Progressive Overload in Lifting: Science-Backed Guide

Lifting Bible

Table of Contents

• Progressive Overload
• Training Close to Failure
• Rest and Concentrics/Eccentrics
• Neural Adaptation
• Workout Rep Ranges
• Mind-Muscle Connection
• Full Body Workout Plan
• Workout 1
• Workout 2
• Workout 3
• Weekly Example
• Breakdown of Muscle Groups Hit
• Recovery/Supplements
• Bulking/Cutting/Body Recomposition
• Nutrition Guidelines
• Gut Microbiome
• Alcohol and Fitness

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Progressive Overload

• This is a foundational concept you should structure your workouts around. This is a core concept that is widely held and has its roots in muscle physiology (ex: mechanotransduction), but many of the papers are locked behind paywalls unfortunately.
• This study (which I had to use my University login to access) discusses some of the physiological rationale for PO in a training program, but also acknowledges there may be some nuance in a “long term training career”.
• As the name implies, you want to progressively overload your lifts - increasing the weights and forcing your body to adapt (essentially providing a stimulus to result in your body responding by building muscle). When you first start out, this may look like increasing the weights every 1-2 sets. It can also look like increasing the weight for a workout by a few pounds every week or so.

Training Close to Failure

• It is VERY important to be training close to failure. You want to leave about 1-2 reps in reserve (RIR). Training to failure provides stimulating reps, but done in excess can leave more muscle trauma which can lead the body to focus on recovery of that instead of strength gains (If you’re really curious, you could get in depth into myofibrillar physiology)
• This field is still growing, but it is clear that training to failure leads to an accumulation of fatigue. Physiologically speaking, this study on highly trained individuals suggests that “low‐RIR training increased lower‐threshold motor unit firing rates”
• It will take time to get used to knowing if you’re pushing yourself close to failure. I personally am still learning what this is like. See more on this **
• For compound lifts (barbell squat, bench, etc), getting close to failure can be scary without a spotter. You can always ask literally anyone in the gym to spot you, or opt to do a more machine-oriented form of it
• Machine variants such as seated chest press, hack squats, leg press, etc all have mechanisms in place that make them innately safer than a free weight version.
• Some people are obsessed with super long eccentrics, but there isn’t really robust evidence that having an abnormally long eccentric leads to stimulating reps (if anything it could contribute to fatigue without the reward of quality stimulation)
• You don’t need to focus too hard on the eccentric being long: just control it to the point that it’s not a free fall or anything.
• ** A great way to know if you’re having stimulating reps approaching failure is that you have involuntary slowing of the bar path on the concentric.
• Ex: your muscles are slowed down as you bring the dumbbell up on a bicep curl (and you physically cannot lift the weight any faster, even if you tried your hardest).

Rest and Concentrics/Eccentrics

• Rest matters. On compound lifts like squats, bench, Romanian deadlifts, etc, rest 2-3 minutes. For isolation workouts like bicep curls, calf raises, etc, rest 2 minutes.
• This study on 23 male lifters suggests that “a minimum rest interval of ∼2 minutes should be recommended for maximizing gains in muscle size.”
• There is a physiological basis for a longer rest in regards to motor unit recruitment.
• You want to be explosive on the concentric (when the muscle shortens and produces force such as going up on a squat, bringing a bicep curl up, pushing a barbell off your chest on bench, etc), while controlling the eccentric (when the muscle is lengthening under resistance, such as letting the bicep curl back down, bringing the barbell bench press down to your chest, etc).
• Some people are obsessed with super long eccentrics, but there isn’t really robust evidence that having an abnormally long eccentric leads to stimulating reps (if anything it could contribute to fatigue without the reward of quality stimulation)
• You don’t need to focus too hard on the eccentric being long: just control it to the point that it’s not a free fall or anything.
• ** A great way to know if you’re having stimulating reps approaching failure is that you have involuntary slowing of the bar path on the concentric.
• Ex: your muscles are slowed down as you bring the dumbbell up on a bicep curl (and you physically cannot lift the weight any faster, even if you tried your hardest).

Neural Adaptation

• Neural adaptation is the process by which your neurons basically become better at lifting through a handful of mechanisms (improved coordination, improved firing rate, CNS adaptation, etc). This allows you to have strength gains WITHOUT increases in muscle mass. This does, however, approach a limit. (some say a few weeks into resistance training). After this point, increases in strength are primarily a result of gaining muscle mass.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: you can gain strength without gaining muscle mass (neural adaptation), but you CANNOT gain mass WITHOUT gaining strength.
• With this in mind, it is safe to assume that if you’ve been lifting for a few weeks/months, and you are consistently progressively overloading and increasing your lifts, you are adding muscle mass. This may be by the gram, but you’re still having hypertrophic gains.
• This can be viewed as evidence that neural adaptation initially drives strength gains, while hypertrophy follows with continued training.
• In practice, this means that early gains may be more neurologically driven, but visible size increases typically follow with continued progressive overload.

Workout Rep Ranges

• Below I have a 3x a week full body split. Based on the literature, I believe 3x full body OR 4x upper/lower are the most ideal splits. I would recommend 3x full body for most everyone in the beginning of resistance training, but it does come down to preference/availability. I personally do a 4x U/L, so I am happy to share that also.
• You will notice these workouts are not in the high rep ranges. The findings in this meta analysis indicate that the most efficient weekly volume of sets is about 5-10 sets per muscle group, with 4-6 sets per muscle group per workout.
• For those in the stimulating reps model camp (like me), it is thought that high repetition workouts have a less efficient stimulus-fatigue ratio (those reps are more fatiguing than stimulating, and too much volume can actually have an adverse effect on strength/hypertrophy gains). High rep workouts aren’t intrinsically bad, they’re just less efficient at building both strength and muscle compared to moderate reps as they have diminishing returns. Keep in mind this is specifically in the context of hypertrophy/strength gains. There is nuance for endurance training, physical training rehab, etc.
• The current body of literature is growing, and the aforementioned meta analysis (which examined 67 studies across 2,058 participants) is the basis of this specific workout plan.
• This workout plan is not the “perfect” workout plan. It is merely an example of an efficient, moderate volume split.

Mind-Muscle Connection

• PO is far more researched and important than mind-muscle connection. I honestly could not find many studies (that were not behind a paywall) on the mind-muscle connection.
• There was this interesting one (locked by a paywall) that investigated the effects of internal focus (concentrating on muscle contraction) versus external focus (focusing on lifting the weight) during resistance training. Over eight weeks, untrained participants performed biceps curls and leg extensions. The group employing an internal focus experienced a 12.4% increase in biceps muscle thickness, while the external focus group saw a 6.9% increase. However, no significant differences were observed in quadriceps growth between the groups, which suggests that the mind-muscle connection may enhance muscle growth in certain muscles.
• I would not base a majority of your training on a single 8 week study - especially since I cannot see the methodologies in depth (to no fault of the researchers, as that is a result of corrupt and greedy academic journals).
• It appears to be beneficial (in the context of an 8 week span, mind you) to have some sort of internal focus on muscle contraction. There really seems no reason not to try to focus on the muscle you are working on, but do not stress yourself out/over analyze your lifts with an obsession on this. Progressive Overload is king.

Full Body Workout Plan

Workout 1

• Barbell Back Squat
• 3 x 5-8 reps
• Rest 2-3 mins. Interchangeable with Hack Squats if preferred
• Barbell Bench Press
• 4 x 5-8 reps
• Rest 2-3 mins
• Bicep Cable Curls
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Seated Rows
• 4 x 5-8 reps
• Rest 2 mins
• Overhead Press
• 3 x 5-8 reps
• Rest 2-3 mins
• Standing Calf Raises
• 4 x 8-10
• Rest 2 mins
• The best form based on recent literature is actually not not a full range of motion, but is a lengthened partial. It’s kind of hard to explain via text but can be seen easily through a quick yt video
• I actually think training calves to be big is a social media gimmick. That being said, I have drank the kool aid and now want massive calves myself, and I also train them to help my ankle/knee, since I have issues with them.

Workout 2

• Leg Press
• 4 x 5-8 reps
• Rest 2-3 mins.
• Skull Crushers
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Lat Pulldowns
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Romanian Deadlifts
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2-3 mins
• Face Pulls
• 4 x 8-10
• Rest 2 mins
• Weighted Crunches
• 4 x 8-10
• Rest 2 mins
• Something to note: you’re going to be hitting your core on virtually every compound lift (squat, bench, etc) as you engage it to do those workouts. You really don’t need to have a super focused isolation of your core.

Workout 3

• Hip Thrusts
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2-3 mins
• Incline Barbell Bench
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2-3 mins
• Hamstring Curls
• 4 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Preacher Curls
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Tricep extensions
• 3 x 5-8
• Rest 2 mins
• Lateral Raises
• 4 x 8-10
• Rest 2 mins
• Standing Calf Raises
• 3 x 8-10
• Rest 2 mins
• Lengthened partial form
• Honestly I don’t think calf development is that big of a deal. This is the only day with 7 total lifts, so if you have the time and want to train calves this day then go for it, however it can easily be cut off.

Weekly Example

• You will want to allow about 48 hrs between workouts.
• EX:
• Monday: Workout 1
• Tuesday Rest
• Wednesday: Workout 2
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: Workout 3
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off
• You can play with this per your own schedule. I would also recommend incorporating some sort of cardiovascular exercise on an off day, such as running/swimming/biking.
• Do NOT do significant cardio close to a resistance training session. If you really want to/must, you can do it on the same day, but there needs to be a significant gap of hours between those sessions.

Breakdown of Muscle Groups Hit

I had chat gpt break down this workout split into muscle groups to evaluate their ranges after uploading that meta analysis in the gpt pro model:

Recovery/Supplements

• High quality sleep is an absolute must, regardless of your specific goals (gaining mass, cutting weight, etc). It is THE foundation of recovery and health. Shoot for around 8-9 hours a night, with 7 being the absolute minimum.
• I personally drink 1 cup of tart cherry juice (TCJ) before bed each night. There is not a massive body of literature on this, but there are some interesting studies. This study found that among 8 people with insomnia, TCJ improved sleep time and efficiency, and they attributed this to the anti-inflammatory compounds in the drink (specifically procyanidin B-2). TCJ also increased tryptophan availability - more on that later
• This randomised, double-blind study on 20 volunteers found that “There were significant increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency total (P < 0.05) with cherry juice supplementation”. While I cannot access the data section of the paper because of a paywall (I hate locking science behind money), they found that melatonin levels were significantly increased through TCJ supplementation.
• This is actually fascinating because TCJ only contains micrograms (.001mg) of melatonin (the average store supplement has 5-10 milligrams). Tryptophan is a precursor to melatonin, so while TCJ does not contain significant quantities of melatonin itself, it appears to lead to a higher production of melatonin.
• Another (near) absolute must is taking creatine monohydrate. It is perhaps the MOST well researched fitness “supplement”. There is overwhelming evidence supporting creatine. The more it is researched, the more I think everyone (barring medical issues such as edema, chf, ckd, liver disease, etc) should probably be taking it. It significantly improves strength and muscle gains, while also showing cognitive improvement (it can even improve sleep-deprived cognitive performance). I have heard that it has a particularly beneficial impact on women's cognitive performances, but I was unable to find a study to cite for that specific claim.
• It is cheap, easy to consume, and the benefits are great. It draws water into muscle cells, so when you first start out you may be thirstier than normal/gain up to abt 5 lbs of water weight. If you are beginning, you can do a “loading phase” where you take 20g/day (divided into 4 doses) for 5-7 days to rapidly saturate muscle creatine stores before going to 5g a day, but honestly I would just consume 5g a day - before each workout, or on off days during your biggest meal.

Bulking/Cutting/Body Recomposition

• The concepts of bulking and cutting have run rampant in the fitness spheres, but the more research that is done the more we are realizing that cyclical cutting (caloric deficit) and bulking (caloric surplus) phases might not be optimal and may be unnecessary for fat-loss and muscle gain respectively.
• For example: those who are new to lifting (ex: 0-2 years of consistent resistance training) can more easily undergo what is called body recomposition, in which the body is able to gain muscle mass and lose fat content simultaneously.
• Caveat: Body recomposition occurs in trained individuals (3+ yrs of training) but occurs to a higher degree in lesser trained individuals.
• It is a very complex process that is not well understood. Take this excerpt from a meta analysis on body recomposition:
• “Generally, caloric deficits are prescribed for individuals seeking to lose FM (fat mass) and caloric surpluses are recommended for those seeking to maximize muscle mass accrual (23,54,61,73). Although this is common practice, there is evidence that challenges this approach and suggests there may be alternative strategies to improve body composition (3,4,40,42). For instance, there are data showing significant gains in FFM (fat-free mass) and reductions in FM while in a caloric surplus (21). In addition, significant body recomposition has been demonstrated in hypocaloric studies (40,42). Recently, Slater et al. (61) questioned the necessity of a hypercaloric intake to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy in conjunction with RT. The mechanisms that may explain the body recomposition phenomena are not well understood.”
• “In fact, RT studies have demonstrated body recomposition in which nutrition was controlled and/or manipulated. More specifically, some of these studies increased the participant's caloric intake, primarily from dietary protein (3,13,21). For example, Antonio et al. (3) investigated the effects of a very high-protein diet (HP 3.4 g/kg) compared to a “normal protein” diet (NP 2.3 g/kg) on body composition in well-trained men and women in conjunction with heavy RT. The participants underwent an RT program (upper-lower split) 5 days per week for 8 weeks and both groups gained a significant, yet equal amount of FFM (1.5 kg). Interestingly, the HP group, which was consuming an additional ∼495 calories per day, lost significantly more FM than the NP group (−1.6 versus −0.3 kg). The authors highlighted the large interindividual variability, which is important for practitioners to be aware of. For instance, in both groups, some subjects gained up to 7 kg of FFM while losing 4 kg of FM concomitantly. However, some subjects actually lost FFM and gained FM. Their data suggest that ∼70% of subjects improve their overall body composition when implementing high-protein diets.”
• This is a lot to take in at once. TLDR: Combining a high protein diet and resistance training can result in gains of fat-free mass while also reducing fat mass.
• This can occur even in a caloric surplus
• You do NOT need a caloric surplus to gain muscle though, however.

Nutrition Guidelines

• Generally speaking: aim for 80% of your diet to be whole foods
• If you want to do a bunch of math, you can do the Mifflin-St. Jeor Equation, based on this 1990 paper. However, after doing all this math, I got the EXACT same result by following the general calculations below*.
• Females: (10weight [kg]) + (6.25height [cm]) – (5*age [years]) – 161
• Males: (10weight [kg]) + (6.25height [cm]) – (5*age [years]) + 5
• Multiply by scale factor for activity level:
• Sedentary *1.2
• Lightly active *1.375
• Moderately active (I personally did this. While I lift 4x a week and swim 1x a week, I am sedentary at work for 9 hours a day.) *1.55
• Active *1.725
• Very active *1.9
• Your specific fitness goals will dictate your nutrition. Specifically for me, I want to primarily focus on fat loss, and secondarily focus on muscle gain, so I have a high protein diet with a small caloric deficit.
• I weigh about 188 ± 3ish lbs (water weight fluctuates a bit with creatine usage and sodium levels)
• *Since I am cutting, high protein intake matters more. I eat 1.2g of protein per lb of body weight (188x1.2), so I aim to eat about 220g of protein a day (it sucks ngl)
• Carbs and fats are vital macronutrients for energy and hormone regulation respectively. I personally do not fixate on a number for them, as in my experience they sort of fall into place after counting protein/total Calories, but feel free to adjust them per your own desires. I do find that I get irritable if I eat a protein-dense lunch with little to no carbs, so I generally aim for some at midday.
• *I eat about 13x my body weight in calories for a deficit, so 13 x 188 ≈ 2500 Calories.
• In tracking my own progress, I am more concerned with the progressive overload of my lifts (see note on neural adaptation) and my physique than the number on the scale. For example
• I may lose about .5lb of fat a week, but I could be gaining .25lb of muscle mass, so in that case simply looking at the scale alone is insufficient.
• If your goal is to gain muscle mass/strength, I would do about 16x your body weight in lbs and eat about 1g of protein per lb of body weight.
• In this case as well, I would not fixate on the scale being the sole means of tracking progress. I believe that progressive overload would be a better indicator after a few weeks of lifting, but I still would encourage weighing in daily and notating it .
• There is some thought that you really don’t need but .8x your bw in protein for a bulk, but again if you are wanting to do body recomposition rather than a bulking/cutting phase, then a high protein diet is key.
• The literature indicates there is no practical limit to the amount of protein the body can use in a single meal for anabolic purposes. Do not listen to the meatheads who speak of some mythical 30g limit.
• Some argue for a bulking phase with abt 17x your bw, but again you do NOT need a massive caloric surplus to gain muscle, if any surplus really and truly.
• You could even do 15x your body weight for total Calories if adding muscle while minimizing fat is a specific goal.
• In this case, if you find yourself struggling to do progressive overload over the course of a few weeks, try adding 100-200 more calories a day. The notion that you need a large caloric surplus to gain muscle is completely outdated.

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• Gut Microbiome
• The gut microbiome is unfathomably complex - there is so much we do not yet know.
• What we do know, however, is that it can have systemic impacts on our health and physiology.
• Because of the fitness/supplement industry, we have been conditioned to associate “gut healthy” foods with probiotics like yogurt. While the bacteria in yogurt has been shown to be beneficial, not many of the bacteria survive the entire digestive process, nor are they all equipped for the harsh gut environment. While I myself eat at least 1 serving of greek yogurt a day (mainly for the protein), it is highly beneficial to focus on prebiotic fibers, rather than solely probiotics.
• Prebiotic fibers are essentially food for our (beneficial) gut microbes. They are found in vegetables, fruits, and grains.
• These fibers cannot be digested by our intestines, but are fermented by our gut bacteria.
• The gut bacteria ferment these fibers into short chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
• SCFAs play a massive role in protecting against disease through regulating the immune system.
• With regards to resistance training, there appears to be limited research. This nationwide Taiwanese study on dietary fiber intake and physical performance in older adults found that dietary fiber intake was positively correlated with grip strength and physical performance.
• Studies on mice found that SCFA’s play a role in skeletal muscle mass and physical function. One of these studies writes “Collectively, these studies suggest that increasing gut bacterial SCFA production may positively affect skeletal muscle mass and physical function in humans.”
• TLDR
• Fiber is VITAL for our gut function, immune health, and it appears to have a positive impact on skeletal muscle gains. Current recommendations are 14g per 1000 Calories.
• To learn more about nutrient density and what foods are good sources of fiber/nutrients, check out Nutrivore.

Alcohol and Fitness

• Alcohol is terrible for fitness and physique goals. I say this not as a teetotaler, but as someone who loves bourbon, beer, wine, mead, etc. It hinders both muscle growth and fat loss. When you consume a meal alongside alcohol, your body will metabolize the alcohol first, since it is quite literally a poison, impacting nutrient absorption. Alcohol is also pretty calorically dense, but nutritionally empty (some beers have solid amounts of B vitamins and antioxidants but I think that’s pretty overshadowed by the fact you’re drinking a poison, albeit a poison that we have evolved alongside to consume. Look up the drunk monkey hypothesis for an interesting view on evolutionary biology and alcohol dehydrogenase).
• I do not feel a need to cite studies here. It is not a controversial or nuanced debate: any amount of alcohol is bad for you. It is a (tasty) poison.
• 1g of pure alcohol is 7 Calories per gram, but you can probably find nutrition info for most servings of most drinks.
• That being said, you can still drink. Depending on your fitness/physique goals, you just need to be mindful of your consumption.
• Avoid drinking on days where you are lifting weights.
• Account for alcohol in your calories
• The lowest calorie options are going to be light beer, dry wines, and neat spirits.
• An easy way to have a low cal mixed drink could be a tequila/vodka diet soda, as that only has about 100 Calories.
• Craft beer is unfortunately higher in calories among most hard drinks, so it’s pretty hard to pursue a lean physique while regularly drinking it.
• Particularly things like stouts/porters, which are high in abv and sugar.
• There may be days/nights where you have more than your normal caloric intake.

If/when this happens, do not beat yourself up. The Bible associates wine with joy and celebration (while clearly condemning drunkenness). Read Ecclesiastes 9. Verse 7 says “ Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart”. Do not forget to live life. If this leads to you having more calories than you aim for, do not fixate on this. Just move on to the next day!