If you’ve been working out for a while but feel like you’re not making any progress, you’re not alone. One of the biggest reasons people find themselves plateauing in the gym is that they don’t progress the challenge, leaving themselves stuck with slow or nonexistent improvements, with a lot of potential strength and fitness gains left on the table.
You might have experienced this firsthand: months of consistent training, yet your results aren’t far from where you started. Understanding why this happens and how to fix it is key to unlocking your fitness potential.
Why Does This Happen?
The human body is incredibly efficient at conserving energy. This survival mechanism dates back to our hunter-gatherer days, where energy was precious, and conserving it could mean the difference between life and death. Your body wants to spend as little energy as possible, saving reserves for when they’re truly needed.
When you introduce a new stimulus, such as lifting a certain weight or running a specific distance, your body responds by expending energy to adapt, making you stronger or fitter. This adaptation allows you to meet the challenge more efficiently in the future. However, if the challenge doesn’t progress, your body stops adapting and reverts to saving energy instead, in case you can’t find food later (even though this is unlikely to be an issue in modern times).
This is why sticking to the same routine without increasing the intensity or difficulty leads to stagnation. Without progression, your body has no reason to improve further.
How to Fix It: The Power of Progressive Overload
The solution to this problem lies in a principle called progressive overload, which involves gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts over time to ensure your body continues to adapt.
Progressive overload can be implemented in various ways, with the most common options being:
- Increasing the Weight Add a small amount of weight to your lifts, such as ½ a kilogram. This incremental increase ensures a manageable challenge without overwhelming your body.
- Do More Reps Perform one more repetition than you did in your previous session is another very common approach. For instance, if you did eight push-ups last time, aim for nine today.
- Extend The Distance Running an extra 20 meters or cycling an additional 100 meters will encourage your body to keep up by adapting your cardio system, which will make a big difference over time.
- Progress the Difficulty of an Exercise This approach involves modifying the exercise itself to increase its challenge. For example, you could transition from using a leg press machine to performing back squats. Similarly, if you’re using a recliner exercise bike, progressing to an upright bike will increase the challenge.
No matter which method you choose, the key is to consistently aim for a little more than your previous session. This continuous progression gives your body the stimulus it needs to develop strength, endurance and overall fitness.
A Common Pitfall: Progressing Too Quickly
While progressive overload is essential, it’s important to avoid increasing the challenge too rapidly. Progressing too fast can outpace your body’s ability to adapt, leading to compromised form, safety risks, and potential injuries.
For example, if you’re bench pressing 20kg and add 2kg each week, you would reach 28kg in just four weeks. If 20kg was already close to your limit, this rapid increase could overwhelm your body, leading to poor technique and putting you at risk of injury.
Instead, focus on gradual percentage-based changes. For instance:
- If you’re running 2km, adding 20 meters is just a 1% increase. This small, manageable progression allows your body to adapt without being overtaxed.
- Similarly, if you’re lifting 20kg, increasing the weight by 1kg represents a 5% increase, which is too large a jump to sustain week on week. So in this instance, you may be better to try for additional reps, with a plan to increase the weight by 1kg and to drop back to 10 reps every time you get to 12 reps on the previous weight.
By keeping your progress incremental, you ensure consistent improvement while minimizing the risk of setbacks.
Conclusion
Progress in the gym doesn’t happen by accident — it requires intentional effort and smart planning. The principle of progressive overload ensures that your workouts remain challenging enough to drive adaptation without overwhelming your body.
Remember, progress won’t always be linear. Some days you’ll hit your targets, and other days you won’t — and that’s okay. The key is to consistently aim for a little more than last time. By doing so, you’re giving your body the stimulus it needs to grow stronger and fitter.
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