Paper
Progressive Overload: Increasing Repetitions vs Increasing Load
Score
Summary
Progressive overload is essential for maximizing muscle hypertrophy and strength gains. Two common methods are increasing the load lifted or increasing the number of repetitions performed. A new study compared these methods and found that both can be effective for muscle growth in untrained and trained individuals. Increasing load or reps can stimulate adaptations, allowing for increased load or reps over time, which maintains hard training and stimulates growth. However, increasing sets or training frequency may not be as effective for progressive overload, as it can lead to easier training sessions and less effective stimulation of adaptations. The key is to find a balance between increasing load, reps, and overall work to maximize muscle growth and strength gains. Facts that are helpful to readers include that reps between 6 to 35 can produce similar muscle hypertrophy, and that increasing load is likely better than increasing reps for maximizing strength gains.
Paper Conclusion summarised
Progressive overload can be achieved through increasing load or reps, and both methods can be effective for muscle growth and strength gains, but increasing load is likely better for maximizing strength gains.
TL;DR.
- To get bigger and stronger muscles, you need to challenge them more over time
- You can do this by lifting heavier weights or doing more repetitions
- It's like playing a game where you need to level up, and to level up, you need to make it harder for your muscles
- Increasing the weight or reps is like giving your muscles a harder level to play, which helps them grow and get stronger
- But just doing more sets or training more often isn't enough, you need to make sure you're challenging your muscles in each set