Progressive Overload Is About the Muscle, Not the Bar

Opener

Everyone agrees on progressive overload now. Where people go wrong is in what they think they're overloading.

"I'm a progressive overload guy, so I'm always talking about the weight. But you really have to think about what you're doing. I'm trying to work my shoulders. This is a movement that works my shoulders, but just because the bar goes from here to here with a heavier weight doesn't guarantee that my shoulders got stronger."

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1. Why I build my training around it

I'm not arguing against chasing heavier weights. Getting stronger on the core movements is the backbone of how I train.

"The idea of progressive overload is near and dear to my heart, and that's always what I base my training around: getting stronger, getting stronger on the core movements. You want big triceps? Start doing heavy dips. When you can do sets of 20 with a 100-pound weight between your legs, you're going to have big triceps whether you want them or not. You want a thick back? Start deadlifting. When you're deadlifting 600 pounds for 10 reps, you can want a narrow back or a thin back, but you're going to have a thick back. You can't help it."