Micro-loading

[Tony Vino]

Hi all!

I had an argument with a coach I work with on micro-loading. He kept saying that micro-loading, even up to the point of 500g or 200g on the bar is more important than anything to push progress. He even compared it to my 5lbs jumps saying if 5lbs jumps are good so are the 500g jumps.

So my question is: how micro would you load with a client and when does it stops being useful/ start being useful to micro load the bar.

thanks in advance

[stef]

Have a look at Rip's article Incremental Increases

Essentially, you go to smaller jumps when the larger jumps are not sustainable. Note that the smaller the jump, the more you need to pay attention to the accuracy of the equipment - don't assume that the listed weights are correct (here is one recent example). The simplest way to keep things in line is to use the same equipment every time.

At some point, program reorganization yields more progress than adding a small amount of weight every session.

[Tony Vino]

Totally agree with you about the accuracy of the equipment. Basically he didn't understand why I would program 5lbs increases and 2.5lbs increases but not 1lbs and under. He also based his view on the kaizer principle and always putting more weight on the bar even if it is 500g.