OVERLOAD IT!!!!!

Progressive overload is a very simple concept but it is crucial - it lays the foundation upon which resistance training is built.

This principle refers to continually increasing the demands on the musculoskeletal system in order to continually make gains in muscle size, strength and endurance. In simplest terms - In order to get bigger and stronger you must continually lift more and more and make your muscles work harder than they are used to. If you don't, your muscles will not become any stronger or bigger than they currently are.

For those individuals whose efforts are to change the appearance of their bodies, the main reason for failure is EFFORT, or lack thereof. Instead of creating progressive overload or forcing the body to do more than it's accustomed to, they simply go through the motions and maintain what they have. Once the body has gotten used to a particular intensity of exercise, you’ve got to up the ante and add some difficulty to the exercise by either adding weight, manipulating the angle of the exercise

If the demands on your muscles are not at least maintained and are actually decreased, your muscles will become smaller and weaker. To get bigger and stronger; you need to place even more demands on your muscles until you've reached your genetic potential.

1 - Increase Resistance

Progressively increase the weight you lift as you become stronger and the weight becomes easier. A good indicator of when to increase the resistance is when you are able to perform more than your target repetitions (e.g. your lifting program calls for sets of 10 repetitions but you are able to get to 11).

2 - Increase Sets

Increase the number of sets you perform for a given exercise. Instead of 2 or 3 sets maybe you'll want to increase to 3 or 4 in order to really fatigue the muscle(s).

3 - Increase Repetitions

Increase the number of repetitions you perform for a given exercise. Don't stop yourself at some magical number - Push yourself to do 1 or 2 more reps with the aid of a spotter if necessary. If you are able to get those extra reps completely by yourself and it is higher than your target rep range then you know it's time to increase the resistance.

Push Harder.. aim Higher