How to Achieve Progressive Overload At-Home
There are some common myths and misunderstandings about progressive overload and how to build muscle and get stronger, especially if you work out at home. Let’s discuss!
Myth: Progressive overload only involves adding more weight/sets/reps to your training routine.
The common thing I hear is
“you will never get the results without “progressive overload” and you can’t do that with home workouts.”
Truth: Progressive overload is a term that means to challenge the muscle you are trying to grow bigger or stronger.
The good news… yes, you can do it with home workouts.
There are many different ways to achieve progressive overload, and here are some examples:
- Increasing volume (how many sets or reps or weight)
- Reducing rest time in between sets or how many days you workout
- Modifying exercise: make it more challenging
- Adding mobility: challenging the muscle while in its lengthened position
- Changing exercise selection: for instance, you can work biceps in many different ways.
- Application: Changing how you do a particular movement.
- Speed: Changing the speed of your movements/exercises can create different types of stress on your muscles.
- Progressive range of motion: Increasing your range of motion during an exercise can enhance flexibility and strength.
- Changing techniques/methods: between using bodyweight only, bands, dumbbells, magic circle, small and big balls, and the kettlebell, we are challenging the muscle in different ways with different techniques.
Do you have to lift weight to grow muscle?
Let’s look at at people who do calisthenics as an example. They don’t use any weight, yet they are incredibly fit and often have huge muscles.
I’ve also trained with circus performers and I didn’t notice any of them lifting weights. They focused on their craft, which, in turn, sculpted their muscles and made them incredibly fit.
So the answer is no, you don’t have to even lift weights to get a sculpted body.
In Pilates, we use methods 2-9 to overload the muscle in various ways progressively. You will notice that we don’t take breaks between each exercise. This is because we keep the muscle under constant tension for 30-45 minutes.
The result is the muscle becoming fatigued/challenged. We also make slight variations to each exercise to challenge the muscle differently, using different props (including weights). The result is the muscle being “progressively overloaded.”
In Yoga, we focus on building muscle by holding poses in various ways (training method #4, 5, 6, 7, 8). In my yoga sculpting classes, we use weights, which also load the muscles and helps build our muscular endurance.
In my strength-building “toning” home workouts, increasing your weight-changing reps/sets (#1) will also progressively overload the muscle.
I use various techniques like changing up the speed of an exercise, the range of motion, the application or how we perform the exercise, rest time in between sets, and the technique to build and strengthen our muscles.
Lastly, it is imperative to get proper sleep hydration, ensure hormones are balanced, and eat a healthy diet to see results. Workouts are roughly 20% of the overall big picture when trying to change body composition.
In some of my older videos, I used 2-3lb dumbbells. I am now using 12lbs dumbbells and will likely be moving up to 15lbs soon. That is why I always tell my students not to choose the weight I am using. Pick a weight that is right for you, where you are at today.
You can increase your weight as you get stronger.
If you take a class and start by using 3 lbs weights, you’ll see that a year later re-taking that same class, you can likely use 8 or 10 lbs weights! That is the result of progressively overloading the muscle (in many different ways), and now your muscle is stronger, has more endurance, and can handle more weight!
I also use many body weight-only exercises in my classes, which I learned from my calisthenics and circus coach trainers. Some of the best and most challenging workouts I’ve ever done had no weight at all.
My BYG Method is a blend of many different fitness modalites.
My home workouts combine strength, hypertrophy, and muscular endurance training while helping my members build lasting flexibility through many disciplines.
I understand the mentality of “you need heavy weights”. I worked at a gym for 17 years doing both personal training and group fitness classes. The truth, however, is unless you are body building, you don’t “need” to lift heavy weights to see results.
I have done only my online home workouts for the last five years and I love the flexibility and how simple they are.
I only work out at home and share all my workouts on my platform – I am in the best shape of my life. Being 49, in menopause, home workouts have been a life saver during this time in my life.
The BYG Method is designed to get you results at home with simple, proven, and effective training methods.
Depending on your goals, I encourage you to try my monthly challenges or one of my 10 programs! I create these challenges and programs to help you create lasting change, build muscle, and feel strong and flexible in your body. All levels are welcome!
My BYG Method is a well balanced blend of yoga, Pilates, fusion, and traditional strength training and will help you achieve great results at home!
Let’s go, Team!
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