Progressioon jõutreeningus: kangiga kükk jõusaalis

Progression in strength training: when you hit a wall

Put simply, progression is a development plan: how to raise your training load deliberately and sustainably so that you keep moving forward. The beginning is always the fun part. But what do you do when things stop going to plan and you hit a wall?

What progression is and why it stalls

When I started writing and translating training articles for fitness.ee in 2005, many English terms needed an Estonian equivalent. English-language texts were full of “importance of progression”, “linear progression” and “undulated progression”. In Estonian, I almost never came across the concept in a strength training context. So progression became one of the words I started using consistently.

In essence, progression is one of the hardest skills in training practice. Everything comes to an end sooner or later, and so does planned progress. The question is what to do when the program stops running the way it does on paper. Below are eight practical ways to get past the wall.

Eight options when progression breaks down

If the stall comes relatively late in the progression and only means missing the last few sets or last few repetitions in the final few workouts of the system (program), it is still worth finishing the program, however it turns out.
If the program stalls, go back a couple of weeks (in the calculated program) and try to progress again while consolidating. Going back a couple of workouts can work in a similar way.
Lower the weights, for example by -2.5 kg on every set, and continue from there at the next scheduled workout where things got stuck.
Start something new right away: a new progression. Approach this option with tact and caution, because it can become a habit. After that it is just one new progression after another, with only a couple of weeks out of each one you start. That won’t get you anywhere in the long run.
Take a rest week and try to continue from where progress broke off, or from a small step back.
For some time after the progression breaks down, train by feel in your preferred repetition range, without any serious plans, simply in regular pyramids.
Start a new progression using the same system (for example 5×5), but use a different variation of the base exercise you used before to measure progress. For example, instead of the regular bench press, try a medium-grip press; instead of the barbell back squat, try the front squat, and so on.
If the progression stalls very early, in the first three weeks (say, in an 8-10-week progression), you can retest your real capacity and set the progression again based on it.

Practical tips for long-term progression

As a rule, after each progression ends or breaks off, and before the next one, you should train for at least 3-4 weeks without overthinking big plans. This gives your nervous system, and your motivation too, time to recover.

Ideally, each progression calculated from your real capacity (barring unexpected setbacks) would reach at least 3/4 or 80% of what was planned. 100% is a nice goal, but it rarely happens.

Always plan your progression with a small margin. If your record is, say, 50 kg, calculate the program from 45 kg; in these calculations you can even take a real-capacity base that is 5-10 kg lower. When you work out the numbers across weeks, take an honest look at yourself: in 4-5 weeks, as progress unfolds, would the sets, weights and repetitions planned in the program really be doable?

All in all, everything comes to an end sooner or later. Overall progress is simply a continuous cycle of starting, completing and finishing development plans. The question is rather how to do it productively, as sustainably as possible, and getting the most out of every planned cycle.

FAQ about progression

How long should one progression last?

A typical strength progression lasts 8-10 weeks. A shorter one may have no effect, while a longer one often starts to stall before the end. After each cycle, leave 3-4 weeks of easier training.

How can you tell the progression has really hit the wall?

If two consecutive workouts don’t go to plan, with sets not reaching the target repetitions and the weight not moving, it is not just a bad day. Taking a step back and consolidating is usually a better choice than forcing your way forward.