Progress and Regress

You may or may not have heard that changing the amount of weight and reps of a particular exercise gives you different types of benefits. For instance, light weight and high reps are better for “toning”, while heavier weight with lower reps helps build more muscle mass. However, those are just a couple of ways that you can vary an exercise!

To progress an exercise is to vary the movement by change of position, depth, angle, range of motion, time under tension, among others, to increase stress on a muscle group. The greater the stress, the more the muscle rebuilds, and the fitter you become. Regression can be accomplished by changing any of the same elements adversely. Why regress? To continue putting the muscle under stress, although less than before, and sustain the exercise, when you’d otherwise have reached your limit and stop, benefiting in improved muscular endurance. In other words, you’d be able to work your muscles for longer without getting tired, thus burn more calories! Now doesn’t that sound nice? Here are a few of my favorite exercise progressions and regressions:

Progression

Lateral Lunges: lateral lunge in place, lateral lunge with step out and in, lateral lunge with step out and return with knee lift.

Regression

Push-ups: decline push-up, horizontal push-up, incline push-up.

Progression to Regression

Squats: air squats, jump squats, pulse squats.

Do you have any favorite exercise progressions and/or regressions of your own? Do you need help in progressing or regressing an exercise? Comment below!