How to Progress Your Lifts: Balancing Upper, Lower & Isolation Movements

A common theme at The Lab in relation to progression is:

“Should I be lifting more weight by now?”

Progressing your lifts is essential, but doing it too quickly, in the wrong way, or with the wrong exercise can stall your results just as much as doing too little.

Let’s break down how to progress smartly across different types of movements, while keeping real-world application and research in mind.

🔁 Upper vs. Lower Body Compound Lifts

These multi-joint movements (like squats, deadlifts, bench press, and rows) are where progression tends to be most straightforward, but how you progress depends on the muscle groups involved.

• Upper Body Compounds:
  Progress in 1.25-2.5kg increments. The muscles involved (like delts, triceps, lats) are smaller, so gains tend to come slower (Schoenfeld et al., 2016).
  👉 Repeating a weight until it feels easier is often better than grinding through reps with poor control.
  It’s one of the things we regularly reinforce with clients inside our 1-to-1 and small group personal training sessions at The Lab.

• Lower Body Compounds:
  These lifts recruit much larger muscle groups (glutes, quads, hamstrings), meaning they can tolerate larger jumps, from 2.5-5kg, especially for newer lifters.
  
  

🧠 Evidence Insight:
According to Helms et al. (2017), effective progression strategies include small, consistent overloads with a focus on total volume and recovery. Large compound lifts respond well to increases in training volume (sets × reps × load) rather than just heavier weights alone.

🔬 Why Isolation Movements Need a Different Approach

Single-joint movements like bicep curls, lateral raises, tricep pushdowns, or hamstring curls target smaller muscle groups with less force production capacity (Fisher et al., 2014).

👉 As a result:

• You’ll rarely see weekly load increases.
  
  

• Often, even a 1kg jump on a lateral raise can feel disproportionately difficult.
  
  

• Other muscles can easily take over if the weight is too heavy or the form breaks down.
  
  

🧠 Practical Insight:
At The Lab, we often cue members to focus on “owning the movement,” clean form, full range, and zero momentum, before chasing heavier weights on isolation lifts. Progress often means more reps, slower tempo, or cleaner reps, not just heavier dumbbells.

🧽 Drain the Sponge Before You Pour More

One of the best analogies we use with our members is:

“Don’t rush to wring out the whole sponge. Squeeze out everything you can from your current load or rep range before pouring more water (i.e., adding weight).”

Instead of constantly pushing for heavier loads, consider:

• Adding reps across sets
  
  

• Improving technique
  
  

• Staying at the same weight until it feels genuinely easier
  
  

This approach helps you:

• Avoid hitting a plateau too soon
  
  

• Stay injury-free
  
  

• Maximise adaptation at every level before increasing the stimulus
  
  

🧠 Beginner vs. Experienced Lifters: What Changes?

🟢 Beginners (0–2 years):

• Quick neurological adaptations = faster gains (Ogasawara et al., 2013)
  
  

• Can often increase load or reps every 1-2 weeks
  
  

• Lower training volume required to see change
  
  

🟡 Intermediates/Advanced:

• Gains slow down, small increases (even 0.5-1kg) become valuable
  
  

• Programming needs to be more strategic (Helms et al., 2017)
  
  

• Recovery, load management, and volume balance matter more
  
  

📚 Evidence Snapshot:
Rhea et al. (2003) found trained individuals required significantly higher intensities (80–85% 1RM) and more total volume to progress compared to beginners. This reinforces the idea that more experience = more precise programming needed.

🔁 Stick with It Until It Feels Easy

A key mindset shift:

You don’t need to increase the weight every week.
Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is repeat a load until it feels smoother and more controlled.

That’s real progress, especially for compound lifts where joint stability, bar speed, and technical proficiency matter just as much as the number on the plate.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Compound lifts progress in different increments depending on the muscle groups involved.
  
  

• Isolation lifts benefit more from volume, tempo, and form control than frequent weight increases.
  
  

• Beginners can progress quickly; advanced lifters need more precision and patience.
  
  

• “Drain the sponge”: Maximise gains at your current level before chasing new weights.
  
  

• Repeat and refine: Mastery at one load builds a stronger base for the next.
  
  

💬 Want Help Progressing Smarter?

If you're unsure when to push the weight, add reps, or hold steady, we’ve got your back.

At The Lab Liverpool, our coaches guide you through every step, helping you progress safely and effectively based on your goals and training history.

📍 Click here to apply!

References

• Fisher, J., Steele, J., & Smith, D. (2014). Evidence-Based Resistance Training Recommendations. Journal of Human Kinetics, 44, 137–153.
  
  

• Helms, E., Zourdos, M., & Trexler, E. (2017). The Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training (2nd ed.).
  
  

• Ogasawara, R., Yasuda, T., Sakamaki, M., Ozaki, H., Abe, T. (2013). Effects of training frequency on muscle strength and muscle size in resistance-trained men. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 33(2), 83–87.
  
  

• Rhea, M. R., Alvar, B. A., Ball, S. D., & Burkett, L. N. (2003). A Meta-Analysis to Determine the Dose Response for Strength Development. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(3), 456–464.
  
  

• Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine, 46(11), 1689–1697.