I discovered this after repeating the weight with DB shoulder press over the course of 2 training blocks. Sometimes you have to stay in the pocket and become more comfortable with the weight. It's like if you're revising for a Maths test, you don't just revise a concept once and that's it, you know it all, you keep revising over and over again so it sinks in. Took me well over a decade to understand this point.
Same. I used to think repeating the same weights and reps meant something was wrong lol. Basically led to me peaking my strength over and over again and not making progress.
This is exactly correct. Most people either fall under one of two categories, like you said, they either emphasize weight on the bar at all costs, or they emphasize the stretch and form and ROM and volume with no thought to progression. But when you can progressively overload with those other variables like good form and full rom, and take your time with it, that’s where the money is
Can absolutely agree that sometimes that extra plate is unnecessary and sometimes downright detrimental. Getting strong and confident with a weight has given me more progress than staying on the bleeding edge of my possible strength. Ego lifting does exist 😢
I think a good analogy would be 0-60 for cars. It used to be a metric for how "good" a car's performance was. Then manufacturers started to specialize in their 0-60 but this did not automatically translate to a better overall performance. And inevitably it started to come at the cost of max speed, fuel efficiency, handling characteristics, etc etc. Nowadays all 0-60 tells you about a car is how good it is in a 0-60.
0-60 is still fine for naturally aspirated cars, because launch control is just a clutch dump (cause cars these days don't have a clutch for you to manually operate). It is the turbocharged cars where you can play around with boost to get deceptively better numbers
I'm finding that eventually I need more recovery between workouts because of how much a deep stretch can do to your muscles. You can become incredibly conditioned to certain things and the only way to really progress is turning up one of the many dials. Pausing with a deep stretch is one of those dials that I've been doing instinctively (and for some push lifts skipping the lockout for most of the reps). I can skip the lockout on my presses and hammer the snot out of my triceps separately. Practically, the appearance of progressive overload might be a perceived plateau. However, you could still be making a ton of muscle gains while 'doing the same thing'. Sometimes that quantity in your log book is not showing you that nuance and it takes patience to see the demonstrated increase in reps or weight. 💪
It’s criminal that this man is not over 100k subs. Like subscribe and comment for the algorithm guys. Faz is a real one and we need to elevate his channel.
It's really good with the lifting straps! 😂 Tell you what's crazy, we're getting 4 new Prime pieces in soon. 2 back and 2 chest 😬 I'm still in disbelief at this gym
My younger brother (17) got into working out. Didn’t wanna follow my advice cuz it’s hard. Lifted 6 days a week 5 months hardly any results. His workouts were fluff and pump kind of stuff. No focus on overload. Asked me what’s going on. Asked him if he tracked workouts- nope, asked if he’s stronger “I don’t focus on weight I’m not a power lifter). Set him on a program - he still wants to go 6 days a week (I do 5) he liked push pull legs. Took his bench from 85 lbs to 135 lbs for 8 leg press from 1.5 plates per side to 3 for 10. All I did was set up a basic 3x10 etc protocol. It’s been 3 months and he’s looking way different! I also only noticed a difference in my chest size taking my bench from 185 for reps to 250 for reps. Haven’t deadlifted in years so maybe I’ll give that a shot for my back. But mostly do lat pulldowns. And rows.
Goodharts law: When a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure. As an (ex?) teacher Faz will be more than familiar with the dangers of teaching to the test.
Ex yeah. I haven't been in a classroom for 8 years at this point. On that note unfortunately due to government interaction that is how subjects are taught. One of the reasons I left.
This is really useful for things like shrugs/calf raises/forearm training, where you have small ranges of motion and you can keep squeezing out smaller and smaller reps. Because you can easily trick yourself into thinking you hit your target reps. The best thing I've found for those exercises is to only progress weight when you hit the target reps easily.
Yep, but also I'd say with regards to progressive overload part of the misunderstanding is that people don't understand that all we can really do is wait for the adaptation to occur. We can't force it, and I think people don't have realistic expectations in that regard, especially with the smaller exercises. Just do the work, and wait for the adaptation to occur. It'll take as long as it takes.
Where Smolov??? I realise that you do mention that we aren't discussing powerlifting here, but I do wonder if some strength principles could be applied here. I am reminded of Doug Hepburn's later work, where he would switch between Rep schemes when strength gains stalled, (A routine was singles, B routine was triples). I think that this approach is a) a good way to introduce variation to stop you stalling out, but also, b) a good way to "reset" and reintroduce good form etc. More-over, the other lesson to be learnt from Hepburn progressions is that progressive overload is not just adding weight or reps, it can also take other forms. Hepburn progressions are typically based off density, which allows you to stick with and get comfortable with the same weight.
It's easy, if you're already strong at that lift but you don't do the full range of motion just try instead of upping or lowering the weight. Try to up your reps to 25 or 30 with the weight. It will be easier to get the full range of motion because it's a lower percentage of your one rep max. Then try to get accustomed and then keep progressive overloading
A really core message for bodybuilding. Do you think at some core lifts doing first a top set with some controlled amount of slopiness (of course not with dangerous ones) to chase prs with the aim of satisfying my psyche and also waking up my nervous system and then doing with less weight the normal hypertrophy sets, still with the goal of progressive overload is a good concept? Also I feel the initial heavy dynamic set maked the wright feel much lighter afterwards, I think they call it post activation potentiation.
I mixed conjugate with bodybuilding i do a bodybuilding 4 day split constantly rotating main movement but instead of working up to a max i get volume with the main movement i do 3 sets of 8 with the same weight then on 3rd set i do amrap today i did 3 sets of 8 & 10 on last with 285 plus 70 to 80 pounds of band tension
Hey Faz, I'm a detrained lifter who took about 8 months off due to school. I'm back to training for 1.5 months now, but my strength is way down and is coming back extremely slowly. Should I try to regain my former strength using lower reps until I get back to where I was, or just use higher reps and suffer the slow strength retention. I'm finding my mass is coming back faster using 5-8 reps, but what used to be my 12-rep max is now my 4-rep max.
Yeah, pull back on volume mate. You're better off doing a lot less with great intensity than trying to recover from a lot more with a half arsed effort and joint degradation. Ignore the usual 10-20 set recommendations, you can go a lot lower.
Good man 👍 As per my first few years of training I was actually gaining very well on about 3 sets per bodypart per week. Obviously I was young then but shows you what's possible.
I feel a major stumbling block for adding weight too soon is that a lot of well know beginner programs don’t tend to make any mention of the quality aspect you mentioned. It’s normally just a case of ‘when you hit x reps, add weight’. It’s one of those obvious things that you should ensure the quality is there before jumping up, but I think so much beginner focused info (and especially linear progression info) can come across as just ‘add 5lb at all costs!’ That it’s easy to see why adding weight takes priority in a lot of cases.
Really good point here. The casual strength brands (5x5, 531 any powerbuilding) which came out of the 2000 to 2010 era really screwed people. They had a lasting damaging effect which persisted for years.
@@Fazlifts Yep, exactly the type of programmes I was thinking of because I’ve done all that stuff and made all those mistakes! And the thought-process/solution to not hitting the target reps a couple of times was typically ‘I’ve plateaued, best reset the weight by 10-20% and work back up’. If only the gospel of Faz was being spread around more widely several years ago 🙏😄
Tbf to Wendler, my reading of 531 told me I was only supposed to add weight if all my top sets were righteous. Now obviously ppl were going to ignore that and add weight anyway, but if he is responsible for that then maybe Faz is responsible for promoting lengthened partials! 😂
Progressive overload is a myth.😮 Hear me out! So, PO suggests that muscle growth potential is exponential. 😅 Even Eddie Hall has a Personal Best which he will never beat. This is why guys hit the juice.😅 We only have a finite number of muscle molecules. We can strengthen fibres etc... The body adapts. The body will adapt to lifting heavy because the goal is to move the object. These adaptations don't necessarily mean huge gains in muscle size. To make the muscles grow to their full potential you need to isolate them, stimulating them on a natural plane of movement with as little assistance from other muscles as possible.😊 You will find that weight increases incrementally but at a subtle and slow rate but significant because you begin really really light. You also build tendon resistance and protect joints. Lifting heavy places too much abnormal load on joints, ultimately killing gains through injury and pain. In my 53 years, I've tried many versions of training from powerlifting to callesthenics. Now back in the traditional bodybuilding gym, I happened on a method of training with super light weights and low (not high) reps. This is because every rep is a journey: a serious exercise in focus. The results? Best muscle gains ever, especially in my traditionally poor areas such as quads. I have stretch marks on my quads!😮 Fun fact: if I do switch to heavier weights I find that I can go heavier than I could before and with way way more control. An example: I'm doing standing clad raises on a machine with 5kg on each side. A dude comes on after and puts 25kg on each side then complains to me that his calves won't grow. He sees mine (17.5") and despite admiring them, rejects my suggestion that he lowers the weight and gets a fuller range of stretch. Why? Exactly what you've been saying.
That is LITERALLY THE WHOLE POINT of the video bro. By employing the techniques I'm talking about here you DELAY the reliance on weight increments as your only form of progressive overload, and make the most out of every weight increment :)
@@Fazlifts interesting video, I don’t really disagree much here. Adding weight to the bar is extremely important. My stance is still that your ability to add weight while staying in the same rep range is determined when the muscular adaptations made from your previous workout sessions allow you to do so. If PO was the cause, you should expect to see infinite linear progress because you could just force more growth by adding an extra 5lbs to the bar each time.
“What I’m calling for is some moderation” Boooooring, tell me which thing is good and which thing is bad so I don’t have to think about what I’m doing or try hard
On the real, I like the idea of having different qualities you look for different lifts before progressing the load. I think a lot of people try to act as though every lift is simply pulling limbs across your torso with weight attached, where practically there’s these little nuances that might make you prioritize certain things in an exercise differently than others
I discovered this after repeating the weight with DB shoulder press over the course of 2 training blocks. Sometimes you have to stay in the pocket and become more comfortable with the weight. It's like if you're revising for a Maths test, you don't just revise a concept once and that's it, you know it all, you keep revising over and over again so it sinks in. Took me well over a decade to understand this point.
Same. I used to think repeating the same weights and reps meant something was wrong lol. Basically led to me peaking my strength over and over again and not making progress.
Its like mastering the weight? 🤔
This is exactly correct. Most people either fall under one of two categories, like you said, they either emphasize weight on the bar at all costs, or they emphasize the stretch and form and ROM and volume with no thought to progression. But when you can progressively overload with those other variables like good form and full rom, and take your time with it, that’s where the money is
👏🍻
It's crazy this channel doesn't have more subscribers. Faz gives it straight but with a lot of compassion.
The fact that you all are subbed is enough 🫡
The word is spreading
Can absolutely agree that sometimes that extra plate is unnecessary and sometimes downright detrimental. Getting strong and confident with a weight has given me more progress than staying on the bleeding edge of my possible strength. Ego lifting does exist 😢
I think a good analogy would be 0-60 for cars. It used to be a metric for how "good" a car's performance was. Then manufacturers started to specialize in their 0-60 but this did not automatically translate to a better overall performance. And inevitably it started to come at the cost of max speed, fuel efficiency, handling characteristics, etc etc. Nowadays all 0-60 tells you about a car is how good it is in a 0-60.
Solid analogy I like it
Goodhart's law.
0-60 is still fine for naturally aspirated cars, because launch control is just a clutch dump (cause cars these days don't have a clutch for you to manually operate). It is the turbocharged cars where you can play around with boost to get deceptively better numbers
Antoher good video. As always, truth is in the middle, not the extremes.
Waiting for that one time I appear randomly in the background of one of these vids 😂
Great advice as usual Faz. It'll probably also translate into safer, 'reduced injury' lifing over the long haul.
Very true
I'm finding that eventually I need more recovery between workouts because of how much a deep stretch can do to your muscles. You can become incredibly conditioned to certain things and the only way to really progress is turning up one of the many dials. Pausing with a deep stretch is one of those dials that I've been doing instinctively (and for some push lifts skipping the lockout for most of the reps). I can skip the lockout on my presses and hammer the snot out of my triceps separately.
Practically, the appearance of progressive overload might be a perceived plateau. However, you could still be making a ton of muscle gains while 'doing the same thing'. Sometimes that quantity in your log book is not showing you that nuance and it takes patience to see the demonstrated increase in reps or weight. 💪
Yes patience and some wisdom. Very often all we can really do is, do the work and wait for the adaptation to occur.
Focus on maximizing every single sets is the name of the game
It’s criminal that this man is not over 100k subs. Like subscribe and comment for the algorithm guys. Faz is a real one and we need to elevate his channel.
Appreciate you big dawg. I have a bit of a treat for you guys today ;)
Great vid as always Faz . Algo boost 👍
You always cover great topics. I enjoy videos that actually contain some critical thinking.
Spot on as always, Faz! (Also, i'm jealous of the pullover machine lol)
It's really good with the lifting straps! 😂 Tell you what's crazy, we're getting 4 new Prime pieces in soon. 2 back and 2 chest 😬 I'm still in disbelief at this gym
@@Fazlifts This is insane lol the owner truly is a bodybuilding fan, it seems! (Gonna move there soon haha)
Great points! Get in deep and pay attention! A winning formula 👊
Another good example of how brains are just as important as brawn for muscle building 💪
Great video Faz as always💪🏽
Great video as always Faz!
Great advice as always mate 💪
I had a good day and this was a good video thanks Fazlifts .
Thumbnail and The Title of the video should do the trick in terms of video getting the traction and algorithm targeting the right audience
Great video!
My younger brother (17) got into working out. Didn’t wanna follow my advice cuz it’s hard. Lifted 6 days a week 5 months hardly any results. His workouts were fluff and pump kind of stuff. No focus on overload.
Asked me what’s going on. Asked him if he tracked workouts- nope, asked if he’s stronger “I don’t focus on weight I’m not a power lifter). Set him on a program - he still wants to go 6 days a week (I do 5) he liked push pull legs. Took his bench from 85 lbs to 135 lbs for 8 leg press from 1.5 plates per side to 3 for 10. All I did was set up a basic 3x10 etc protocol. It’s been 3 months and he’s looking way different!
I also only noticed a difference in my chest size taking my bench from 185 for reps to 250 for reps.
Haven’t deadlifted in years so maybe I’ll give that a shot for my back. But mostly do lat pulldowns. And rows.
Goodharts law: When a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure. As an (ex?) teacher Faz will be more than familiar with the dangers of teaching to the test.
Ex yeah. I haven't been in a classroom for 8 years at this point.
On that note unfortunately due to government interaction that is how subjects are taught. One of the reasons I left.
Great information! I am using 'fixed rest period' as a progression criterion, keeps me honest before I make the next jump on the weight :P
This is really useful for things like shrugs/calf raises/forearm training, where you have small ranges of motion and you can keep squeezing out smaller and smaller reps. Because you can easily trick yourself into thinking you hit your target reps. The best thing I've found for those exercises is to only progress weight when you hit the target reps easily.
Yep, but also I'd say with regards to progressive overload part of the misunderstanding is that people don't understand that all we can really do is wait for the adaptation to occur. We can't force it, and I think people don't have realistic expectations in that regard, especially with the smaller exercises.
Just do the work, and wait for the adaptation to occur. It'll take as long as it takes.
@@Fazlifts fully agree m8 👍thanks for all the knowledge you bring to this community
Where Smolov???
I realise that you do mention that we aren't discussing powerlifting here, but I do wonder if some strength principles could be applied here. I am reminded of Doug Hepburn's later work, where he would switch between Rep schemes when strength gains stalled, (A routine was singles, B routine was triples). I think that this approach is a) a good way to introduce variation to stop you stalling out, but also, b) a good way to "reset" and reintroduce good form etc.
More-over, the other lesson to be learnt from Hepburn progressions is that progressive overload is not just adding weight or reps, it can also take other forms. Hepburn progressions are typically based off density, which allows you to stick with and get comfortable with the same weight.
It’s a harder process mentally when you do it the right way because it takes longer
Own the weight or you don’t progress!!!! But how did I miss this 💎 ?
Luckily I am subscribed and my life is in good check .love the info faz 😂❤
It's easy, if you're already strong at that lift but you don't do the full range of motion just try instead of upping or lowering the weight. Try to up your reps to 25 or 30 with the weight. It will be easier to get the full range of motion because it's a lower percentage of your one rep max. Then try to get accustomed and then keep progressive overloading
Always providing a sober perspective 💪🏾🫡
A really core message for bodybuilding.
Do you think at some core lifts doing first a top set with some controlled amount of slopiness (of course not with dangerous ones) to chase prs with the aim of satisfying my psyche and also waking up my nervous system and then doing with less weight the normal hypertrophy sets, still with the goal of progressive overload is a good concept?
Also I feel the initial heavy dynamic set maked the wright feel much lighter afterwards, I think they call it post activation potentiation.
Maybe, I think as long as the sloppyness doesn't put you in danger it might be useful. Not something I generally do though
Great video Faz! Algo boost
I mixed conjugate with bodybuilding i do a bodybuilding 4 day split constantly rotating main movement but instead of working up to a max i get volume with the main movement i do 3 sets of 8 with the same weight then on 3rd set i do amrap today i did 3 sets of 8 & 10 on last with 285 plus 70 to 80 pounds of band tension
Hey Faz, I'm a detrained lifter who took about 8 months off due to school. I'm back to training for 1.5 months now, but my strength is way down and is coming back extremely slowly.
Should I try to regain my former strength using lower reps until I get back to where I was, or just use higher reps and suffer the slow strength retention. I'm finding my mass is coming back faster using 5-8 reps, but what used to be my 12-rep max is now my 4-rep max.
Just be patient, it will come back. If you are seeing better gains with 5-8 then sure use that, but it's not a huge factor. Just be patient.
Great video faz
Hi faz, do you have any tips for progressing in the gym when working a labor intensive job? Thanks!!
Yeah, pull back on volume mate.
You're better off doing a lot less with great intensity than trying to recover from a lot more with a half arsed effort and joint degradation.
Ignore the usual 10-20 set recommendations, you can go a lot lower.
@@Fazlifts absolute legend as per mate, will definitely apply, will not let the physical aspect of my job affect my gains in the long run! Cheers 💪
Good man 👍 As per my first few years of training I was actually gaining very well on about 3 sets per bodypart per week.
Obviously I was young then but shows you what's possible.
great reminder coach
solid advice Faz
I feel a major stumbling block for adding weight too soon is that a lot of well know beginner programs don’t tend to make any mention of the quality aspect you mentioned. It’s normally just a case of ‘when you hit x reps, add weight’.
It’s one of those obvious things that you should ensure the quality is there before jumping up, but I think so much beginner focused info (and especially linear progression info) can come across as just ‘add 5lb at all costs!’ That it’s easy to see why adding weight takes priority in a lot of cases.
Really good point here.
The casual strength brands (5x5, 531 any powerbuilding) which came out of the 2000 to 2010 era really screwed people. They had a lasting damaging effect which persisted for years.
@@Fazlifts Yep, exactly the type of programmes I was thinking of because I’ve done all that stuff and made all those mistakes! And the thought-process/solution to not hitting the target reps a couple of times was typically ‘I’ve plateaued, best reset the weight by 10-20% and work back up’.
If only the gospel of Faz was being spread around more widely several years ago 🙏😄
I still disliked Rippletoe when I was a nobody 😂
Tbf to Wendler, my reading of 531 told me I was only supposed to add weight if all my top sets were righteous.
Now obviously ppl were going to ignore that and add weight anyway, but if he is responsible for that then maybe Faz is responsible for promoting lengthened partials! 😂
@crrntvntsnthnlnftnsscmmnty yeah no, plenty other things wrong with 531 lol
What an intro🔥🍿
🔥🔥🔥
Great video
It's a great common sense video BAM!
b-b-but faz!! i hit 300kg sumo deadlifts with lockouts below the knee for reps!!! progressive overload has clearly failed me here!
LOL 😂
Progressive overload is a myth.😮
Hear me out! So, PO suggests that muscle growth potential is exponential. 😅
Even Eddie Hall has a Personal Best which he will never beat.
This is why guys hit the juice.😅
We only have a finite number of muscle molecules. We can strengthen fibres etc...
The body adapts. The body will adapt to lifting heavy because the goal is to move the object. These adaptations don't necessarily mean huge gains in muscle size.
To make the muscles grow to their full potential you need to isolate them, stimulating them on a natural plane of movement with as little assistance from other muscles as possible.😊
You will find that weight increases incrementally but at a subtle and slow rate but significant because you begin really really light.
You also build tendon resistance and protect joints.
Lifting heavy places too much abnormal load on joints, ultimately killing gains through injury and pain.
In my 53 years, I've tried many versions of training from powerlifting to callesthenics.
Now back in the traditional bodybuilding gym, I happened on a method of training with super light weights and low (not high) reps. This is because every rep is a journey: a serious exercise in focus.
The results? Best muscle gains ever, especially in my traditionally poor areas such as quads. I have stretch marks on my quads!😮
Fun fact: if I do switch to heavier weights I find that I can go heavier than I could before and with way way more control.
An example: I'm doing standing clad raises on a machine with 5kg on each side. A dude comes on after and puts 25kg on each side then complains to me that his calves won't grow. He sees mine (17.5") and despite admiring them, rejects my suggestion that he lowers the weight and gets a fuller range of stretch.
Why?
Exactly what you've been saying.
Algo riders, hooooo 🤠
At a point progressive overload halts.
Does it? Or do 1kg jumps just become too large?
That is LITERALLY THE WHOLE POINT of the video bro. By employing the techniques I'm talking about here you DELAY the reliance on weight increments as your only form of progressive overload, and make the most out of every weight increment :)
A bad workman always blames his tools.
PO is the effect of muscle growth, not the cause
No
ua-cam.com/video/Y-f7pJ2hpXk/v-deo.htmlsi=a__0WA_JfjPodtJe
@@Fazlifts interesting video, I don’t really disagree much here. Adding weight to the bar is extremely important. My stance is still that your ability to add weight while staying in the same rep range is determined when the muscular adaptations made from your previous workout sessions allow you to do so. If PO was the cause, you should expect to see infinite linear progress because you could just force more growth by adding an extra 5lbs to the bar each time.
For the algorithm
“What I’m calling for is some moderation”
Boooooring, tell me which thing is good and which thing is bad so I don’t have to think about what I’m doing or try hard
On the real, I like the idea of having different qualities you look for different lifts before progressing the load. I think a lot of people try to act as though every lift is simply pulling limbs across your torso with weight attached, where practically there’s these little nuances that might make you prioritize certain things in an exercise differently than others
💪💪
Algo