The entire muscle growth response to resistance training depends on progressive overload. The muscle growth process is influenced by a time course. The beginner’s initial strength gains in the first few months of training are not accompanied by direct muscle size increases, they are due to an adaptation within the neural system.
During this phase, the muscle-nerves (motor neurons) that power muscle contraction actually “learn” to fire more powerfully and become more efficient and coordinated. After a short period of training time, these neural adaptations actually result in less muscle being activated to lift a given load.
Let me give you an example of this and why progressive overload is so important. Let’s say that the beginning of a program your best bench press is 220 pounds for six reps. Let’s say that his nervous system recruits 2000 muscle fibers to move this weight. After a couple of weeks of training, your nervous system adapts to the load and your now only require around 1750 muscle fibers to lift at this weight for 6 reps. Less muscle is being stimulated!
However, if the overload principle is applied, you immediately increase the weight by about 5-10 pounds once you reach your target of six reps. By increasing the weight, you are assured of tapping into more muscle fibers to perform the lift. More muscle is stimulated by this increase in weight, and this means a more effective growth response.
The fast-twitch, (type-2) muscle fibers grow the most dramatically in response to resistance training. However, the type-2 fibers are only recruited during movements that utilize maximal overload. Unless you constantly attempt to increase the weight used, not only is less muscle being activated, the type-2 fibers are not recruited.
As you can plainly see from this example, if you do not employ progressive overload at every opportunity, the fibers that respond most favorably to resistance training will not be recruited. Max-OT Training is based on this science. follow the program and you'll see just how effective muscle overload is at building maximum muscle size.
