As you know, you need to keep challenging your muscles, which you do by applying progressive overload. Using more weight every workout sounds ideal, but in practice, that is not always possible.

Rest assured, you can also make progress in other ways.

Progressive overload can mean:

• More repetitions;
• Better technique and execution;
• Larger ROM (range of motion);
• And ultimately more weight.

If the weight goes up but your technique deteriorates, that is not progress. In fact, it is the opposite.

Finally: a study from 2024 shows that adding reps or adding weight are equivalent for muscle growth.