Mar 20 • Tips 💎
Go implement these 2 things to make more progress in the gym! 💪🏋️
See Video Below First! 👇👇👇
Why is Progressive Overload Important?
What is Progressive Overload?
Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed on the muscles over time to stimulate growth, strength, and endurance. This can be achieved through increasing weight, reps, sets, intensity, or adjusting rest periods.
Without progressive overload, your muscles adapt to the same stimulus and stop growing. The body needs a continual challenge to force muscle repair, adaptation, and strength gains.
Why is Progressive Overload Important?
1. Muscle Growth (Hypertrophy)
• To build muscle, you must challenge the fibers beyond their current capacity.
• More resistance = more muscle fiber recruitment = greater hypertrophy.
2. Strength Development
• Strength comes from neuromuscular adaptations, meaning your nervous system learns to recruit more muscle fibers efficiently.
• Increasing load over time improves your ability to generate force.
3. Prevents Plateaus
• If you lift the same weight with the same reps every workout, your progress will stall.
• Progressive overload ensures continuous improvement.
4. Enhances Endurance & Work Capacity
• Over time, increasing volume (more reps/sets) and reducing rest time improves muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
5. Strengthens Bones & Joints
• Resistance training with overload increases bone density and tendon strength, reducing the risk of injury.
6. Boosts Metabolism
• Building more muscle through progressive overload increases metabolic rate, helping with fat loss and overall energy expenditure.
How to Apply Progressive Overload
1. Increase Weight
• Example: If you bench press 100 lbs for 8 reps, next session try 105 lbs for 8 reps.
2. Increase Reps or Sets
• Example: Instead of 3 sets of 10, aim for 3 sets of 12 or 4 sets of 10.
3. Improve Rep Quality
• Slower, more controlled movements with better form and increased time under tension.
4. Reduce Rest Time
• Less recovery between sets challenges muscular endurance and conditioning.
5. Use More Challenging Variations
• Example: Moving from knee push-ups to regular push-ups, or from goblet squats to barbell squats.
Final Thoughts
Progressive overload is the foundation of continuous improvement in fitness. Without it, muscle growth, strength, and endurance stagnate. Whether through heavier weights, more reps, or better control, consistently challenging your body is key to getting stronger and building muscle over time.
Time Under Tension (TUT) for Muscle Building
What is Time Under Tension?
Time Under Tension (TUT) refers to the total amount of time a muscle is under strain during a single set of an exercise. Instead of focusing solely on reps or weight, TUT emphasizes how long your muscles are actively contracting during each rep.
For example, if you do a squat with a 2-second descent (eccentric), a 1-second pause at the bottom, and a 2-second ascent (concentric), each rep takes 5 seconds. If you do 10 reps, the total TUT for that set is 50 seconds.
Why is Time Under Tension Important for Muscle Growth?
1. Increases Muscle Fiber Recruitment
• Longer TUT forces muscles to work harder and fatigue more, leading to better activation of both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers.
2. Maximizes Muscle Hypertrophy (Growth)
• TUT helps increase metabolic stress and muscle damage, two key drivers of hypertrophy.
• Research suggests that 40-70 seconds of TUT per set is ideal for muscle growth.
3. Enhances Mind-Muscle Connection
• Slowing down reps forces you to focus on muscle engagement rather than just moving the weight.
4. Reduces Momentum, Making Muscles Work More
• Slower, controlled movements prevent reliance on momentum, making each rep more effective.
5. Improves Strength Endurance
• Prolonged tension strengthens the ability to sustain force over time, benefiting both hypertrophy and endurance training.
How to Use TUT in Your Training
1. Adjust Rep Tempo
• Example for hypertrophy: (3-1-2-0)
• 3 seconds lowering (eccentric)
• 1 second pause at the bottom
• 2 seconds lifting (concentric)
• 0 seconds at the top
2. Increase TUT in Key Movements
• Compound exercises (squats, bench press, deadlifts)
• Isolation exercises (bicep curls, leg extensions)
3. Target the 40-70 Second Range
• If you’re doing 8 reps, each rep should last 5-8 seconds for optimal muscle growth.
4. Use Different TUT Techniques
• Slow Eccentrics: Lower the weight in 3-5 seconds
• Pauses: Hold the weight at the hardest part of the lift for 1-3 seconds
• Constant Tension Reps: Avoid locking out joints to keep muscles under stress
Final Thoughts
Time Under Tension is a game-changer for muscle growth because it ensures quality reps over simply chasing heavy weights. By controlling tempo and focusing on muscular strain, you’ll see better hypertrophy, strength, and endurance gains.
To your success,
Cameron Scalzo
Founder, Sculpt & Savor 🧬
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Go implement these 2 things to make more progress in the gym! 💪🏋️
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