It's actually the only way you can get stronger or more muscular.
It's from "progressive overload". Progressive overload means that you're consistently increasing the amount of weight you use in an exercise.
Unless this is done, the muscle stimulus from weight training decreases and the potential to gain muscle mass and strength is reduced.
Now, back to showing you how to add 50 pounds to your bench press, simply by following this progressive overload principle.
Muscle size and strength are related. Muscle gains always follow significant improvements in strength. So, the key to gaining muscle mass is to focus on becoming stronger.
When you makes steady gains in strength, gains in lean muscle mass will follow. And the key to gaining strength is knowing how to use progressive overload in your program.
Unfortunately, many people I see training hard use the same amount of weight in their exercises for months or even years. And they soon realize that after a certain length of time, their gains in strength diminish... as well as their gains in muscle.
Let me make an important point: Big gains are made with small steps!
You have to try and increase your strength on a regular basis. In other words, your goal should be to make very small increments on a consistent basis throughout your program.
So how do you do this?
Well, let me use your bench press as an example. The first step to increase the amount of weight on your bench is to make a conscious decision to do so.
The second step is to design a way to add weight to the bar every week.
The only way to achieve this is to use the smallest increments possible. Most gyms have one-pound weights. These one pound weights are the tools of progressive overload and the true secret to adding weight to all your lifts.
If you were to add a one-pound weight to each side of the bar each week, for just 24 weeks, that would be an increase of almost 50 pounds in less than a year!
Simply by adding a one-pound weight to each side of the bar every week, you will gain more size and strength, over time, than any other change you make.
Do you know anyone in your gym that's added 50 pounds to their bench presses? Probably not because most people just keep slamming their heads into a brick wall, using the same weight, week after week.
If you added 50 pounds to your bench in just 6 months, that will be 100 pounds you gain in a year!
Small, persistent gains are the foundation of progressive overload and the foundation of success for any lifter. Start using the one-pound weights on your bench, squat, and deadlifts today.
