De-load to progress

The key to any successful training programme whether you goal is to loose weight or gain muscle is progress. You have to force your body to do more. This can be achieved by either-

Increasing the weight you are using (getting stronger)
Increasing the volume of the workout (number of sets)
Performing more repetitions with the same weight
Performing the same amount of effort but in less time (increasing training density)

The problem with progression beyond a certain point ceases to be linear. If we could progress in a linear fashion forever everyone would be squatting, benching and dead lifting over 500 kg’s.

De-loading, i.e. reducing the amount of weight you are using or reducing the volume every 3rd workout has been shown to lead to greater gains in muscle and strength over a longer period. By de-loading every 3rd workout you will give your body much needed time to recover and catch up. Using this method you are also much less likely to hit a plateau.

Here is just one example of how you could de-load using a bench press-

Workout 1- 100kg’s x 10
Workout 2- 105kg’s x 10
Workout 3- 102.5kg’s x 10
Workout 4- 105kg’s x 10
Workout 5- 107.5kg’s x 10
Workout 6- 105kg;s x 10

So you can see over a 6 week period you have included 2 de-load’s. Now you can see that your 10 rep max for your bench press has increased 5% over that 6 week period, not bad eh?

Question- How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Getting stronger and making progress in the gym takes time and consistent effort. If you stay disciplined to the method and perform eight 6 week training cycles over a course of a year then you could potentially increase your bench press from 100kg's to 147.7kg's, that’s a 47% increase!

As you get stronger you will find that you might struggle to increase the weight in 5% jumps and will have to resort to 2% or even 1% increments. Stick at it though as its still progress.

If your gyms weight plates only go up in 1.25kg's increments this limits you to adding 2.5 kilo's to the bar every time. Increasing the weight too quickly will cause you to hit a plateau faster. To get around this I recommend investing in some Fractional Plates or plate mates as these will allow you to progress slowly and in the right percentage increments.

Never sacrifice form trying to lift more weight or impress your buddies, it’ll usually end up in stagnation and injury. Train smarter, not harder.