Read time: 4 minutes

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The perception of progress is a powerful motivator with exercise.

A special kind of satisfaction comes from being able to lift heavier or walk or run faster than before.

But this can be a trap, too.

I was chatting to a friend of mine who’d hit a wall with his gym routine.

He’d finally managed to string together a period of consistent training - but could no longer increase the weights he was lifting.

Like many, he was frustrated with what he saw as a lack of progress.

And his motivation took a sharp dive as a result.

Luckily in these situations there are many ways to vary your training and help you make progress - or even boost your motivation.

Not only can this help you make extra gains, it can keep you on track too.

And even simple tweaks can make all the difference.

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The importance of “progression” with exercise

Progression with exercise is important for a couple of reasons:

• For our bodies to adapt to exercise, a certain level of stress is needed. But once we’ve adapted, a little extra stress is needed to drive more changes.
• Plus, being able to do “more” signals what we’re doing is actually working. If we get a sense we’re on the right path, we’re more likely to continue.

Now here’s the problem.

As fitness improves, it gets harder to make gains. And then we hit the inevitable “plateus” with our training.

This means we can less easily increase the weight lifted or the pace of our runs.

And this is when we need to get creative with other strategies to help us make progress.

So here’s 6 practical ways to progress your resistance training without lifting heavier weights:

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Strategy #1: Change the number of reps per set

Once you reach a plateau with how heavy you can lift, changing the number of reps per set can do the trick.

It turns out getting stronger isn’t all about lifting heavier.

A 2022 study in adults with at least 1 year of resistance training experience found increasing the number of reps per set over time was as effective as increasing the weight for improving strength.

Doing more reps with the same weight can not only stimulate more gains - it can be an indicator of progress, too.

On the flipside, lowering your rep range is another easy way to help you lift more weight and make extra strength gains.

Either way, tweaking the number of reps per set can help you overcome plateaus when lifting more weight simply isn’t possible.

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Strategy #2: Do more sets per exercise (or muscle group)

When you can’t lift heavier, doing an extra set or two (with the same weight) can also help.

This is particularly true for increasing muscle mass - where training volume is more important.

Doing more sets allows you to accumulate more volume per muscle group, which can in turn boost your muscle mass.

And extra sets could benefit strength too - particularly if you do fewer (3 or less) sets per exercise.

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Strategy #3: Switch your exercises

When you think of exercises as movements, there are many different options for the same muscle group.

So when your progress stagnates, try switching to another option in the same movement category:

• Squat movements: Back squat, front squat, leg press, lunge, step-ups, etc.
• Hinge movements: Deadlift, romanian deadlift, good mornings, hip thrust, etc.
• Push movements: Bench press, chest press, dips, military press, etc.
• Pull movements: Lat pulldown, seated row, bent-over row, single-arm dumbbell row, etc.

You may find taking a break from an exercise could mean extra gains when you come back to it.

Plus adding new exercises into the mix is a great way to build in some variety and keep you motivated.

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Strategy #4: Increase your lifting speed

Lifting the same weight a little faster is another way to progress your training.

Regardless of the weight, trying to lift it quickly is important for strength and power in particular.

This is because of the important role the nervous system plays in how much (and how quickly) our muscles produce force.

So if you typically use a slower lifting speed (also known as “tempo”), attempting to move the weight a little faster during the lifting (or concentric) phase could give your strength an extra boost.

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Strategy #5: Alter how close your sets are taken to “failure”

How close you take your sets to “failure” - where no more reps are possible - is a powerful driver of responses to resistance training.

Taking sets close to (but no necessarily to) failure is important for muscle growth.

But this doesn’t seem to be the case for strength or power - in fact the opposite may be true.

So if you often train close to failure, stopping a few reps earlier may help you get stronger.

This means changing how close you go to failure with the same weight - depending on your goals and usual approach - could help you break through training plateaus.

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Strategy #6: Train more often (without doing more)

Dividing up your training into shorter but more frequent sessions could also enhance your progress.

A 2023 study found strength gains were greater when the same amount of resistance training was spread over multiple sessions instead of a single workout.

In that study, doing 4 exercises across 4 sessions (1 exercise per session) led to better strength gains than fitting all exercises in a single session.

So instead of trying to cram more into your sessions, spreading the same training “dose” across the week could give your strength an extra leg up.

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Progress is more than how much weight you lift

With exercise, it’s easy to get hung up on external factors like how heavy you can lift.

This is why strength plateaus can be incredibly frustrating.

The good news is there are many ways to vary your training to stimulate progress - and keep you motivated.

It’s also worth remembering even maintaining your strength is helpful, particularly given the alternative is a steady decline across the lifespan.

In the end, the best tweaks to your exercise routine are the ones that keep you coming back more often.

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As always, I appreciate you being here!

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Until next week,

Jackson

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IMPORTANT:

The information contained herein is of general nature only and does not constitute personal advice. You should not act on any information without considering your personal needs, circumstances, and objectives. Any exercise program may result in injury. We recommend you obtain advice specific to your circumstances from an appropriate health professional before starting any exercise program.