What does progressive overload mean in the context of exercise?

Progressive overload refers to the principle of gradually increasing the demands placed on the body during exercise to stimulate improvements in strength, endurance, and overall fitness. This concept is crucial because the body adapts to the stress of physical activity over time. By consistently increasing the intensity, duration, or frequency of workouts, one can continue to make gains and avoid plateaus in performance.

This approach ensures that muscles are consistently challenged, leading to adaptations such as increased muscle strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. For instance, adding more weight to a resistance training routine, increasing the duration of a cardio session, or reducing rest periods between sets are all ways to apply progressive overload.

The other options present approaches that do not actively stimulate adaptation. Maintaining the same workout intensity leads to stagnation in gains, decreasing workout frequency reduces overall training volume, and while strategic rest is important for recovery, it does not represent the principle of progressive overload itself. Therefore, the systematic increase in exercise intensity for better results is the essence of progressive overload.