If you’re wanting to change what your body looks like physically then this article is for you…..
I have this discussion with my clients all the time… If you want to change your body IE – leaner, fitter, stronger, more toned and build that lean muscle then you MUST be overloading the body.
What do I mean by “overloading the body”?
OK, so what I mean or in another term is “progressive overload”. This is when we put the body through a new weight that it might not be used to. This right here is one of the absolute keys to changing your body.
Think of it like this. If we are lifting the exact same weights each and every week and not progressing and getting stronger than our bodies adapt and get comfortable and get used to it.
Instead, we aim to be lifting slightly heavier weights each and every week then what happens is we are breaking the muscle fibres down continually and the muscle is forced to grow back bigger and stronger therefore we then form a harder, more muscular overall look. And yes, girls I know what you’re thinking you don’t want lifting weights to make you look “Bulky” – oh don’t worry they won’t.
By overloading the body each week, you will in fact do the opposite. It will give you that lean, toned look that we all love.
Now let’s talk about overload. Overload doesn’t have to come in the form of lifting heavier weights each week. For me this is my priority and what I try to do each week however there always come a time when we plateau, that’s just how it works.
When we can’t lift heavier I then try to overload the body through a different way. I might increase another working set to my load so instead of 3 sets of 8 on the bench press I will now complete 4 sets of 8 that way my “load” and overall weight lifted in that session has increased.
Or what I might do is keep the weight the same but just try and lift it for more reps. For example, last week I might have got 8 reps on bench press at 130kgs so now this week I aim to get 9 or even 10 reps if I’m feeling good.
This might not sound like much but if we do this week after week for months and years then it’s the sum of these small CONSISTENT efforts that get us to where we want to be.
An important dot point I want to discuss is we don’t want to overload the body too quickly man I made this mistake in my early 20’s and would try to jack up the weight too quickly and just found myself getting consistently injured. Instead my rule of thumb is to try and increase the weight each week by 5 – 10%. I feel this is a safe number the body can handle and works well.
If you find you are struggling to increase the weight, the reps aren’t going up AND you are even struggling to decrease the rest time in between sets (so basically nothing is working to overload the body) then that right there is the absolute perfect sign to change your program and try something different
As a general rule I will follow a set program for anywhere between 6 – 10 weeks get absolutely everything I can from it via overloading the body through the above ^^^ methods then once it’s reached its peak it’s time then to switch it up.
I hope that helps team. In summary records those weights each week, don’t play the guessing game, smash your scores and watch your body change right before your eyes.
If you need some help putting a program together you can hit the link below.
https://sqfitness.com.au/custom-plans/
After filling out an online questionnaire form I will design you a custom and 100% tailored exercise program specific to your goals and what you want to achieve.
I look forward to working with you and helping you like so many others.
