Progressive Overload MISTAKES Most Lifters Make (I DID TOO!)

[@GVS]

For full deep dives into better programming your training, check out my books! Book 1: SWEAT (beginners/intermediates) www.verityfit.com/product-page/sweat Book 2: Ring Training For Hypertrophy (ring enthusiasts) www.verityfit.com/product-page/ring-training-for-hypertrophy Book 3: Resurrecting Your Gains (intermediates/advanced lifters) www.verityfit.com/product-page/resurrecting-your-gains-finding-your-muscle-growth-formula Can check the site for full Tables Of Contents of each book. Appreciate the support!

[@CrusadesOClock]

Been meaning to grab SWEAT for ages, finally got a copy. Used the RF code 🤣 Thanks

[@GVS]

@@CrusadesOClock enjoy, and I appreciate the support!

[@CrusadesOClock]

@@GVS Appreciate the info, very helpful! 👍

[@sonicrocks2007]

What is your opinion on micro increment. 2 lbs 1lbs .5 lbs

[@slee2695]

Geoff you should try out for Physical 100...they're accepting applications from all over Asia now

[@usamakhanfit]

Getting caught up in the “weight doesn’t matter” crowd was probably my biggest mistake. Was stuck at the same weights for a long time & made literally zero gains. Progressing reps & weights overtime is a must.

[@GVS]

Didn't realize that was a thing....definitely have to add weight at some point!

[@dynaspinner64]

I used this cope as well because I didn't have weight plates to add to OHP. I moved to doing pike push ups instead because I was using the same weight for a few months as a beginner with the same amount of reps.

[@garak55]

Yeah it's definitely a thing. It's really advanced lifters telling people to focus on the mind-muscle connexion and not care about the weight. It's kinda true in the sense that advanced lifters can't put on weigth on their lift that fast so focusing on the weight is a bit disheartening. But for beginners and intermediates, this is bad advice. Beginners should be able to progress load at a regular pace and if they don't, they're just not getting progress at all. Also, beginners don't really know what mind-muscle connexion feels like and you can't really learn it without lifting some heavy shit at least once, so it's kinda pointless to focus on that for them.

[@zerrodefex]

@@garak55 sounds like another case of advanced lifters giving bad advice as they don't even remember what it was like as a beginner.

[@atdyeam1605]

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that, what ‘weight doesn’t matter’ mean? Ie is it about just adding reps and getting more out of less weight? Is it about letting OL happen naturally over time without forcing it? Or something else entirely?

[@PowerTree-007]

"Why are weightlifters always making a face when they lift?" "Because the shit's heavy."

[@ezradanger]

I had a friend I got to go to the gym with me a few times, and then he stopped going. I asked why he didn't want to go anymore and he said the weights were too heavy. Some people just aren't built for it I guess 🤷

[@jackson3475]

RIP underpants, they served well.

[@alondjeckto]

​@@ezradanger heavy weights are heavy🤯

[@metigame1450]

@@ezradangeryeah my cousins told me that his muscles hurted. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ he heights like 57 kilograms as grown ass man, and oh my muscles hurts. I wanted to slap the sh!t out of him .

[@johnwirk]

Just leg press to pure failure and try to keep your pain face tucked away. Nah, its not happening. My face looks like Im dying on the leg press.

[@Issvor]

Your fourth point is something I've never thought about, and that's absolutely huge. "If your bad days are getting better, that is progress." I love that, and it can be applied to practically everything, in and out of the gym

[@starmorpheus]

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better" - Samuel Beckett

[@Fazlifts]

I think another one is people simply getting distracted by BS. Which I think is related to points 1, 3 & 4. There isn't so much of this in our community but when people say things like 'the muscle doesn't know the weight you're lifting' I'm just like yeeeeeaahh that really isn't accurate. If there's one thing I wish I could get rid of in the fitness world it's that phrase. The muscle can for sure tell the difference between a 60kg Bench and a 140kg one, and it for sure pays to be patient and progressive.

[@GVS]

Muscle definitely knows, sometimes I think it's smarter than most people in the gym!

[@zerrodefex]

The body has all sorts of built-in "strain sensors" and a sort of anti-lock brake system that kicks in when it detects you doing stuff that you're too weak for. A lot of people think they can't hinge because "my hamstrings are tight" when no it's because they're weak and your body is stopping you from straining yourself because it thinks you're falling over which is why you can hinge further with no weight on your back than when you add weight.

[@chairmanlifts]

id agree that the muscle doesn’t know external weight / that it only knows tension but most people saying this should have real cues that they can articulate to justify how less external load can result in comparable internal stimulus without too much mental gymnastics (eg compare dr mike coaching a stiffleg deadlift or barbell row to kai greene curling a pink dumbbell)

[@slee2695]

​@zerrodefex golgi tendon

[@ilovegoogleandyoutube]

There's definitely a different feeling when you a lift a heavier weight you've never lifted before. I've been slowly progressing in weight on dumbbell curls doing sets of 12. I recently hit 30lbs 3x12 so went up 5 pounds to 35lbs x 8. Definitely a more intense tearing sensation on the muscles than higher reps which is more of a burn. Hard to describe. (yeah yeah light weight weak haha ok)

[@MarioTomicOfficial]

Joining the 4 plate RDL club soon 💪150 kg for 13 reps on the RDL is really solid. Your RDL progress is similar to my Incline DB Bench, took about a year to go from 3 good reps with 50 kg DBs to doing a solid set of 12

[@Dionysos_____Alters]

Dude, its you. Do you know what happened to RSD?

[@Raao1]

​@@Dionysos_____Alters Yeah, they went mainstream with self-help. But it didn't worked, and now are trying to find a way to bring it back without causing another "me too" like with Julien back in the day

[@FitOneswithVarun]

The Legend Mario in the comments🔥

[@DrTopLiftDPT]

recently got to 5 plate RDL for 5.

[@emrickfilteau6288]

335 x9 here, however im twice a small as this Guy so i dont know why im that strong on this lift. Im like 5'10 190 pound at 20%

[@cglnarcissist5700]

Bro please never throw out this blue shirt it’s too iconic now

[@acebase2302]

100% agree

[@JariSatta]

Valentine's day? I've never heard of that biceps curl before.

[@dynaspinner64]

No no it is a form of cardio.

[@toni6194]

I dont think i have this kind of machine in my gym

[@mikakoivisto6504]

That variation is too hard for me

[@FTCRW]

I always take it to failure

[@ryanhailey401]

The personal worsts segment was a very refreshing reminder. It is easy to overanalyze performance in a single session, but zooming out to the broader view of progression allows us to reframe training log fluctuations. Great Video

[@FitLabb]

Progressive Overload…..Probably the single most important training principle to understand & practice if you want to actually make some serious gains in the gym. 💪💪

[@BenEnlet29]

The advice of trying out heavier weight even for low reps to drag up your lighter weights is so helpful When i incline DB bench my first set i always add 5 or 10 pounds more than my working set to gage where i am. So if i know im gonna fail between 8-10 reps at 65 lbs then my first set is gonna be 70 or 75 for as much as i can. When i can push that weight comfortably to 10 then ill use that as my working set then next time im in the gym ill try 80 for my first set and so on. Obviously its not gonna be linear but i feel like im progressing when i can add even 1 rep to my first set

[@thandosocikwa]

Really needed this 😅 had a bad day on bench today, did 110kg for 2 sets of 4 which is about what I was doing a couple months ago and it’s kinda demoralising in the moment. But when you actually think about it, I was doing 110 for 2 sets of 4 on a good day and now I’m doing that on a bad day. Progress is progress 💪🏾

[@Atomicfog]

Thank you for being one of the few advanced youtubers to acknowledge the pace an advanced lifter makes gains in areas they have put a lot of work into. I really appreciate that. Knowing that is really helpful when you're at that level.

[@xntumrfo9ivrnwf]

When I feel like I'm making bad progress session to session, I look back at my training logs from 3, 6, etc. months ago and suddenly feel much better. It's kind of like dieting, where day to day (and even week to week), it doesn't seem like I look much different, but when I compare my before and after photos, I'm impressed.

[@Anthony_L]

That’s exactly what I do, I’ll go back and see I’ve made decent progress even though it’s not a dramatic amount I see 20 pounds and get hyped

[@fusiontoa18]

​@@Anthony_LI mostly only progress 2 reps on each set, from session to session.

[@sexyradiator9823]

​@@fusiontoa18 only?

[@nazeemfonemgaddafi]

One of your best videos yet and I’ve been watching for at least 2 yrs

[@FitOneswithVarun]

I think #5 is so crucial, I have been on both sides here. A) Force progression by reducing range of motion, especially for something like a bench press. Straight up ego lifting, glad I don't have film because it is cringe. B) Have gone in the other direction here, my tricep gains early on were because I pushed it hard, form was not perfect etc. As I got deeper into fitness/best practices I got to strict and was not pushing myself where I needed to be to keep progressing. This one is more of an art than a science imo, and it is why experience is so important to know when to change the levers, and how different movement patterns can be handled with different tools

[@GVS]

Yep knowing when to push and add weight, when to keep it the same, and when to even take weight off really are crucial and often take years to learn.

[@tomlazoriksuccessfitness]

A lot of these are concepts that I’ve come to understand over the years, but now have to explain to clients. I’ve stressed that progressive overload is our ultimate goal, which seems to get in a lot of trainees heads. Great video, my man 👍

[@davidk6269]

3:52 I really appreciate your sharing your incline curl progression. It's very informative to see how long it takes to make incremental progress at the advanced level. Thank you!

[@AJ-di4df]

“You’re fucked” - well damn GVS that’s pretty optimistic of you

[@AlexG-wk3nh]

The faces you pull while training are inspiring

[@benjudd3486]

The progress bit was good to hear. Been struggling to add on reps to exercises after the newbie gain period of that exercise.

[@jaku8513]

"trying too hard" is one I've experienced myself, "gotta train to failure every set, it's gotta be hard" and then I make the best progress I've seen after I started leaving some RIR.

[@LouisSerieusement]

Great video. Also thank you for insisting that training log is mandatory. I use boostcamp since the begining of the year and so far it has been so useful.

[@acebase2302]

General horsecockery killed me. I’ve watched this video three times now but usually while driving so never saw it 🤣

[@fabianschweitzer]

4:14 that’s probably my biggest pet peeve in the industry. The suggestion to improve on a weekly basis, when in reality it’s going to take months or years, when you’re advanced. It just sets an unrealistic expectation that will be followed by frustration. Try to improve every session and someday it will happen. But don’t expect to add 2,5-5lbs every session

[@AmineYM70]

Thank you for providing a content with a lot of wisdom sir, I had the same idea as you for the progress in pratice rather than in "paper" part

[@kamo7293]

the big arms Osborne clip is so freaking true

[@keithianlocke]

Ive learnt to pay little attention to "consistently" progressing. It happens when it happens. Gone through the whole reps/sets/load increasing, then stalling, and even going backwards, before a sudden gain of progress again. Currently in the "progression" stage again, and making the most of pushing hard. Not that i dont even when stalled or regressing.

[@wigletron2846]

Yep, progression isn't linear and can't always be forced. You have to ride the wave.

[@Vitas7thElement]

Ive had great help in your videos to help breaking plateaus. Do not allow form breakdown has really held my performance back until I saw your video on the backsides of super strict form and technique. Now I dare to add weight and let my form be a little looser on some exercises. And in the following weeks after adding weight I'd rather focus on the same reps, but making my form stricter each time.

[@elysiummaybee]

It's called triple progression. Weight, reps and form.

[@angus_white]

Serious lifting wisdom here

[@_TAYLOR_ELLIS]

I like watching your vids when I’m baked

[@MODELBODYINTL]

Both books are really good - I have them both. I’m more advanced so I get more out of the second but both are good. Very organized and informative.

[@GVS]

Glad you like em!

[@kilner79]

Best video on KZbin more noobies need to see this before they give up

[@TheMr0450]

One for the algo.. gr8 post gvs

[@BobTheBuilderGuy]

I can't thank you enough for this video. I've started my lifting journey many times, made very little progress, stopped, got motivated again and repeat. I've done this for years. i never used to be satisfied with my progress and just assumed something was wrong with me, that my program was just so bad. Anyway, thank you this has encouraged me to just be persient.

[@Kalilloko]

Awesome content

[@sfcablecar]

Geoff, congratulations on all your success. Been following you from the beginning. It’s now to time to get a mic and make your sound better. Thanks.

[@Ruffy112]

Thanks for this video man. I am 3 years and 3 months in and the gains are slow. Not as slow as yours as I am not advanced but knee deep into intermediate life. On plate loaded hammer strength machines it takes 3-5 weeks to add 1.25-2.5kg each side. On free weights maybe even 2 months. Going from 37.5kg ez bar preacher curl to 40kg took me 2 months I think. Adding 5kg to my deadlift also likely 2-3 months. My scheme is mostly double linear progression, some myorep or amrap sets here and there. 3 x full body with focus. Focussed excercises get 3 sets RIR 1, non focus gets 2 sets RIR 1-2 or the amrap/myo treatment

[@Abdo.R.Mohamed]

Funny enough what's impressive and the thing i wanna learn the most from u is *Logging the Training* like u do haha , i always whether i use apps or write it down , it's kinda hard to track years / months of progressing in a bird-eye view like that and i would have to go to each week individually and see each lift .. i dunno how u're able to track the progress like that over years and years (maybe bcz i am bad with Word/Excel) , but i am just logging in day by day or overall week and that's about it , maybe i would be able to look over a few weeks back .

[@joelbennett1987]

Some gold Nuggets in this video 💰🪙🌟🥇

[@tjd8822]

14:15 i am a 'powerbuilder'. only for bench powerlifting but the rest is bodybuilding. i have been training for around 2 years and i believe that benching 3x a week is the reason my chest is my best body part. PR's are definitely not helping for muscles, but rep PR'S do!

[@MohamedNaas2005]

Ooh this one looks Good !

[@TheShanehansel]

Always great content. When I move up in weight I'm usually on that same weight for quite a while, I may start with a little more sloppy form while I am trying to get my footing with the new weight, but over time I clean up my form as I get stronger, then eventually start adding reps. The tricky part with this is when you allow for a little slop in your form, it's easy to let the ego come into play, so keeping that slop controlled is important, or you end up progressively overloading your cheat form instead of your muscles lol

[@bambostarla6259]

Just finished my full body workout, this is extra motivation for wednesday😅😂

[@Justafreesheep]

Great video thanks

[@deansheppard1104]

I just got to 22 kg incline curls , seeing your progression rate at 24 kg made me cry 😭 but yeah jokes aside it makes sense has a progression rate and it doesn't surprise me , I was stuck at 20 kg for months before being able to jump at 22 kg and when I tried 22 kg first time it was soo fucking heavy I didn't think i would be able to rep it out

[@nmnate]

Ah, excellent. I was waiting for the 'GVS is natty. 100% guaranteed' video. 💪

[@DrAJ_LatinAmerica]

Excellent video 💪👍

[@chrismanley70]

Thanks! Lots of good info and humour…cracked me up a few times 😂

[@PowerMaze]

It is neat to see some examples of your training log. It helps set expectations for what is reasonable progress.

[@5milemacc737]

Good vid bro

[@Vadv3939]

Rep goal system ftw

[@JTan0356]

This is definitely a video I needed. Keep up the good work! If there was something I wish you talk about, it’d be breathing during exercises. I really don’t know when or how I’m supposed to breath when lifting, but I can feel it actively making it more difficult to progress (headaches, light headedness).

[@SuperhumanUnchained]

Great information

[@5milemacc737]

Load management is key

[@TerrainNodes]

I noticed incline curls do take a very long time to progress when all my other curls have substantial increases. It seems like fatigue and recovery have a very big effect on incline curls.

[@GabboT.V]

Thanks for the helpful info geoff 👍

[@itslukebb1350]

Gvs uploads I watch

[@kieran4003]

Your progression over 3 years on the dumbbell curl is incredibly eye opening. I would consider myself somewhere between beginner to intermediate, maybe slightly more to the beginner side and I have working been with 14kg for what feels like ages.

[@martinnorberg7940]

Biggest progressive overload mistake: Thinking that progressive overload causes the adaptations. No. Adaptation preceeds overload. You adapt to a stimulus and then you can progressively overload as a result. Just because you do something heavier than last time or with more volume or with better technique, does not mean you are getting stronger and/or bigger. But adapting to that stimulus over time means you are.

[@AngryAyrab]

Also for number 6, the speed of the rep increases overtime which generally indicates to me progress.

[@nope8535]

One thing I had to learn and not even sureI have it figured out is digging myself into a hole recovery wise. Having narcolepsy sucks for recovery.

[@Atomicfog]

Ever see that meme where you have the different evolutionary forms of actor, and the evolutions are Michael Cera, Jesse Eisenberg, then Andy Samberg? I think you may be the 4th form of the evolution beyond Andy Samberg lol

[@Yggdhrasil]

I think people underestimate how much progress a rep is. Taking your 1RM to a 13RM is insane. Even your 40 for six to 40 for twelve example is a progression from an estimated 46KG 1RM to 56KG, a more than 20% increase. I feel like people (me as well) often lump ranges of 6-8 or 10-12 together, as it all seems like medium rep work while ignoring how massive the jump in performance can be in moving up the ladder with the same weight.

[@wesrobinson7506]

Excellent video! I think a key thing that you had mentioned is logging your workouts and keeping things relatively consistent. As a late stage intermediate to advanced lifter, it is very difficult to notice progress if you keep rotating exercises and programs. But if you keep things consistent (set volume, intensity, weight, form), you can notice an extra rep here and there which does wonders for motivation! That also helps you to pinpoint what is is not working

[@tonii4673]

I pretty much made all these mistakes myslef. I used to lift the same weight for weeks and even months, cutting all the time and sleeping 5-6 hours and surprise surprise I looked exactly the same all the time, only my body fat was changing. Ever since I focused on actually pushing myself, chasing progressive overload in some type of form, eating enough calories to support the growth and sleeping minimum 7 hours, I finally started to notice changes.

[@MrCheesypuf]

I’d do very unlawful things to find a gym in my area with 27.5 pound dumbbells. The jump from 25 to 30 on shoulders/arms is huge. But I’m still trying to use them every time

[@tanaysingh6330]

Thanks geoff💪

[@gsftbeast9761]

Respect the hell out of natural lifters

[@alexanderp7402]

Had to rewatch it several times, I was too into observing facial expressions, dear lord that's amazing... wait, what'd he just sad? Ah, shit, here we go again

[@niqqa9]

Jason bloho makes all of these

[@fancyclown6863]

#6 I'm soooo glad you said it can be reps and weight, not sets. People think progressive overload can be adding sets as well when it is NOT. Progressive overload is getting stronger under the same circumstances. You didn't get stronger because you did 4 sets of an exercise instead of 3, you simply just chose to do 4 sets instead. You could've done 4 sets last week as well. But doing a set of 8 this week when you could only do 7 last week IS progressive overload, because you weren't able to do it last week. If adding sets was progressive overload, you could just do 10 sets this week instead of the 5 sets you did last week and boom, you've doubled your gains in just 1 week. Doesn't work that way.

[@GVS]

Yep 100%. Just because a workout is harder or more tiring doesn't mean it's progressive overload!

[@jacobworley5001]

I started out with 5x5 programming to build strength for ~3 months, then transitioned to GZCLP once I stalled on 5x5 to keep riding the beginner gains while training accessory lifts other than the big 3. During GZCLP, I had to finally admit to myself that I liked training for size, and I enjoyed the "accessory" lifts more than Squat/Deadlift/Bench. It was a tough pill to swallow. Over the past few months, I've been following NH's programming and plan to stick with it for years. I've realized great hypertrophy gains in a relatively short time. I don't have an issue with wanting to add weight once I hit the top of the suggested rep range, due to my previous powerlifting mindset; however, I have to constantly remind myself that 1 extra REP is still progress. An increase in difficult, manageable volume is the key to hypertrophy. Thanks for the video. It reminds me to stick with the program instead of constantly swapping for something else.

[@stiflingmystrife]

Love the content, but did Geoffrey get a new mic(or started using an older one)? I don't remember the audio quality being this poor. It's not absolutely horrible, but putting this video on after almost any other video is a jarring sensation from the dip in quality.

[@AdventureThroughLife]

8 quarters of an inch in 3 months still adds up to a lot at the end of the year. So I wouldn't see that as being daunting at all. One question, do you do long grinders at the end of every set or only the final set? It seems to me that it would only make sense on the last set since you'd be tiring yourself out too much doing 7 second grinders. I try to save the hard, long grinders for the very last set.

[@GVS]

Usually all sets. I don't care about tiring myself out on most exercises. Might hold back on some lower body compounds, with 1 RIR sometimes.

[@krisvalkanov1517]

Do you think there are muscle groups that are easier to put muscle in comparison to other groups in calorie deficit?

[@GVS]

Probably smaller ones, overall. So growing quads while cutting, pretty tough (unless very undertrained). But rear delts, more doable.

[@pardontheleft2692]

No views in 25 seconds fell off

[@Madchris8828]

So true 😂

[@Edited_Comment]

Getting old

[@nunchukGun]

I can't believe I missed this old video

[@_Zane__]

Time to get on gear and get a doctorate

[@C0d0ps]

@@_Zane__ Not everyone can be Mike Isratel but you can try

[@jasonk876]

Did Schoenfeld completely change his thinking? Looks like much more intensity than he recommended before. He also talked about lower volume recently

[@Edited_Comment]

Nice

[@KenanTurkiye]

Progressive Overload has one trap to it, skinny kids asking to spot them while they attempt to lift heavier than they can. Come on this needs to be said, lift the weight you can without needing a spotter (-in reality co-lifter). :)

[@mohammadarabsson6280]

6:55 if you train any harder next time you might fall.😂

[@greenmanmars9520]

No pain no gain.

[@ghostrider4109]

4:24 Bro's arms are so big his sleeves are ripping

[@MrFiask]

Sound is very low

[@juerfe]

0:24 LMAO

[@NoMercy.62]

3:52 that's depressing..

[@GVS]

Is it? Arms have grown consistently during that time, because it's real progress.

[@swandaley]

This video is motivating me to go in at the gym tonight.

[@AlyxFaust]

Proud to say I’ve followed Geoff for 5 years. This guy has made my life better for 1600+ days. That’s the power of letting good information from an honest source deep into that brain we have:)

[@bill_monty]

I've definitely reached an advanced stage where I be feeling like my progress on certain lifts is just outright embarrassing (I'm looking at you BB/DB OHP and bench variations 😤), but I'm grateful to even reach this stage to begin with so one day I hope to become "elite" even with the grind ahead.

[@hugi4389]

I always write 12,5 reps if I attempted the 13th rep but only got half way there I would even write 12,0-12,1-12,2-12,3 or 12,7 depending on how far I got with the attempted rep. Every small improvement must be recorded. And just writing 10,8 reps is low hanging fruit.

[@rupeshgupta5860]

Yayyy another geoffrey video

[@agathahearth]

I don’t eat enough and I have stayed a very similar weight. I gained 14 pounds but then stopped so my weight shave barely gone up. Trynna get back to eating so I can get bigger

[@MilesNiska]

The Valentine’s Day analogy was epic. 😂

[@Procharmo]

Most ego lifters are jacked. Most non sweaters, it must be comfortable types are not jacked. 😂😂😂

[@johnwirk]

This is true BUT alot of ego lifters suffer from injury at some point and then the "back in the day" stories start to rise to the surface. I always try "heavy" but I dont risk form.

[@ThaStonedGardner]

I just subscribed a couple vids ago, never seen you before....but now...wtf are you canadian or something? Where the fukk are you getting dumbbells in kg at?? I got enough canadians I'm subscribed to for some weird reason. I figured you were from like freaking Idaho or something. I'll stay subscribed cuz your voice is like an angelic donut, but if you know any slurring cajuns doing shiit in pounds, lmk. Good content bro.

[@GVS]

heh...American, living in China.

[@asafmedrano9124]

Ended super squats with a max 100 kilo squats x 20 Now starting Arnold Golden six Loving progressive overload with full body workouts , destroy You bit You have 2 dayd to rethink and rest

[@JWinch]

Valentines Day is like Progressive Overload. @GVS you're such a romantic. ;-) JK... it's a fun analogy. BTW, VD is for everyone ;-)

[@Ripvanwinkle29]

Geoff do you do much to strengthen rotator cuff having a nightmare with my shoulder at the moment

[@GVS]

Occasionally face pulls.

[@bermysanders9278]

yea i recommend face pulls also, helped my shoulder a ton - can line them up to hit the rear delts also.

[@fasieh7331]

WAKE UP BABE 🗣🗣🗣 NEW GVS VID JUST DROPPED🤑🤑🤑

[@nunchukGun]

It's so valuable seeing your rate of progress. It's hard to know what's normal tbh