Bodybuilding Workout — How To Ensure Fast And Consistent Results… by Brad Campbell

Let’s be real — almost ANY bodybuilding workout can be effective, so long as one major strategy is employed: progressive overload.  The reason I’m writing about progressive overload is because I received a couple of emails in regards to the first comment left on this post: Workout Without Weights, where someone had mentioned the term…

Basically, they wondered what exactly was meant by progressive overload and how they should incorporate this into their workout routine…

Because it’s such an important factor in your overall success, I figured I should break it down for everyone quick.  Alright, so progressive overload simply means that you systematically increase the demands placed on your musculoskeletal system, in attempt to make continuous gains in muscle size, muscle strength and muscle endurance.

Technically, the phrase could also be used for other areas of overall fitness as well, like cardiovascular conditioning, explosiveness, quickness, etc… but for the sake of this post, I’ll assume we’re talking about building more muscle.

In other words, you need to work “harder” (or accomplish “more”) as your bodybuilding workouts progress, if you wish to continue making gains.  In theory, by making your muscles work harder, they’re forced into adapting to the increased stimulus by getting bigger.  Makes sense, right?

Okay, so how do you go about doing this?

Surprisingly, there are quite a few different ways… so the possibilities for creating bodybuilding workout routines is endless — plus, each individual workout can be manipulated SO many different ways to progressively challenge your body.

Which, by the way, is reason enough to follow the same bodybuilding workout plan longer than THREE DAYS… (you know who you are, “habitual workout quitters”… )

Let’s take a look at some of these progressive overload tactics…

Bodybuilding Workout — Progressive Overload Variables:

1) First, you can increase force — lift more weight… duh ;-)

2) Next, you can increase the number of reps

3) You can increase the total volume (number of sets)

4) You can increase the number of exercises (sorta goes along with volume)

5) You can workout more frequently

6) You can decrease the rest periods between sets

7) You can increase the time under tension (TUT)

8) You could increase the speed/explosiveness of either concentric or eccentric phase (may actually decrease TUT)

9) You can increase overall workout intensity (sorta goes will all tactics)

It’s important to mention that all other factors need to be kept the same for any one progressive overload strategy to be successful.  For example, if you increase the weight used during your stiff-legged deadlifts by 20 lbs in week 3, but you drop the repetitions to half what you did in week 2… you’re actually doing LESS overall work, not more.

This would NOT be a good way to facilitate fast and consistent bodybuilding results.  Instead, you need to be continually improving by selecting one tactic from above and adjusting it in favor of presenting a greater challenge to your body –  without going backwards on any other element of the workout.

Here’s the thing: it’s freakin’ hard to improve each workout.  And that’s why I tell my coaching clients to start out their bodybuilding workout with a “bare minimum” effort.

Now, you gotta take that with a grain of salt.  Obviously I don’t tell ‘em to half-ass their workout.  But what I DO tell ‘em to do is, use a little common sense when determining a day one, week one intensity level.

In other words, don’t work out like your life depends upon it, during the very first training session… if you haven’t even worked out in the past two months.  Why?

Because: a) you’re probably so out of shape that even a light workout would produce solid results; b) setting the bar too high on day one makes it impossible to improve each week, leaving you with a better chance of going backwards — not forward; and c) you’re gonna be sore as hell, LOL…

The other side of that, is intermediate and advanced trainees, who will need to give extreme efforts with each and every workout… and STILL find it within their heart of hearts to progressively up the work load via any of the strategies discussed above.

In the end, to get extreme results from your bodybuilding workout routine, you’ll need to get stronger, as well as increase muscular endurance and recovery times.

The key is finding that happy medium starting point and then actually thinking about each and every workout you do… and every individual exercise within that workout… and each set for that exercise… and then challenging yourself to “improve” or “work harder” by manipulating any one of those overload elements, while keeping all other elements the same.

Be honest with yourself next time you’re plateauing — it’s almost always caused by someone thoughtlessly going through their bodybuilding workout, thinking it’s okay to use the same weight, same reps, same tempo, etc week in and week out…

It’s NOT.  Unless your body is already tip top… but if that was the case, you probably wouldn’t be reading this… so, ya know…

Step it up.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

Skinny guys who need help adding lean muscle, peep this:  Bodybuilding Workout

Posted in Build Muscle | Toning Exercises by Brad Campbell | 7 Comments