The 5-Week Progressive Overload Workout Plan

Gradually increase the stress on your body each week for more muscle and strength.

Muscular fitness model working out for a six pack abs doing cable pull out exercise and performing a progressive overload workout plan
Jasminko Ibrakovic

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  • Goal

    Hypertrophy, Build Muscle, Upper Body Definition, Build Strength

  • Skill level

    Advanced

  • Duration

    5 Weeks

  • Days per week

    5

  • Type

    Power, Strength Training

  • Goal

    Hypertrophy, Build Muscle, Upper Body Definition, Build Strength

  • Skill level

    Advanced

  • Duration

    5 Weeks

  • Days per week

    5

  • Type

    Power, Strength Training

Today’s fitness world can be confusing when you look at all the terms being thrown at you. The list is endless: supersets , drop sets, slow negatives, partial reps, and so on. The problem with the bombardment of information and subsequent bandwith overload is that it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters to make progress. An important principle to incorporate in your workout plan is progressive overload principle. Lucky for you we have a 5-Week Progressive Overload Workout Plan that does all the hard work for you!

What is Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during training. The principle is about continuously increasing the demands on the muscoloskeletal system so that you can make gains in muscle size, strength, and endurance. In simplest terms: to get bigger and stronger, you must lift more weight and add more volume — making your muscles work harder than what they’re used to. Without this concept, there is no improvement.

It sounds simple enough, yet we all know someone who’s been a gym-goer for years and ends up getting nowhere. In nine out of 10 cases, the overload principle was violated.

The 5-Week Progressive Overload Workout Plan Method

A simplistic progressive overloading program is just the trick. I personally like the way Mike Isreatel and Nick Shaw from Renaissance Periodization do things.

The first basis of this program is to figure out your diet, and then set up a training routine. Next, set up your training weights by calculating your 70-75 percent max.

In the first week, you’ll train about 70 percent, moving the weights up in 3-5 percent increments each week, finishing to about 85 percent. This holds primarily for compound exercises. Note that the smaller exercises will progress in smaller steps. Here is my way of increasing the weights every two weeks.

As an example, let’s assume that you can bench 300 pounds x 10—giving you a max weight of 380. You would start the program at around 300 pounds without going to failure, then add volume and weight as you go along. The program is for someone who has decent legs, but lacks upper body mass and strength. This is a five-week program, the fifth week being a recovery week.

Now I know this program will not work forever, so in week five, halve the volume and the reps to give your body and central nervous system a chance to recover. As for rest days for the program, you can switch them but just make sure that you stick to the original sequence.

Weider Workout Principle: Progressive Overload

Weider Workout Principle: Progressive Overload

Get bigger and stronger using this resistance training technique.

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The Plan

  • Goal

    Hypertrophy, Build Muscle, Upper Body Definition, Build Strength

  • Skill level

    Advanced

  • Duration

    5 Weeks

  • Days per week

    5

  • Type

    Power, Strength Training

Week 1 70% Max
  • Day 1

    Vertical Press

    30 min

    5

    Yes

    Vertical Press

  • Day 2

    High Pulls

    30 min

    5

    No

    High Pulls

  • Day 3

    Legs

    30 min

    5

    No

    Legs

  • Day 4

    Rest

  • Day 5

    Horizontal Press

    30 min

    5

    No

    Horizontal Press

  • Day 6

    Rest

  • Day 7

    Low Pulls

    30 min

    5

    No

    Low Pulls

Week 2 75% Max
  • Day 1

    Vertical Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Vertical Press

  • Day 2

    Rest

  • Day 3

    High Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    High Pulls

  • Day 4

    Legs

    60 min

    5

    No

    Legs

  • Day 5

    Rest

  • Day 6

    Horizontal Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Horizontal Press

  • Day 7

    Low Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    Low Pulls

Week 3 80% Max
  • Day 1

    Vertical Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Vertical Press

  • Day 2

    Rest

  • Day 3

    High Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    High Pulls

  • Day 4

    Legs

    60 min

    5

    No

    Legs

  • Day 5

    Rest

  • Day 6

    Horizontal Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Horizontal Press

  • Day 7

    Low Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    Low Pulls

Week 4 85% Max
  • Day 1

    Vertical Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Vertical Press

  • Day 2

    High Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    High Pulls

  • Day 3

    Rest

  • Day 4

    Legs

    60 min

    5

    No

    Legs

  • Day 5

    Horizontal Press

    60 min

    5

    No

    Horizontal Press

  • Day 6

    Rest

  • Day 7

    Low Pulls

    60 min

    5

    No

    Low Pulls

Week 5 50% of Week 4 Weight/Volume
  • Day 1

    Vertical Press

    90 min

    5

    No

    Vertical Press

  • Day 2

    High Pulls

    90 min

    5

    No

    High Pulls

  • Day 3

    Rest

  • Day 4

    Legs

    90 min

    5

    No

    Legs

  • Day 5

    Horizontal Press

    90 min

    5

    No

    Horizontal Press

  • Day 6

    Rest

  • Day 7

    Low Pulls

    90 min

    5

    No

    Low Pulls