The plan you follow matters far less than whether you’re doing a little more than last time. Progressive overload — gradually increasing weight, reps, or difficulty — is the actual driver of change in a body, not the specific programme printed on a PDF.
What overload actually means
It doesn’t have to mean adding weight every session. Extra reps, slower tempo, shorter rest, or better range of motion all count. The goal is a small, repeatable nudge, not a dramatic jump.
Why plateaus happen
Most plateaus aren’t genetic bad luck — they’re the result of doing the exact same session for months with nothing tracked. If you can’t remember what you lifted last time, you can’t know whether you’ve progressed.
A simple way to apply it
Write down what you did each session, even roughly. Aim to beat one number — weight, reps, or time — every week or two. That’s the whole system underneath most successful programmes.
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