Microloading in Resistance Training: Using Fractional Plates (0.25-0.5kg) on Upper-Body Lifts

If your overhead press or curl has been stuck for weeks and the smallest plate in your gym is 2.5 kg, the plate is probably the problem, not you. Microloading in resistance training solves this by adding 0.25-1 kg at a time, so each step is small enough to actually lift.

It is one of the most practical fixes inside our wider progressive overload, deloads and plateaus guide. Here is the maths, the kit, and a simple routine you can start next session.

Why do upper-body lifts stall when you can only add 2.5 kg?

Because the jump is the wrong size. Percentages matter more than kilograms.

Add 2.5 kg to a 100 kg squat and the bar is 2.5% heavier. Most people can absorb that in a session or two. Add the same 2.5 kg to a 20 kg barbell curl and the bar is 12.5% heavier. That is the difference between your usual 10 reps and a set that collapses at 6 or 7.

Dumbbells are worse. Many gyms jump from 8 to 10 kg, or 10 to 12 kg. That is a 20-25% jump on a lateral raise, and the muscle involved is a small one that can’t just “grind it out.”

So people stall on curls, side raises and presses and blame genetics, or conclude the muscle “stopped responding.” Often the muscle was ready for 20.5 kg. The gym only offered 22.5.

What does the research say about microloading resistance training?

Honest answer: not much, and it is small.

The most direct evidence is a 2001 trial in which college students did bench press and triceps press (Hostler et al., 2001). After a first 8 weeks of traditional training (adding 1.1-2.2 kg when a rep target was hit), one group continued the same way while the other switched to steps of 0.22 kg (0.5 lb) or 0.44 kg for another 8 weeks. The authors concluded the small-increment approach appeared as effective as traditional steps for building strength over those 8 weeks, in short-term pretrained men and women.

Before you get too excited, look at the limits. The groups had around 9 or 10 people each. The lifters were college students, not experienced gym-goers. It lasted 8 weeks. Not every subgroup improved significantly (the triceps press gains reached significance only in the men). And the authors noted that preliminary data suggested traditional progression might raise the training load more effectively over longer periods.

So what can we say? Small steps are a reasonable way to keep making strength gains when larger steps are not available. We cannot say they build more muscle.

Is adding reps the same as microloading?

Pretty much, yes. Going from 9 reps to 10 at the same weight is progress you can make without any new plates, and it is the first lever to pull before you touch the load. That is the logic behind double progression, which we cover in the double progression guide.

There is some support for working within rep zones. In a secondary analysis of 24 untrained men, a repetition-zone model (training to failure within a rep range) produced greater volume load progression per session, 2.30% versus 1.01% for a fixed percent-of-1RM model, and greater muscle cross-sectional area gains. Strength gains did not differ (Nóbrega et al., 2023). It was exploratory, in untrained men, so I would not stretch it far.

The rep range itself also has more room than the old “5 for strength, 10 for size, 20 for endurance” chart suggests. A 2021 review argues muscular adaptations can be obtained across a wide spectrum of loading zones (Schoenfeld et al., 2021). A 2016 meta-analysis found loads of 50% of 1RM or lighter produced substantial strength and hypertrophy gains in untrained people, with a non-significant trend favouring heavier loads (Schoenfeld et al., 2016). Practically, a curl in the 8-15 rep range gives you room to work with. For how ranges and effort fit together, see our load, rep ranges and RIR guide.

So the order is simple. Add reps first. When the top of the range is clean, add the smallest weight step.

What equipment do you need for fractional loading?

Not much. Here is the kit, cheapest first.

• Fractional plates (0.25, 0.5, 1 kg). Small discs that slide onto a barbell or an EZ-bar. A pair of 0.25 kg plates adds 0.5 kg in total. Ask your gym if they have a set, or buy your own.
• Magnetic add-on weights. Flat magnets that stick to the head of a dumbbell. They are what makes dumbbell lateral raises and dumbbell shoulder presses progressable at 0.5 kg per hand.
• Pin-stack add-ons. Small magnets or clips for cable stacks. They bridge the gap between pins, often by 0.5-2 kg, depending on the machine.
• Washers or similar hardware. A budget option, but weigh them on a kitchen scale before you trust them, and secure them.
• Your own log. The most useful “equipment” is a notebook or app where the exact load is written down.

Plate weights can drift a little from the label, especially on old, painted or cheap plates. I would not assume your gym’s 2.5 kg plates are perfect. This matters more when your step is 0.5 kg, so use the same bar and plates each week and note which ones. If you want to do the maths on a loaded bar, our barbell plate calculator helps.

How do you microload the overhead press?

With a barbell, the arithmetic is neat. Take a 40 kg press.

• Standard step of 2.5 kg total = 6.3%
• A pair of 0.5 kg plates (1 kg total) = 2.5%
• A pair of 0.25 kg plates (0.5 kg total) = 1.3%

That is the gap between a jump you may need weeks to match and one you might hit next session.

Dumbbell pressing needs magnets, because you cannot split a fixed dumbbell. Take a pair of 14 kg dumbbells. Going to 16 kg is +14%. Adding a 0.5 kg magnet to each takes them to 14.5 kg, a +3.6% step. Same rule as before: only step up once you are at the top of your range on every set. How standing, seated and machine presses differ is covered in overhead pressing: standing vs seated, dumbbell vs machine.

How do you microload curls, lateral raises and triceps work?

These are the lifts where microloading matters most, because working weights are low and the muscles are small.

Curls. On a barbell or EZ-bar, a 0.25 kg pair gives +0.5 kg, a 2.5% step on a 20 kg bar. On dumbbells, magnets give +0.5 kg per hand.

Lateral raises. The gap here is the largest. Moving from 8 kg to 10 kg per hand is a 25% jump, and the lateral deltoid lever arm makes the last few reps feel much heavier than the number suggests. Try 8, then 8.5, then 9, then 9.5, over several weeks. More on this lift in our lateral deltoid training guide.

Triceps pushdowns and cable work. Use a pin-stack add-on, or alternate weeks between adding a rep and adding the add-on magnet.

If the bar is empty and you still want a smaller step, you can also use slower lowering reps, a short pause at the stretch or an extra set. These are not weight, but they are still progress. See the 5 modalities of progressive overload for the full list.

How do you actually run it? A step-by-step progression

1. Pick a range. For example, 8-12 reps on lateral raises, 6-10 on a barbell press.
2. Work 1-3 reps from failure. You can check this with the RIR and RPE calculator.
3. Log the load, the reps and the effort. Without a log, a 0.5 kg step is invisible. Our guide to tracking variables in a training logbook covers what to write down.
4. Hit the top of the range on every set? Add the smallest step next session and expect your reps to drop back toward the bottom of the range.
5. Missed reps? Stay at the same weight and chase one more rep next time.
6. Stuck for three or four sessions? Drop back one step and look at sleep, calories and protein. If it persists, check our plateau troubleshooting flowchart.

One caveat on effort. A 2024 meta-regression found that, after adjusting for other variables, muscle growth tended to be greater when sets finished closer to failure, while strength gains were similar across a wide range of reps in reserve. The authors flagged the analysis as exploratory and the estimates of reps in reserve as imprecise (Robinson et al., 2024). The takeaway: microloading does not replace effort. A tiny step on a set you finish with 6 reps in the tank is just a slow walk.

Does a heavier log always mean more muscle?

No, and this is worth knowing so you do not become a slave to the number.

A 2024 paper argued that the increase in total training volume reported in studies tells us little about muscle growth, because the link looks noncausal and similar volume increases do not always produce similar growth (Hammert et al., 2024). That is the authors’ interpretation, and others weigh the evidence differently.

In practice: use load as a tool to keep the stimulus honest, but do not chase a heavier number with sloppy form. A 0.5 kg increase that comes from a swinging, half-range rep is not progress. Keep your range of motion and tempo the same from session to session. For how free weights compare with machines when it comes to tracking progress, see progressive overload with machines vs free weights.

When should you not bother microloading?

Plenty of times.

• Squats, deadlifts, leg press. A 2.5 kg step is a small percentage of the load, so standard plates work.
• True beginners. Early gains come fast and normal jumps usually fit. Save the small plates for when progress slows.
• Pain or poor recovery. Smaller jumps do not fix an irritated elbow or a week of 4 hours of sleep. If joint pain is persistent or getting worse, see a doctor or physiotherapist instead of adding weight.
• When adding a rep still works. If reps are still climbing, you do not need more kit yet.

The bottom line

Microloading is not a trick. It is arithmetic. A 2.5 kg step is a different size of problem on a curl than on a squat, so shrink the step to fit the lift. Add reps first, then 0.25-0.5 kg per side or per hand, and keep effort honest.

The research behind it is thin, so I would call it a practical solution, not a proven edge. Still, a pair of 0.25 kg plates costs less than a month of repeating the same weight. If you want a structure that puts all this to work, start with our free workout plans and log every set.