Does progressive overload mean adding weight every workout?
No. Adding weight is one method, but forcing a load increase every session eventually stops working. If you bench 185 pounds for three sets of eight, progress might first mean performing an extra rep with comparable effort. Once you consistently reach the top of your target range, a modest load increase may make sense.
What can you progressively overload?
You can progress load, reps, productive sets, range of motion, technique, exercise difficulty, or sometimes density. These variables are not interchangeable: adding junk volume is not automatically useful progression, and completing a rep with worse technique is not necessarily improvement.
When should you increase the weight?
Increase load when you can repeatedly meet the current prescription with sound technique and enough remaining capacity to justify the next step. A useful program responds to performance rather than demanding a predetermined increase regardless of what happened in the gym.
What if progress stops?
One stalled lift is not a crisis. Check technique, effort, recovery, exercise choice, and volume before throwing more work at it.