Progression is the name of the game. You certainly should be looking to use more weight on your exercises. However, it is possible to make your exercises LESS effective by adding weight.
Having the “moving from A to B” mentality, you become focused solely on adding weight to the bar. You can add weight that you’re not yet prepared to lift properly. You start to use compensation mechanisms that, even if they are really subtle, can greatly diminish the effectiveness of the movement by shifting tension away from the target muscle.
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Progressive overload for me is key to maintenance and growth. But so are periods of deload or complete abstinence from the gym. A few times a year I take time off because of work required travel. If I can, I make do some easy lifting and cardio, but often it’s not practical given the long work days. But when I come back to the gym and get back into it where I left off, most of the time I see gains. Something that is hard-won at 61 years old with 46 years of training. I use FitNotes by James Gay. It’s my favorite for being progressive, as it visualizes the data to see long term changes in volume, 1 RM, and more. It also tracks body measurements and composition.
Two of the best methods of making an exercise better without adding resistance were ones I picked op here ;
One is holding the contracted position of the first rep for a good ten count before proceeding with the regular reps and the second is two slow reps followed by two regular reps repeated for a total of eight. Obviously these work only non-lockout movements like lateral raises, leg extensions , pull downs, etc.
Two great methods !
