Progression on working weights

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey Jordan,

I’ve read you generally plan on adding 2-5% every 2-3 weeks to working weights.

I was wondering:

  • would this apply mostly to singles or multi-rep sets as well?
  • would this apply mostly to competition lifts (generally lower rep schemes compared to supplemental lifts) or supplemental lifts too? I find it hard to add weight that frequently on sets of 8 of paused squats for example.

Thank you!
Matteo

2

Hi there,

Have you checked out these resources?


3

Hey Austin,

Thanks for the prompt reply!

Yep I’ve checked those out a few times (great content), but this might warrant going through those again!

Sorry if this was already covered, but my question was regarding the expected progression and whether you think it should be similar for a single @8 on comp lift vs set of 8 paused squats @8 for example.

Like maybe my comp squat single went up by 5% in 3 weeks, but my paused squats or other supplemental lift using higher rep schemes did not.

I’m guessing what’s most important is what I want to get better at. As long as that increases then I’m probably good to go and should stop overthinking this! :slight_smile:

Thanks for taking the time,
Matteo

4

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While this is definitely something we’ve spent some time discussing, I can see how maybe this specific question was not explicitly covered. I would not expect all lifts to progress the same, especially if they’re selecting for slightly different adaptations (e.g. low rep vs high rep).

5

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, you’ve spent a lot of time on progressive loading and I find this topic to be one of your most interesting takes on training! I think both the article and postcasts are very insightful and I think these concepts are key (at least for me) for managing expectations and subsequent adherence. I like to refer my friends to these when we discuss programming :slight_smile:

Thanks again!
Matteo