Hello Fitness Friends! Trainers and coaches often talk about overload as the concept that frames and drives any potential change to our client’s fitness. Most often these variables are discussed as they relate to goals, but as humans we don’t live in a vacuum. It is important to determine overload, at least a bit, based on your life circumstances. It’s not as hard as you’d think either, so let me show you how.
Before I really dive in, though, let’s review what exactly overload is. Overload is quite simply pushing the system beyond what it is used to so that metabolic, physiological, and aesthetic changes can be stimulated. When we stress any system in the body, the ideal goal is to create enough of a push that the body recovers better, stronger, or to be more efficient in some way.
A couple of things to keep in mind here. First, overload is specific to the system or goal. Meaning that exercise like walking will have mainly cardiovascular benefits and lifting weights will focus more on the muscular systems. Pilates is having a moment right now and there are many in the community that argue Pilates is strength training. Strictly speaking, Pilates CAN be strength training. If you are pushing your muscular system beyond what it is used to. If you have engaged in Pilates for years or can do 10 perfect push ups without breaking a sweat, Pilates is not overloading YOUR muscular system and it is not therefore strength training. Nuance really is everything in fitness world.
The second thing to keep in mind is that overload is a broad umbrella term that constitutes different variables depending on what you are trying to achieve. Frequency, intensity, and volume are the official terms, but these mean something slightly different depending upon the type of exercise. When we are talking about cardiovascular goals (i.e. faster running times, increasing distances or ability to walk, bike, or swim), we are looking at number of sessions per week (frequency), how high is the heart rate (intensity), and how far (volume). For strength training, frequency is specific to a muscle group, intensity is about how heavy based on max effort, and volume is number of sets, reps, and exercises for the specific muscle.
As I am fond of saying around here, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Again, remember that overload is just stressing the system beyond what it is used to. You can shift the three variables (frequency, intensity, and volume) depending on your need and still work towards the same goal. For example, if you want to build strength, the classic way is to focus on intensity of lifts as the main driver of change. Split the body up into smaller parts and hit them hard on their specific day. But that isn’t the only way to build strength.
Goals
So, how do you drown out the noise and figure out your overload for who you are and the life you are living? Well, you do have to start with your goals first and foremost. I mean if you are going to train for a marathon, strength training is actually important, but running and your cardiovascular endurance is the top dog.
Once you know where your endpoint is, be honest about how long it might take. Under diet and exercise only input, a 60 pound weight loss is NOT a 90 day goal. Give yourself a generous timeline and then look at your calendar and make notes about possible challenges in scheduling (vacations, holidays, etc.).
As I alluded to in my marathon example, you’ll also need to assess relative inputs of the different systems. This is important in understanding how to structure things on a week to week basis. Weight loss works best and is more easily maintained with inputs from both cardiovascular and strength training so you’ll want to plan for both. Other goals may not need to be broken down this way, but it’s always useful to know at the beginning.
Availability
Which brings me to the second thing you’ll want to assess. Go back to the calendar and start looking at typical weeks. How many days per week do you reasonably have to give? Not in an ideal week or under ideal circumstances. And yes, we all will end up having a week or two where the universe is just against us, but both of those situations are outliers. What is doable under your normal/average week to week.
And just as important, how long do you have to dedicate to single sessions? This may vary day to day and that’s okay, just get a general idea. Keep in mind that you may need to drive somewhere, prep, workout, shower, and reset before you move on to your next task or part of your day. Most clients overestimate how much time they have to give for workouts, so again, plan for that.
Access
Now that you have an idea of how often you can workout, you need to ask yourself what you have access to. Are you going to join a gym? Is there one close to home, school, or work? Is it a place you personally feel comfortable? Will you workout at home? What equipment is available in whichever space you choose? Do you need to supplement that with other equipment? Is it affordable for you to do so?
I’m of the school of thought that you don’t need a pile of equipment even if you are working on hypertrophy and strength. Again, it’s all how you structure the rest of your overload. But, again, honesty is key here. If you own resistance bands and don’t know how to use them, you’ll need to factor in some research time and a learning curve or purchase what you need in the form of home equipment or a gym membership.
Putting It Together
Now that you know what your goals are, how often and long you can workout, and what equipment you have you can look at the overload variables. Here’s an example that I come across fairly often: someone wants to lose weight and tone up (code for lose body fat and gain enough muscle to be visible under the skin), they have about 45 minutes three times per week, and want to use the resistance bands they have at home. I am usually honest with them that weight loss is going to involve a caloric deficit and some sort of daily movement (i.e. short walks) in addition to the strength work. For their strength work, here’s how I would structure it to make the most of what they have. Full body resistance band and body weight exercises three days per week. Each workout starts with a five minute warm up and then three to five minutes of mobility work and/or pre movement prep depending on what they need. Thirty minutes of strength work via supersets, which keeps things moving without compromising between set rest. Five minutes of stretching for cool down.
Say this person’s goal was strength gains. Then I would change the program by focusing on one body section (upper body push, upper body pull, and legs) on each of the strength training days. This person could still use the resistance bands, but the individual sections of their body are going to get targeted focus, which means they will need the longer post session recovery time.
Now say this person’s goal stayed the same, but they had a half hour four days per week. Now we are going to split the body into upper and lower sections. And repeat a shorter list of exercises twice during the week.
In short, I like to think of overload as a game of Tetris. Frequency, intensity, and volume take different shapes depending on what an individual has to give. The hard part is just figuring out how to fit them together. Fortunately for me, I am awesome at Tetris (no bragging, my husband will attest to this). So if you have any questions about your own goals, availability, and access and how you can Tetris them into a program, leave them in the comments!
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