progression

1. The process of progressing; progress.
2. Movement from one member of a continuous series to the next.
3. A continuous series; a sequence. See synonyms at series.
4. Mathematics. A series of numbers or quantities in which there is always the same relation between each quantity and the one succeeding it.
5. Music.
   1. A succession of tones or chords.
   2. A series of repetitions of a phrase, each in a new position on the scale.

A major training principle which states that the benefits accrued from training will continue only if training workloads are gradually increased. Workloads should also be higher than usual (see overload principle). The minimum level of training which satisfies the overload principle increases as fitness improves. Consequently, workloads have to be increased progressively. This can be achieved by varying the frequency, duration, and intensity of training. Changes in intensity have the greatest effect on fitness, but they also present the greatest risk of sports injuries. Therefore, most coaches and exercise physiologists agree that it is best to vary first the frequency, keeping the intensity low until the desired number of sessions per week are reached (e.g. three); then to increase duration; and finally to increase intensity when the fitness level is sufficiently high to cope with the demands. The key to successful training is to increase the workload gradually over a long period so that improvements can be maintained and overtraining avoided. Workloads which are too high, and abrupt increases in frequency, duration, or intensity, can provoke overuse injuries.

noun

1. Forward movement: advance, advancement, furtherance, headway, march¹, progress. See better/worse, forward/backward.
2. A number of things placed or occurring one after the other: chain, consecution, course, order, procession, round, run, sequence, series, string, succession, suite, train. Informal streak. See order/disorder.

A succession of chords or chord-like constructions having a coherence as an expression of harmony (‘chord progression’, ‘harmonic progression’), especially one based on a familiar pattern (‘blues progression’).