What Most Women Get Wrong About Progressive Overload

Embrace Your Real

Julie Ledbetter

Health & Fitness, Fitness, Body, Mindset, Movement, Health, Acceptance, Macros, Love, Positivity, Nutrition, Loss, Weight

5 • 965 Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hey beautiful human, welcome back!

Have you ever looked at your workout and thought… “Wait… if I’m not lifting more weight this week, am I even making progress?”

You’re not alone. In fact, today’s episode was sparked by a super thoughtful question inside the private Movement With Julie Facebook group. And it’s such an important one.

So let’s clear up the confusion around progressive overload, what it really means, why it’s essential for results, and how it actually shows up in your training (even when your workouts change weekly!).

Inside this episode, I’m walking you through:

The real definition of progressive overload (it’s more than just lifting heavier)
Why your body needs new challenges to keep seeing change
How Movement With Julie is built to create overload through smart variation
6 ways you might already be progressing, without even realizing it
The signs your body gives you when you’re hitting that next level

If you’ve ever wondered whether your workouts are “enough,” this episode will give you so much clarity and confidence to keep showing up and trust the process.

And if this resonated with you, I think you’ll really love episode 303: 15 Basic Resistance Training Principles You Need to Know – Part 1.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Follow me on Instagram: @juliealedbetter | @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Movement With Julie | App: https://sale.movementwithjulie.com/
Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy: https://www.macrocountingmadesimple.com/

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter,
0:05.4	a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk
0:11.4	and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving
0:16.6	your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get and let's go.
0:28.3	Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Podcast. Today's episode was
0:33.5	inspired by a really great question that came up inside my movement with Julie Facebook group.
0:37.7	This is the space that you get access to when you join my dumbbell only weekly workout app.
0:42.0	But here is what one of our amazing subscribers said.
0:44.7	She said, question for the group.
0:46.1	Have you ever achieved progressive overload using this program?
0:49.2	I've been finding it difficult to increase my weights over time when the exercises are often different from each week.
0:55.7	Thanks. I love this question because it gets to really the heart of something that so many women
1:01.0	wonder about. And it's if the workouts are always changing, how do I actually get stronger?
1:05.5	And how do I know if I'm making progress? So in today's episode, we're going to be breaking it all down.
1:11.6	What progressive overload really is and also what it's not. Why it's essential for building strength and seeing
1:17.2	results, how the movement with Julie weekly workout program is intentionally designed to create
1:22.1	progressive overload, even when the exercises vary from week to week. And last but not least, how you can actually
1:29.0	feel when you're hitting overload in your workouts, even if you're not lifting heavier every time.
1:34.9	So if you've ever been confused or second guess whether you're doing enough, this episode is going to
1:40.3	hopefully give you the clarity and confidence that you need. But first, I want to share
1:44.7	this review. It comes from Ann K620. She gave a five-star review and said, soul sister.
1:50.6	Julie, I love you so much. I am so blessed to have found your podcast. And it's been wonderful
	...

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