we've been doing since day one: planning different reps and loads over different workouts.
There are as many periodization programs as their are personal trainers with access to the internet. So quite a few.
At this stage, you've got a few options.
Find a program you like. You need to enjoy doing it, it should be relatively simple to follow and applicable to the gym you go to.
Do your own program. After two years of lifting you should have a pretty good idea of what works for you. Feel free to experiment with different reps and loads schemes and see what makes you stronger.
Hire a personal trainer. If you can't be bothered with periodization but still want to see results, hiring a trainer is a simple way of guaranteeing your progress is looked after.
Maintain your current fitness level. You don't have to keep getting stronger for the rest of your life. It's fun, but not for everyone. If you are happy with what you've achieved that's even better. Maintain what you've worked hard to achieve and enjoy life.
There are two main branches of periodization out there which all gym programs are derived from.
Linear periodization: gradually making the weights heavier and heavier over time. A basic approach that works very well. The 8-10-12 and 8-6-4 are both linear approach
Undulating periodization: Switching between heavy loads - low reps and light loads - high reps periods. When you go from one cycle of the 8-10-12 to a cycle of the 8-6-4, that's one big undulating cycle. You can also do weekly undulating periodization. You could do heavy squats (3 sets of 4 reps) on Mondays and light squats (3 sets of 12) of Thursdays.
Then there are different strategies to organize your training goals, very often called blocks.
I highly, highly recommend finding a program that is not too complicated to understand. Elite athletes who need to balance a hectic training schedule, focus on winning games and have million of dollars on the line probably benefit from fastidious programming.
If your only worry is about losing some weight or getting laid on the weekend, you don't need a program that requires weekly calculations of your 5RM or to reset your metabolic production capacities. You're either getting fitter or you're not and you can gauge that that simply by tracking your workouts.
I'll do an in depth article on these advanced styles of progression later.
For now, let's take a look at progressive overload for home workouts.
Progressive overload with home workouts
Working out at home is a great way to get/stay fit when you can't access the gym. I believe it works, my whole youtube channel is dedicated to it.
The challenge with this type of fitness is applying progressive overload. Most people only have two sets of dumbbells, one they label light, usually 5-8 pounds, and a heavier set, anywhere from 10-20 pounds.
Very often, there is no way of using heavier weights.
Tracking these workouts is also pretty much impossible. There are too many reps, and the little breaks involved don't allow enough time to sit down and record what you just did.
So how do we do it?
There are two options:
Doing more reps with the same weight in a given time period. Imagine the workout calls for 30 seconds of squats. Maybe you do 10 squats with your heavy set of dumbbells. In a couple weeks, try to do 12 squats with the same weight during the same amount of time. This does involve some level of tracking, you need to remember the exact numbers of reps. Circuit style workouts are great for this purpose. In the workout below, we try to do as many rounds as possible in a given timeframe. This fitter you get, the more rounds you'll be able to do during that time. Doing the same circuit workout, a few weeks apart is, in my opinion, the easiest way to see wether or not you've progressed.
Doing longer workouts. If you're home workout routine is 30 minutes, try one that's 45 minutes. When you can do those easily, do some for a whole hour. Look at this more from a total weekly training time rather than individual workout length. If you currently train at home three times a week for 30 minutes, that's an hour and a half of weekly workout. You could then bump that up to two hours of training for the following weeks as your levelling up. You could do this many ways:
- Doing four workouts of 3o minutes
- Doing two workouts of 30 min and an hour one
- Doing two workouts of 45 min and a 30 minutes one
These three options all add of to two hours of weekly workout. You want to find an increase that is manageable with your lifestyle. Just like adjusting the temperature on a shower that's not yours, small increments are better than big ones.
Applying these two progression methods will make you quite fit already. Paired with good nutrition, a solid home workout program get you in great shape and looking like it.
If you feel like you've maxed out these two strategies, that you've squeeze them harder than an orange in a smoothy shop, and you're still not happy with your progress, then it's time to go to your local fitness dealership and get you some heavier dumbbells.
Here are some good baseline numbers to go for.
Total weekly hours of home workout
Try to get two and half hours of weekly home workouts.
This is an average of 30 minutes for five days of the week, which is a very solid place to be in.
Pair that with an hour of slow and steady cardio throughout the week and you will have a very strong foundation to sculpt your body on.
What dumbbells should you use for home workouts?
Everyone will start with slightly different weights depending on what's available to them at home and their fitness levels.
A good home workout dumbbell weight to reach for for ladies is 15 pounds (7kg) and 25 pounds (12.5kg) for men.
Two things to keep in mind:
This is a very general recommendation. You may want to go even heavier depending on your training age, fitness level and personal preferences
This is an end result to reach. Not a starting place. Most people will NOT be starting with these weights and that's completely normal. Start with what you can do, and aim for these dumbbells after 1-2 years of training. Take you time getting there and enjoy the process.
Home workouts are, in my opinion, a great way to get fit. They require minimal equipment and you don't have to leave the house. Very nice in some situations (taking care of kids, living far from gyms).
If you prefer leaving your house and taking fitness classes though, let's take a look at how you can progress in them as well.
Progressive overload in fitness classes
I have very found memories of walking around my TurF Strength class at the beginning of each workouts, greeting everyone and catching up with clients.
Those 10 minutes before the class were always one of my favourite times, and after pleasantry were exchanged, I almost always told people to grab heavier weights.
Applying progressive overload in your fitness classes is kind of half way between what you do in the gym and at home.
Like the gym, you will most likely have access to a wider range of dumbbells. And similarly to home workouts, you won't be able to really track any of it.
Here is exactly what will happen when you grab heavier weights.
You will have to go slower at first, which is completely normal. You cannot expect to go as fast as usual with heavier dumbbells.
Your body will adapt to the new weights. This will take a few weeks so be patient.
You will be able to go at your usual speed after your body as gotten stronger
This process can take weeks, if not months. But once you can consistently do a class at full tilt, it's time to make it harder.
Once again, I'd like to reiterate the fact that
Once your body can do something well, like a fitness class, it does not adapt to it anymore because it doesn't need to.
That doesn't mean it doesn't feel challenging. On the contrary, the fitter you get, the more challenging your workouts will FEEL. But that doesn't mean it's a big enough stimulus for it.
If I were to do dumbbell curls with 1kg in each hands for 200 reps, it would be incredibly challenging near the end. The burn in my bicep would probably be insane. But that doesn't mean I'd get bigger and stronger biceps. It would be more beneficial for me to do 20 reps with 40 kg in each hands than 200 with only 1kg.
Progressive overload conclusion
Progressive overload happens in all range of life, not just fitness. In school we learn more and more complex ideas each year. At work we take on more and more responsibilities if we want to get promoted. We level up when we want to get better.
The key is to make it slow and steady. In the gym, aim to make your workouts 2-5% percent tougher every other week. This is such a small increase you will barely notice it. Do not brush it off as useless!
Doing this consistently is where the magic is.
At home, try to progressively tougher workouts, either going from beginner workouts to advanced workouts or doing longer ones.
If you regularly go to group HIIT classes or strength classes in a fitness studio, try to slowly use heavier dumbbells as you get comfortable with your routine.
And remember the golden rule: if you can do something well, your body doesn't need to get better because it can already do it. Even if that something feels incredibly tough.
I've done extremely hard sets, thinking they must be a PR of some sort, only to look through my training log and see I've already done similar sets a few months ago.
Hence the importance of tracking your workouts to take the guess work out.
If you found this helpful, share it with a friend who's trying to level up their workout!
Clem
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