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I want to take some time to talk about two things here.
Progressive overload.
And achieving a more “toned" physique.
But before we dive into that, let’s first start with recognizing what is mainly targeted toward women when it comes to both losing fat and building muscle. Barre and pilates. Light, pink weights and group classes. HIIT, banded workouts, and cardio.
And I'll be honest, when I first started working out, I saved countless of pins that looked like this one right here. Thinking all I needed to create a "toned" physique was more jumping jacks or mountain climbers.
We have it programmed in our heads that we should lift lighter weights for more reps to be slim and “toned”. We believe that lifting heavy weights will turn us into the Hulk overnight. But, spoiler alert, it won't. And trust me, I've been lifting for over 8 years and am still waiting for that transformation.
When someone tells me they want to look “toned,” they typically mean they want to build lean muscle and lose fat. They want to see their muscle tone shine through, but they don’t want to look or feel “bulky.”
You may see body changes and "tone up" by doing HIIT or group workouts. This is especially true if you are a beginner to exercise. But, it won’t be nearly as effective as following a program based on progressive overload... especially once you get past that beginner or "newbie gain:" stage (1+ years of working out).
But wait, what is progressive overload?
Progressive overload is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency, range of motion, or the difficulty of the movement you’re doing week to week (like going from an air squat to a single leg squat).
Your body adapts specifically to imposed demands (also known as the SAID principle), which means that when your body is placed under stress (as it is during and post work out) it will make adaptations.
Those adaptations = more strength and lean muscle mass.
Here’s an example of progressive overload in action: let’s say last week you did 12 goblet squats with 35#. By performing this exercise with this weight and these reps, this will induce muscular fatigue during training, therefore causing your muscles to adapt.
Now, let’s say next week you do 12 squats with 40#. This will trigger the same process. This, again, leads to more strength and muscle growth.
But, if you repeatedly do 12 squats with 35# week to week, guess what happens?
There isn’t sufficient enough stress, so there will be no adaptation.
That means, little to no increase in lean muscle mass.
And with no additional muscle growth, you’ll find it very hard to achieve a “toned” physique.
This also applies to random workouts or group classes wherein week to week you are doing different exercises.
If one week, your leg day is leg press, hip thrusts, and lunges. The next week, it's RDL’s, goblet squats, and seated abductions. You're giving yourself no baseline to build on. So, a key to progressive overload is, to simplify your workouts. Keep the same exercises for at least 4 weeks. If your workouts are semi boring, that’s a good thing. ;)
Without progressive overloading, muscle growth will plateau. So it's important that you're always challenging yourself and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone (that's always where the growth happens)!
Note: it's recommended that progressions be kept within 10% or less each week. This allows for a gradual adaptation while minimizing risk of injury.
How heavy should I be lifting to see results?
For most women, heavier than you think.
However, "heavy” is relative to the individual. So what might be heavy to you, may not be heavy for me, vice versa. So it’s important to find your baseline of strength and work off of this.
If you are familiar with RPE or RIR, “heavy” is typically around an 7RPE or more. Where you feel like you only have 4 or less reps left in the tank before failure.
The reason why I encourage women to lift heavier weights vs lighter weights is because it is much easier to make adaptations and see physical change.
In order to see adaptations, we need to be pushing ourselves close to muscular fatigue. With heavy loads, you can typically reach this point with 15 reps of fewer. But with lighter weights, you will have to extend your sets MUCH longer.
Not only that but higher rep ranges (15+) are more optimal for muscular endurance vs. building muscle or strength.
Plus, lifting heavier weights makes you feel empowered and badass. And I am ALL about helping women build confidence. When I first started lifting heavy weights, I felt empowered AF when I would leave the gym. Over time, this has lead to me having a lot more confidence in who I am and what I am capable of.
How can I implement progressive overload?
With my 1:1 clients, each week they repeat similar exercises. But, they are increasing the weight, frequency, range of motion, or difficulty. You can also increase an exercises difficulty by adding in tempo or time under tension.
That means, instead of doing a typical back squat, you may add a :03 lowering phase or a :05 hold at the bottom. Tempo training is a great way to add progression. It builds muscle without needing to increase your weights each week.
If you create your own workouts, I strongly encourage you to write down all of your exercises in a journal or excel spreadsheet. Note what you did, what weights you used, and how many sets and reps. Then, implement in progressive overload week to week with a deload week sprinkled in every 4 to 12 weeks.
Lastly, if you’re frustrated with your lack of progress, or dislike making your own workouts, click here to schedule a chat with me (Coach Emma, Head Coach and Owner). We'll talk about what it would look like workout or nutrition wise to get you to your strongest self.