Progressive overload is a fundamental principle in sports conditioning that involves gradually increasing the demands on the body to stimulate physiological adaptations and improvements in performance. Key principles include incrementally increasing intensity, volume, and complexity of training over time, while allowing for adequate recovery periods. This approach prevents plateaus and encourages continual progress. Using progressive overload you can adjust variables like weight, repetitions, sets, and rest intervals to ensure a gradual but challenging progression.
The key to avoid injury while using the principle of progressive overload is to make gradual and controlled increases over the training stimulus which will promote steady improvements over a period of time. Its important to monitor your progress, rest well between workouts and make adjustments as and when needed. You may want to also consider your nutrition as you will be using more energy, working harder and may need to feed your recovery as well as your workouts. Always prioritize proper technique and avoid excessive increases that could lead to injury. And remember not every session has to be a personal best.
Examples of progressive overload could be going from a bodyweight squat, to a kettlebell squat, to a barbell squat, to a single leg squat. Or it could be over a period of 6 weeks you consistently add a bit more extra weight to your barbell squat.
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