Progressive Overload

There are many principles of fitness that yield quality results, but if I was pressed to list one rule that MUST be followed it is that of "Progressive Overload." This is a fancy fitness term that simply means to meet your goals, you MUST apply an increased training stimulus to your workout routine. Progressive Overload should be applied both to your strength training AND conditioning routines.

Practically speaking, simply increasing the weight you do on a given exercise 2-5 lbs/week is a simple, yet effective approach. Additionally, increasing the # of intervals you perform on the cycling workout you perform in your conditioning routine by 1-3 is another effective method.

For example, a strength and conditioning 3-week sample progression would look as follows applying progressive overload to each:

• CONDITIONING: Stationary Bike: (Week 1: 6 sets of 20 sec. sprints with 60 sec. recovery; Week 2: 7 sets of 20 sprints; Week 3: 8 sets)
• LIFT: Push-ups (Week 1: 10 push-ups; Week 2: 12 push-ups; Week 3: 14 push-ups)

Bear in mind the above progression can be modified based on an individual's current strength & conditioning abilities. The length of a bike sprint and the # of push-ups can initially be modified.

In summary, applying progressive overload to your workout routine is something you must do if you want to see continued results and prevent training plateaus.