What to do when your workout routines stop working...

Most workout routines are supposed to improve or change something about your body-to make it stronger, leaner, fitter or healthier.

However, if you've been using the same workout routines for some time, you'll know that your rate of progress gradually slows down. To combat this, many people simply add more weight to their barbell. They run further, cycle for longer, or simply spend more time in the gym.

Unfortunately, getting better results is not that simple.

According to popular legend, the concept of gradual progressive overload was born when Milo of Crotona began carrying a young calf on his shoulders each day. The story goes that he would pick the calf up on a daily basis and walk around a large stadium. As the animal grew, Milo also grew stronger. Eventually, he was able to carry a fully-grown bull.

The principle of progressive overload refers to the idea that you need to increase the demands you impose on your body during your workout routines to make it bigger, stronger, or leaner.

Let's say that you're following a workout routine designed to help you build muscle size and strength. In theory, all you need to do is pick an exercise, and choose a resistance you can lift for a certain number of repetitions. Then, as soon as you're able to increase the number of repetitions, you add a few pounds of weight to the bar.

For instance, you might be able to squat 200 pounds for a maximum of 10 repetitions. Even if you added five pounds of weight to the bar each month, you'd be squatting with 260 pounds just one year from now. Continue the process for the next five years, and the weight you're using will have risen to 500 pounds.

Unfortunately, if you've been working out for more than a few months, you've probably realized that this kind of continuous progress just doesn't happen-no matter how hard you train, how many supplements you use, or how much "positive thinking" you do. In short, the principle of gradual progressive overload is highly overrated.

Rather than gradual progressive overload, a better approach is to use a form of fluctuating progressive overload — also known as non-monotonic training. Dr. Mel Siff, in his book SuperTraining, makes a useful distinction between monotonic increase training and non-monotonic training.

The expression monotonic increase means a continual increase without any decrease. Non-monotonic training, on the other hand, involves phases of decreased loading, so that the curve of training intensity increases and decreases in a wave-like pattern, but gradually increases over time. One way to do this is by periodizing your training.

Periodization

In essence, periodized training is nothing more than a program that includes some form of planned variation. Hans Selye, a prominent endocrinologist, first suggested the principles that underpin periodization. According to Selye, your body goes through three distinct phases when presented with any form of stress, the stress in this case being resistance exercise.

The first phase is shock, as your body attempts to recover from the stress imposed upon it. Once this phase is complete, your body adapts to the stimulus. This adaptation phase results in greater muscle strength, size or endurance, depending on the type of training program used.

Once your body has adapted, it gets stale. To make continued progress, your body needs a different form of stress. If the stimulus you present to your body is one that it has already adapted to, your muscles will have no reason to grow. Because periodized training varies the stimulus imposed on your body, it's a highly effective way to gain both strength and size.

There are many different "models" of periodized training. The two most commonly used are known as linear and nonlinear periodization. Athletes, whose training year is made up of different phases, such as off-season, pre-season, and in-season, often use linear periodization. Each phase employs a slightly different form of training. Pre-season training, for example, might place a greater emphasis on developing the skills required to be successful in a particular sport. The goal of in-season training might be to maintain a certain level of physical fitness.

Although this is still an area of active research, recent studies show that for people who don't need to peak for a specific competition or event, nonlinear periodization promotes greater gains in muscle strength and size than linear periodization.

A group from Arizona State University, for example, put both systems to the test and found greater gains in strength in the nonlinear group [2].

Research from Ball State University also shows that nonlinear periodization is highly effective for promoting muscle growth [3]. The study compared the effectiveness of two 12-week training programs. Test subjects were split into two groups. One group followed a program that used single sets, while group two followed a periodized program.

Gains in muscle strength and size were far greater in the group using periodized training. Subjects following the periodized program, for example, gained twice as much muscle compared to the single-set group.

Women in the periodized group added 44 pounds to the maximum weight they could lift in the leg press, compared to 18 pounds in the subjects using single sets. Maximal strength in the bench press also increased faster than the group using single sets.

Periodized workout routines are perfect if you want to gain muscle size. Studies also show that they work well for women who want to get strong, lean, and fit while staying attractive and feminine.

Reference
1. Kraemer, W.J., Adams, K., Cafarelli, E., Dudley, G.A., Dooly, C., Feigenbaum, M.S., Fleck, S.J., Franklin, B., Fry, A.C., Hoffman, J.R., Newton, R.U., Potteiger, J., Stone, M.H., Ratamess, N.A., & Triplett-McBride, T. (2002). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34, 364-380
2. Rhea, M.R., Ball, S.D., Phillips, W.T., & Burkett, L.N. (2002). A comparison of linear and daily undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 16, 250-255
3. Marx, J.O., Ratamess, N.A., Nindl, B.C., Gotshalk, L.A., Volek, J.S., Dohi, K., Bush, J.A., Gomez, A.L., Mazzetti, S.A., Fleck, S.J., Hakkinen, K., Newton, R.U., & Kraemer, W.J. (2001). Low-volume circuit versus high-volume periodized resistance training in women. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33, 635-643