02/06/2010: Making Progress - Progressive Overload
By: Andrew Darqui
-- Albert Einstein (Allegedly)
This blog entry details Progressive Overload. If you're in maintenance mode or a Lazy Block, then progress is not to be expected. Otherwise, every session should be aimed at improving some quality, this is where progressive overload comes in. Progressive overload is nothing new, but I split it up into two phases which make more sense to me.
What is Progressive Overload?
Progressive Overload is simply the act of gradually subjecting your body to more stress than it is accustomed too. These gradual increases in stress lead to adaptations by the body in order to cope with the new demands placed on it. Adaptations may take the form of strength, hypertrophy (gains in muscle size), work capacity, bone density, flexibility, conditioning (anaerobic or aerobic enzymes, vo2max, stroke volume) etc.
Progressive overload can be achieved in two ways: building work capacity (BWC) and peaking.
In general, BWC (Conditioning / GPP / Hypertrophy / Strength Phase) can be achieved by:
1. Increasing the intensity of the exercise 2. Increasing the sets of an exercise 3. Increasing the repetitions of an exercise 3b. Modifying the interval of an exercise 4. Decreasing the rest interval between sets of an exercise 5. Increasing the frequency of training sessions 6. Increasing the amount of exercises per session
Peaking ( Strength / Power / Realization Phase) can be achieved by:
1. Increasing the intensity of the exercise 2. Decreasing the total volume of an exercise 3. Decreasing the repetitions of an exercise in a set 4. Increasing the rest interval between sets of an exercise 5. Increasing OR Decreasing the frequency of training sessions 6. Decreasing the amount of exercises per session
When most people think about progressive overload, they think about the first scenario, aka, the more is better approach (building work capacity). They often forget about the second scenario, peaking, which allows one to train at a much higher intensity by reducing fatigue, increasing rest intervals (fully recovering before each exercise), training at a higher percentage of 1RM/max velocity, and better taking advantage of the body's supercompensation responses.
BWC is basically a trampoline for peaking. Without spending time building up your work capacity, peaking will suffer. One of the main objectives of BWC is to enable you to tolerate more intense training sessions. BWC is effective for building strength, increasing muscle size, improving conditioning, and improving mental toughness. Though BWC improves those qualities, it also creates a considerable amount of fatigue & soreness. This fatigue can temporarily lead to stagnation and or deterioration of power. For example, significant strength gains in a phase that produces a considerable amount of fatigue may lead to a slight increase in vert, no increase in vert, or a slight drop in vert. You're not going to see big improvements in power if your body is constantly trying to recover.
Transitioning from building work capacity to peaking allows the body to reduce fatigue, train at a higher percentage of 1RM / max velocity, realize strength & power gains, focus more on sport and skill movements, obtain more personal best's (PR's/PB's), and utilize the central nervous system (CNS) more powerfully. Gains in work capacity have no other choice than to manifest themselves during a peaking phase. As the body reduces fatigue, max strength & explosive strength will improve; this means setting PR's in the weight room and on the field.
So, progressive overload for performance becomes a give & take between building work capacity and peaking. Below I will give common sense examples of each, first off is progressive overload for building work capacity.
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD - BUILDING WORK CAPACITY:
1. Increasing the intensity of the exercise
STRENGTH: - Increasing the weight on a barbell by 5lb or 2.5kg - Going from "normal tempo lifting" to pause lifting - If you always train with a moderate tempo (3-1-2), transition into a more explosive tempo (2-0-1) - Incorporating other techniques such as drop-sets, cluster-sets, and complexes. - Adding chains to an exercise - Adding bands to an exercise
SPRINTING: - going from running shoes to track spikes/flats - utilize barefooted sprints - resisted sprinting: sled sprints, parachute sprints - overspeed training: pulley, wind - downhill sprinting on a < 6 degree decline
CONDITIONING: - Transitioning from bodyweight calisthenics to vested (weighted) calisthenics, ie weighted burpees - Adding weight to circuits with barbell, dumbell, and kettlebell complexes - Trying to maintain a new tempo on middle to long distance runs.
2. Increasing the sets of an exercise
- Increasing the sets of an exercise is an easy way to build work capacity. Adding a set to a lift, adding another sprint, or adding another round to a conditioning circuit are all examples. If your performance or strength drops off (diminishes) after say two sets, then by improving your ability so that you drop off after 3 sets leads to a direct and substantial increase in work capacity. It is just important that the quality of the exercise does not suffer drastically by adding another set. If the quality of this set is drastically reduced, you can modify the set to be of slightly lower intensity so you can build up your capacity to handle it.
3. Increasing the repetitions of an exercise
- Increasing the repetitions of an exercise might call for pushing yourself to failure. Pushing yourself to failure is alot more acceptable in a BWC block than a peaking block. A simple example of increasing the reps of an exercise is say, for example, you can achieve 3 sets of 6 on bench press. Next workout you attempt 7 reps on each set, but you may only get 7-6-6. This is fine and to be expected. Next session shoot for 7-7-7 again, but you might only get 7-7-6. Regardless, this is progress. All progress is good progress.
3b. Modifying the interval of an exercise
- Modifying the interval of an exercise usually refers to increasing or decreasing distance of a sprint or jog. For example, say you are running a 5k for time. You could then devise two intervals which, when combined together, help to improve the original exercise (5K). Running 3.5k at a higher pace than what you would run your 5k will help you get used to the demands of a new and improved pace. Attempting to run 6k at your 5k pace will maintain add in another stimulus, since at the end of your 5k you should be dead, attempting to extend it 1k more at the same pace will lead to further adaptations. Both of those intervals would be used to develop qualities beneficial to running the 5k.
4. Decreasing the rest interval between sets of an exercise
- Decreasing the rest intervals between sets allows for overloading your ability to recover. Overloading your rest intervals is a good way to improve how fast you recover. Going back to your original rest interval will now result in a more complete recovery, which leads to improved performance. Overloading rest intervals can result in beneficial structural changes to your heart, lungs, liver, enzymes, and mitochondria within muscle. Reducing rest intervals can also have a positive effect on anabolic hormones.
5. Increasing the frequency of training sessions
- Increasing the frequency of training sessions has it's limits while building work capacity. Extremely high frequency routines should not be done in these blocks due to the high volume nature of BWC. Instead, this refers more to being able to go from one intense lifting session to two, sprinting 2-3 days a week instead of one, etc. Using barbell squat as an example, one might be completely drained from one session a week. This individual might want to try and become accustomed to squatting twice a week which would be a huge improvement over only being able to squat once a week.
- Increasing the frequency of training while really pushing your work capacity deserves a little more caution than most. That is why it's essential to listen to your body and back off if you feel anything similar to tendonitis-like symptoms or extremely achy joints. For example, again using the squat, one might want to move from squatting once a week to twice weekly. A good approach to avoid overdoing it would be to oscillate the per week volume, such as:
- Increasing the amount of exercises per session is just another way to create more work. Examples of this could be adding another assistance exercise to a lifting session, adding some type of reactive drill such as alternate leg bounds before or after sprint work, or adding another barbell complex to a conditioning circuit.
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD - PEAKING:
1. Increasing the intensity of the exercise
STRENGTH: Same as BWC example SPRINTING: Same as BWC example CONDITIONING: Same as BWC example
2. Decreasing the total volume of an exercise
- As far as lifting goes, decreasing the total volume allows you to focus more on a specific lift and improve intensity per set. Usually this is done in conjunction with increasing rest intervals. A good example of this is transitioning from a traditional 5x5 to a ramped 1x5, allowing you to reduce fatigue yet still hit a true 5RM. The total number of worksets drops from five to one, yet the quality of the new work set should be higher than that achieved during the traditional 5x5. The same approach can be applied to sprinting or conditioning, by monitoring performance and not allowing it to drop off too much (<3-6%).
3. Decreasing the repetitions of an exercise
- When peaking for performance, going to failure every workout is not the best idea. Instead, going to complete failure should be used sparingly. Working up to (75% 1RM+) and including "non-psyched up" 100% RM is fine, as long as you are not trying to grind out a rep for 10 seconds. Psyched up 100% Maxes can leave you drained for weeks. When it comes to lifting, stopping a rep short of complete failure will spare you alot of fatigue.
4. Increasing the rest interval between sets of an exercise
- Rest intervals between sets can be increased to allow for more adequate recovery, unless the drill or exercise being performed requires a certain rest interval for competition. By increasing rest periods between lifts, sprints, or power exercises, you allow for the recovery of the central nervous system, replenishing important energetic resources, ridding the muscles of lactic acid if any, and improve focus.
5. Increasing OR Decreasing the frequency of training sessions
- The frequency of training can either be increased or decreased. This depends entirely on the routine being followed. Decreasing the frequency of training is easy enough to understand. When increasing the frequency of training, it is extremely important to reduce the volume per session. Any type of significant fatigue during increased frequency training should result in adding more rest days to avoid burnout. Sessions should be short, to the point, and of high quality. Rest days can be be pre-programmed, or better yet, decided upon waking that day. Excess soreness, fatigue, horrible stopwatch-doubleclick's (hehe), and increased heart rate in the morning are signs you should be resting.
6. Decreasing the amount of exercises per session
- As you get closer to peaking, getting rid of some exercises may be beneficial. Having too many assistance exercises becomes unnecessary. Sessions should become shorter with adequate rest periods, while focusing on quality over quantity. The exercises that provide the most specificity or benefit to the goal of the program deserve all of the resources. Mind you, this is a gradual process, tapering down as you near the end of the program.
8 rounds shadow boxing, felt very good.. my groin tear on my hip bone didnt act up, thought it would.. but it's definitely a small tear, burning/pinching.
safety squat bar stepups: - 40 - 40 - 30 - 35 - 40 - progress since last session, in total reps and reps per set
Haha, thx for the quick replies as usual! As u can probably see by now, I hv little understanding of how to plan or workout properly...
I decided to ditch the normal squats cos I was stagnating at 120kg, and I didn't see any gains, despite the not good, but not bad numbers. Reckoned it was due to my inability to trf or use the strength properly, ie not very explosive, so I tot some speed squatting might address tt. Didn't know it's supposed to be of higher vol either... Haha!!
The rea squats were done with a 10kg plate cos that's wat I tot rj was holdin onto in his vid, also cos my arms were abit shot.. And lastly, also cos I tot it was more an exercise of minimizing gct... Haha!!!
God I need some help haha!
I read on tvs tt sprinting and vert trainin compete for the same resources, so preferably I shud cut out the sprints?
check the REA squat link i url'd in LBSS's journal, last few pages.. barbell not plate
im not in agreement of sprinting/vert training competing for the same resources IF one is emphasized over the other.. meaning.. you can warmup with some 10 yard sprints, then do max verts, then finish off with speed work.. it won't harm anything.. short sprints will fire up the CNS.. sprints after vert are fine, they can be done all out or for tempo (getting the work in).
doing intense sprinting to the point of fatigue, prior to doing verts, is a bad idea..
sprinting helps improve strength in the glutes/quads/hamstrings/calfs.. it excites your nervous system.. it improves your limb quickness.. ankle stiffness is improved.. all of those qualities are important someway or another for SVJ / RVJ.
you just have to know when to use intense sprint sessions, or when to run submax sprints.. if you're lifting right after, you'll be fine running full speed 40's prior to the lifting.. if you're running full speed 100's though, your lifting is going to suffer.
accel's can be done before lifting without any problem imo.
nice man, ya i was hoping you'd start using some singles/MSEM.. your explosive block looked like it was regressing, and to me that's from the lack of max strength work.. I mean, even if you did a MSEM session once every 2 weeks it would be much better than nothing at all.. i'd use it once per week for now just to get that pop back that has been disappearing.. you should feel better soon and get your jumps back up, then you can decide whether to extend it to once every 2 weeks etc, but you probably wont want to. :F
the only explosive block that should not have any max strength maintenance/progression is pure shock, because that is absolutely insane, and shock itself actually takes care of MxS/ExS.
Yes , i never knew you can combine maximum lifts with small fatigue & recovery time.
ya, thats partly why im going to start blogging stuff, because when you say it on a forum in a post it can go unnoticed or skipped over.. i have like 50+ topics written down so far haha.
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Also gotta adore how much less time they take at gym. And to be honest , i missed the heavy iron ( ok , 231 is not that heavy , i know! ) Next week is final gym week , then 1 week rest and then 1 week skiing ( every day , 8am to 4pm ). After that ( and some rest ) i gotta design my next block. I think i will continue just like now , subsituting the speed squats with MSEM. Lets just see how it goes...
nice, sounds good! ya i dont like speed squats much.. i only like them as a progression for learning REA/jump squats, after that, i dont think they are needed.
nice man, ya i was hoping you'd start using some singles/MSEM.. your explosive block looked like it was regressing, and to me that's from the lack of max strength work.. I mean, even if you did a MSEM session once every 2 weeks it would be much better than nothing at all.. i'd use it once per week for now just to get that pop back that has been disappearing.. you should feel better soon and get your jumps back up, then you can decide whether to extend it to once every 2 weeks etc, but you probably wont want to. :F
the only explosive block that should not have any max strength maintenance/progression is pure shock, because that is absolutely insane, and shock itself actually takes care of MxS/ExS.
hmm, hey dude, why are u hitting out with all those reps?
trying to get back in very good condition.. i don't want to go heavy with weight training any time soon, so i have to put in alot more volume to achieve strength gains.. but with that volume im also improving my strength endurance pretty good, feeling in much better shape.
i strained my left oblique shadow boxing tho, didn't see that one coming.. i guess it was because of all that time off.. it's the oblique insertion so doesn't feel too great.. i'll see tonight.
i think im relatively strong enough... but im just not getting high enough... kinda disheartening...
workout, 1/26 & 2/5
are your workouts spaced that far apart?
why are you doing REA squats with 10kg? 10kg is so light.. REA's are done from 30-70%... i mean at least get to 30% if you feel ok.. 10kg is like 5% hehe.
your speed squats/stepups have been increasing.. how often are you doing max jumps?
why are you not including heavy squatting at least once every 2 weeks or so, i know you're in season, but, the speed squats for a top set of 3 isn't going to cut it.. also, why a top set of 3 on speed squats? that's something you'd do for max strength... speed squats need a little more volume like - 4x3 at your work-set weight.
i just don't get why everyone is completely dumping heavy squatting when they enter an explosive/in-season phase... you have to go heavy once in a while to maintain that max strength, or it'll drop.
this is a post you wrote a while back:
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hmmm,
monday; - warmup - single leg jumping (~5-8 max jumps after warmup jumps) - light single leg bounding: ~10 reps in a row for a leg, rest, 3 sets, just work on form - squat: 3-4x3 (near max triples), double leg ankle hops before each set (~5 reps), just working on form (complete triple extension) - very light REA squat: ~45 lb, 5x3, 3 minutes rest in between, work on really exploding out of the hole (dont land deep, land above parallel) - core/stretch
wednesday: - warmup - double leg jumping (~5-8 max jumps after warmup jumps) - low box barbell stepups: 3x5 (dont go max 5, especially right off the bat) - db or bb walking lunges: 2 x 5 each leg - core/stretch
alternating between these 2 schedules huh? hmmm... i tot i was doing something similar alr, as in 1 double leg exercise (squats), 1 single leg (walking lunges), light movement plyos (the rebounding box jumps), with the added core exercises and extra upper body work on my 2nd day in the week days.
why do you like speed squats? if you're doing rea/jump squat, you definitely don't need speed squatting..
and in that routine, the dont go above 45 lb thing on rea squats was temporary.. that should be light to you by now and you should have the form down.. you could step it up, as long as you're not fatigued by the end of the workout.
Blog #1: 2/05/2010: Maximal Strength Effort Method
By: Andrew Darqui
*** Keep in mind this method is intended for intermediate athletes who have plenty of experience, or advanced athletes. Beginners shouldn't play with the stuff in this blog entry. ***
When people think about performing one rep (singles), they always think about maxing out (1RM lifting). There is a method out there which utilizes single repetitions in order to improve maximal & explosive strength. This method is formally referred to as the "Maximal Strength Effort Method" (MSEM) as described by Verkhoshansky (http://www.verkhoshansky.com). I have found this method to be extremely effective, from experience in my own training & for those who I have coached.
MSEM improves Max strength (MxS) & Explosive Strength (ExS)
Improving maximal strength (MxS) & explosive strength (ExS) are both very important for athletic performance. When ExS reaches a certain limit or threshold, the most effective way to improve it further is to improve your MxS. ExS is the ability to produce maximal tension in minimal time, this is what we see in sport, whether it be jumps, acceleration, or change of direction. Simply put, if you produce the same force in less time, or produce more force in the same amount of time, you will jump higher or run faster.
MSEM improves the ability of your muscles to relax following an intense contraction
Not only does MSEM improve MxS & ExS, it also improves the ability of your muscles to relax following an intense contraction. This becomes especially important in sport, because it means you recover sooner in between explosive movements. A faster recovery allows for replenishment of high energy substrates (fuel, ATP-CP) sooner, which allows for an even more powerful contraction - this offers a significant enhancement in cyclic activities such as sprinting.
Another very important aspect of MSEM is the effect it has on your central nervous system (CNS) & musculoskeletel system. When comparing MSEM versus 5x5, MSEM leads to much less CNS fatigue, as well as barely any soreness or fatigue. In fact, from my own personal accounts with MSEM, it is a potent CNS stimulator; power and nervous system excitability are increased. This makes MSEM a perfect tool to be used in the pre-season or in-season.
MSEM increases strength without an appreciable increase in body mass
Finally, for those athletes wishing to improve power without an increase in body weight, MSEM becomes a valuable tool. Increasing power without an increase in muscle mass is not the easiest thing to do, but it can be done. Since MSEM is low volume & uses single repetitions, instead of consecutive repetitions, there simply is not enough time under tension (TUT) to cause any sort of significant hypertrophy (increase in muscle size). Instead, MSEM improves power by improving maximal strength and the rate at which muscle fibers fire (rate coding).The rate at which muscle fibers fire, has an important impact on rate force development (RFD), because this firing frequency directly affects two of rfd's main components: starting strength & acceleration strength.
MSEM can help to break out of traditional strength training ruts
Utilizing moderate/high volume + high intensity (> 75 to < 90% 1RM) strength training programs for too long can lead to negative effects on RFD & various hormones. Though traditional strength training programs (TSTP's) such as 5x5 increase lean muscle mass far better than does MSEM, TSTP's are notorious for causing RFD to "shfit to the right", in other words, TSTP's can cause one to produce more force in a greater amount of time (not good). The reason this happens is simple: Heavy consecutive repetition lifts require that the body & muscle groups involved maintain a high amount of tension for a significant amount of time, move each rep with a decreased amount of speed, and require more time & resources for the body/CNS to recover. When it comes to hormones, spending too much time in a fatigued state, especially when frequently going to failure, can lead to decreases in testosterone and increases in cortisol, which can negatively impact power production.
The graph below will illustrate my point. The explosively trained group produces a greater amount of force in less time, this is essential in sport, as most plays & movements occur in fractions of a second.
Sedentary vs. Explosively Trained vs. Excessively Strength Trained:
Grinding out rep after rep for too long can negatively impact the FORCE / TIME curve
The above paragraph is for people whose performance seems to be dropping or stagnating for far too long (~1 month). TSTP's have their place of course, they are good for general physical preparedness (GPP), hypertrophy, strength gain, etc. They can effectively be done in blocks or in conjunction with explosive training, but if done excessively and for too long, performance can suffer. So if that's your case, you might want to consider MSEM (this blog) or some other strategy (future blogs).
With MSEM, two sets of three (2 x 3) refers to:
- Set 1: Rep1, rest, Rep2, rest, Rep3 - recovery - Set 2: Rep1, rest, Rep2, rest, Rep3 - recovery
So, if we use the barbell squat in our MSEM example, this would require the barbell be re-racked after each rep, giving a brief amount of rest to shake out the legs, take deep breathes, and rid yourself of some tension. The rest you take between reps could be anywhere from 15 seconds to 1 minute.
MSEM Protocol as defined by Verkhoshansky
The two variants
Variant 1
Parameters
Sets: 2-4
Reps: 2-3 (rest between reps)
Intensity: 90-95% 1RM
Rest between reps: 15s-1min
Rest between sets: 4-6 minutes
Frequency Off-season: 1 session every 2-3 weeks
Frequency In-season: 1 session every 1-2 weeks
Variant 2 - Much more intense:
Parameters:
Sets: Wave loaded
Reps: 2-3 (rest between reps)
intensity:
Set 1: 90%
Set 2: 95%
Set 3: 100%
Set 4: 95%
Set 5: 100%
Set 6: Attempt PR
Rest between reps: 15s-1min
Rest between sets: 4-6 minutes
Frequency Off-season: 1 session every 2-3 weeks
Frequency In-season: 1 session every 1-2 weeks
MSEM is STIM, it help to PR on the field or in the weight room
I have seen success with those exact methods, and slight deviations. Instead of limiting it to 2-4 x 2-3, I've used just one set of 4-8 singles, increasing or decreasing weight by 5-10 lb. depending on how I feel after each single. When playing with MSEM, you will notice that sometimes the second and third reps feel more explosive than the first. This is a stimulatory effect, which can definitely be taken advantage of. Another stimulatory effect is seen in the performance of subsequent sets, such as the 2nd and 3rd. This is taken advantage of in Verkhoshansky's second variant.
I personally wouldn't use Variant 2 in-season for sports like basketball, tennis, baseball, football etc... Variant 2 lends itself more to track and field / weightlifting events, or sports with more time to recover in between events.
To implement MSEM, make sure you're in a strength or power block. Not a good idea to utilize MSEM sessions in a GPP block. If you're in a strength or power block, you could throw in a session once every 1-3 weeks, making sure to include adequate recovery time before AND after. For your next session following the MSEM session, test your vert or speed. Use a session like this to get rid of some fatigue, prime the nervous system, and test your performance a few days following. So, in general, start off throwing in an MSEM session once every 3 weeks, and as you get closer to trying to peak your vert utilize MSEM once every 2 weeks, then 1 week, then peak.
I've effectively used MSEM using the barbell squat for double leg jumpers, single leg jumpers, and sprinters.
Example sessions might be:
Session: - (~8 minutes) warmup - (~35 minutes) sprints / jumps / explosive stuff / something - (~45 mins) - barbell squat: MSEM: 2 x 3 OPTIONAL: db walking lunges: 2x5e (for people who love the unilaterals) - core - (~10 minutes) - stretch
MSEM can be used by sprinters, double & single leg jumpers, weightlifters, or in-season strength maintenance/improvement
If you're a single leg jumper or sprinter, and would like to try using this method with more specificity, it's a little tough but the best way to do it would be to utilize 12" barbell stepups. Alot of experience with this lift is required before hitting 90-95%. I would stay clear of 100% lifts using 12" barbell stepups. You can perform the singles on both legs, one at a time, then rest. Otherwise, as purely a jumper, you could just perform MSEM on your dominant jumping leg, and then perform lighter reps after the session on your non-dominant leg.
An example progression, incorporating upper body, utilizing MSEM in weeks 9-12:
Ok, so for people who have no idea what i'm talking about, here's a general example 12 week program which illustrates how to phase in MSEM. It includes upper body work to give an idea of how to taper it.
GPP: Weeks 1-4 STRENGTH: Weeks 5-8 POWER: Weeks 9-12 PEAK: Week 13+ F: Failure AF: Almost Failure 10e: 10 each SL: Single Leg
neutral grip pullups throughout the day: 20,19,19,18,18
at night: tons of normal pullups, lost count
safety squat bar 18" stepups: - 50 total - 30 total - 30 total - 30 total - 30 total - 1 min rest in between or so.. need to get to 10 sets of 50 - 30 total takes like 1min 30 seconds - alternating each legs for each rep
those are real good for building up lactic acid tolerance.. 10 sets of 50 with 1 min rest in between = ten 3 minute rounds.... good stuff.
going to do first blog entry on the singles things, taking stuff from my experience (& people ive trained), and great quotes from supertraining/verk.. got to find some exact quotes in supertraining, i remember them but i'd like to cite them.
Thanks man. What's an REA squat? Workout tonight consisted of two hours of indoor ultimate. My hamstrings and glutes were sore already from the SLRDLs but my whole legs are gonna be dead tomorrow, I predict. Still, it was good to shake out the rust a little and run around. Might postpone the next workout until Thursday to give some recovery time.
it's a brief freefall, followed by ballistic reversal + concentric.
can be done above parallel, no need to go deep.. much safer this way too.. just have to stay tight during the entire lift.. ie, inhale/hold breathe until almost all the way back up.
this exercise targets the isometric mainly, that brief transition period between ECC and CON... this is very important, yet often overlooked detail in SVJ/RVJ.
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