The importance of exercise progression
Author: Matt Whitaker, Digital Health Lead/6 June 2019
Reviewed and edited by Dr Sean Wheatley, Science and Research Lead/21 July 2026
This blog covers the basic principles of exercise progression, and is aimed at member of the general publich rather than highly trained individuals.
Progression is defined as “the process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state”. Tailoring this to exercise: it is important to increase overload, which can be achieved by following the FITT principle- frequency, intensity, time and type. This blog examines the importance, benefits and practicalities of progression in exercise.
Firstly, I must stress that any exercise is better than no exercise. It is then important to build up slowly, particularly if trying new movements or if you were previously very sedentary.
As discussed in a previous blog, weight loss inevitably plateaus. This happens because your body adapts to the given stimulus – in this case, an energy deficit. The ability of the human body to adapt goes beyond alterations in weight though, and includes exercise progression. This is true regardless of exercise type. Eventually, if the same routine is performed, you will reach a point where fitness, strength, balance, coordination (and most other benefits of exercise) improvements will halt. This makes continuing with that exact routine fairly pointless!
Applying the principle of progressive overload can prvent this though, and help to make sure that further benefits can be seen. This makes all of the hard work worth the effort. Essentially, for improvements to continue, your exercise routine/programme needs to be systematically developed so the body is forced to adapt to the increased challenge.
Progression
In resistance training, progression can:
- enhance neurological adaptations (changes that affect the brain and nerves), which support balance and coordination.
- increase muscle size and strength.
- make your body more functionally capable.
- improve energy levels, and increase metabolic rate (how many calories your body burns) and glycogen storage capacity (how much carbohydrate your body can store to be used as a quick energy source).
Other possible benefits include: improvements in blood glucose control, insulin sensitivity, and bone health.
Progression in cardiovascular exercise trains your heart, helping to make it fitter, stronger and more efficient. This increases the volume of blood it can pump round the body, improving your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to where they are needed as a result. Other possible benefits include improvements in your blood lipid profile and reductions in blood pressure.
With any form of exercise, when your body adapts to what you are doing, you should ideally make some changes to your routine. Key signs that your body has adapted (and thus plateaued) include:
- You no longer feel challenged when going for the same run/walk/swim/bike ride etc. or when completing the same number of repetitions with the same weight (or body weight).
- You don’t need the same amount of time or rest to recover after completing any given exercise or workout.
These platuaues are a positive sign, as they show that you are getting fitter and stronger, and this will also likely mean there have been some improvements to your health and/or wellbeing. As noted before though, a plateau means that something probably needs to be changed if you are going to see further benefits.
What should be changed depends on your goals and the type of exercise. We regularly use the FITT model with participants on our programmes to help them consider this. Each element of this model is outlined below.
Frequency
Regardless to exercise type, if you feel progress has stalled, you could add in an extra exercise session each week (i.e., you could be active more frequently).
Intensity
To give an example, let’s say you go for a slow walk for 30 minutes, and this is moderately difficult for you to do (i.e., the intensity is “moderate”). Then, after a month or two, walking at this same speed for this same length of time is no longer difficult at all (i.e., the intensity is now “light”). One possible option for increasing your activity levels would be to walk faster, so the activity is harder for your body to complete again. A brisk 30 minute walk might now be as difficult as the slow walk used to be, meaning you have now increased the intensity of your activity.
If you are seeking progression in resistance exercise, you could look to increase the resistance (i.e., how much weight you are lifting) and/or the number of reps performed and/or the time you spend resting between sets and/or the speed in which you complete the movement. Practically speaking, let’s say you have been squatting your body weight 10 times (so 10 “reps”), then resting for 30 seconds, and then repeating this another four times (so completing 5 “sets” in total); but this is no longer challenging. To increase the activity, you could:
- Complete the same number of “reps” and “sets”, but holding 5kg (i.e., adding resistance).
- Squat your body weight 12 times in each set instead of 10 (i.e., adding reps).
- Squat your body weight 10 times in each instead, and for five sets, but resting for 20 seconds in-between each set (i.e., reducing rest time).
- Continue to complete 10 bodyweight squats for five sets, but make an effort to perform the movement faster than previously.
Time
Using the example from earlier of an individual going for a slow 30 minute walk, rather than ramping up the speed (as suggested before) the time could be increased instead. So, the person would walk at the same pace, but for 35 minutes (i.e., they would be active for more time).
With resistance training, the corresponding increase would be to add reps and/or sets to what is being done, to increase the overall length of the activity. It should be noted though, in line with the previous section, that this may also increase the intensity of the activity.
Type
If you only perform one type of exercise, there will always be additional benefits you can reap by adding a new type of exercise in. For example if you only run and your progress plateaus, you may benefit from adding some resistance exercises to your routine. Alternatively, if you only perform resistance exercise, you would likely benefit from adding some form of cardio activity in.
Exercise programmes that include both resistance and cardiovascular elements seem therfore, perhaps unsurprisingly, to be the most effective in relation to fitness, health and wellbeing. They can also allow for prolonged progression before altering the stimulus is required.
Other Considerations
Whatever changes you make, any progressions should be made relatively gradually. This will reduce the risk of injury or other unwanted side-effects.It is also important to see all these methods of progression as temporary fixes, as your body will inevitably adapt to them again, at which point further changes (and progression) will be needed. This is not a bad problem to have, as it shows the changes you have made are working!
When you are progressing, this will often be obvious. You may be able to move faster and/or for longer, your resting heart rate may be lower, your energy levels and/or mood may improve, you may be able to lift more and/or lift a given weight more times, certain health results may have improved, and/or you might just feel better in general.
A plateau may not always be clear as quickly, but being mindful during your workouts or activity bouts can help you to identify one. When a workout is noticeably easier, this provides an important clue. You may decide to make some adjustments to the next workout, or you might want to repeat the same workout again to see how that feels. If two in a row feel easier, this is definitely a sign that it is time to make a change to something!
It is highly recommened that you monitor your activity levels and progress, to help you identify when a plateau occurs, and to help you consider what further changes you might want to make.
On a final note
Making some changes to your physical activity and/or exercise will help to make sure you keep progressing, and keep seeing benefits. Making other lifestyle changes alongside this – such as to improve your diet or to manage stress and sleep better – will also help, as such changes can improve your fitness, recovery and motivation.
