Progressive Overload Question

if I were to lift a certain exercise for 3 sets of 6 reps and then the next time I lift that bodypart I lift 3 sets of 10 but the weight is a little lower , is that still progressive overload? Assume that I'm going 1 rep before failure.

That’s hard to track. Why would you be doing it in different rep ranges?

copaaz said:

if I were to lift a certain exercise for 3 sets of 6 reps and then the next time I lift that bodypart I lift 3 sets of 10 but the weight is a little lower , is that still progressive overload? Assume that I'm going 1 rep before failure.

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No.

Progression must have a static number to judge progress.

So weight must be static or reps.

Now if you did this every other workout, like an A/b split where the weight was the same, yes you could call that progressive overload.

What if one work out I wanted to do rep range of 6 to 8 and the next work out I want to do reps of 20? I mean obviously doing reps a 20 you’re not going to be able to lift as heavy weight as you would for reps 6 to 8 so what it sounds like you’re saying is you should never do anything other than reps 6 to 8?

No. He’s saying if you want to keep it progressive, you need to track your weights and reps for the week you do 6-8, and the same for the week you do 20, and only compare the 20 to 20 and 8 to 8 to see if you’re getting better. You can’t compare 8 to 20

I keep my progressive overload exercises the same each time I hit that bodypart and strive to increase in either weight for the same reps or the same weight for higher reps. I'll continue that until I plateau in that exercise by either stalling out in progress or it becomes painful. Use other movements for your volume/pump exercises

You sound like someone who needs to follow a program like Wendler 531. I'm the same way and I'm using 531 principles for just my bench and squat because I want to gain strengt and I like doing low reps. I'm not saying buy the book but just find a program that suits you and is easy to follow. For every other exercise I just do pyramid or straight sets and gradually increase weight or reps, usually 3-4 x 8-12.

copaaz said:

if I were to lift a certain exercise for 3 sets of 6 reps and then the next time I lift that bodypart I lift 3 sets of 10 but the weight is a little lower , is that still progressive overload? Assume that I'm going 1 rep before failure.

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In this case you are overloading volume not intensity (weight on the bar).

The key with progressive overload is simply more stimulus over time, don't get too chaotic in your overloading and remember if you are training correctly then the overload can be relatively mild.

For example,
Let's say you can dumbbell press 70lbs for 10 clean reps but can't quite get 14 reps, especially not with good form. Your average workload is 2 sets before you see the total reps going down. For example,

Dumbbell Press (primary movement, all reps performed cleanly)
1x10 Easy
1x10 (arghh)
1x8 (from here its all down hill)

Now a progressive overload could be done in a lot of ways but I am a fan of simplicity, I would do the SAME weight until you can do 3x10 even if your 3rd set is SUPER challenging, but you do get all 10 reps.
Now I would add 5lbs...
You have effectively overloaded. Now continue to work until you can do 3 sets to completion.

Now lets say you continue on this track and you get to 85lbs and you hit a sticking point where you just can't make it to the 90s and its been 2-3 weeks of training smart.

Now I would go back to 70lbs and shoot for 4 sets of 12 and then go up to 75lbs once you are able to do all 4 sets of 12. Continue that track and then by the time you get to the 90s you can do 3x10 more than likely.

This is a very simplistic but effective approach.