Strength coaches call this the "novice effect." It's why you can see an untrained person's squat increase if they ride the exercise bike a few times a week.

If your goal is optimality, the question is: is your training program the most effective use of your time?

On the other hand, not everybody cares about optimality, but more whether they can actually show up regularly. It takes a certain craziness to follow linear progressions, especially since it can take a mental toll (fuzzy headed all day) if you push too hard, which is sub-optimal in this field.