Principle Of Progression: Planned Recovery

The Principle of Progression in training implies that there is an optimal level of overload that should be achieved, as well as an optimal time frame for this overload to occur. The Progression Principle instructs that the overload process should not be increased too slowly, or improvement is unlikely to happen. However, overload that is increased too rapidly can result in injury issues and damaging.

The Principle of Progression

The Progression Principle states that there is a perfect level of overload in-between a too slow increase and a too rapid increase. Example; the weekend warrior who trains ''beast mode'' only on weekends, but not regularly during the week, does not exercise often enough to see solid results and so violates the principle of progression. In this situation, the overload process is gone about too slowly and inconsistently. The Principle of Progression also makes us realize the need for proper rest and recovery. Continual stress on the body and its joints, as well as constant overload, can potentially result in exhaustion and injury. You should not (and cannot) train hard all the time. It is just not physically possible, or wise. Doing so will lead to overtraining and a great deal of physical and psychological damage will result.

Progression and Overload

Progression is a key aspect of overload. Often, individuals do the same workouts over and over again. This forms a level of familiarity with the body, and thus physical progress is not made. In order to properly overload the body, progression is key. Once an exercise starts to feel easy, it's time to up the ante so you're always overloading your muscles and adapting to get strong and fit. It is also important not to always work at high intensities, which could lead to overtraining. Sometimes progressing is as simple as changing the exercise you're doing to something different, or it could be about incorporating something as simple as programming ''planned recovery'', example - deload weeks, rest days , etc.

Remember, planned recovery is just as vital to longevity as it is about ''pushing yourself'' - FIND THAT BALANCE!!

SFTM