Conquering Plateaus

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It's inevitable that you at a certain point will reach a plateau in your workout. You may stop seeing results or stall your progression in one way or another - it happens to all of us. The importance is figuring out why and what you can do to make your training efficient and ever-improving.

There could be many reasons as to why you're not progressing anymore - identify what your assumed cause is and then fix it by altering your lifestyle or workout routines.



Below I have identified options that can help you bust plateaus;

Rest
You will see very slim improvements without proper rest. Your sleeping pattern needs to be consistent - just like regular visits to the gym or your high school track. Your body needs time off from any type of physical activity to recover and grow. I strongly recommend 1-2 days a week of complete rest. Get off your feet, rest up on the couch or lay in bed all day. It's okay to be 'lazy' once in a while, your body needs it!

Push Yourself
You have to constantly get better. Each month you should have goals written down, so you're working towards achieving higher standards. Add 5 more lbs to your bench press set and aim for the same amount of reps you got last week. Try getting more reps of pull-up by doing half-way pull-ups. Don't get complacent and be satisfied with what you can now do - always try to get faster on the track or stronger in the gym. If you don't improve in your workouts, you body will remain the same.

Switch Up Your Workouts
The human body is a fascinating entity. It can basically adapt to any form of lifestyle over time, which is both good and bad. Unfortunately, that means it will get used to the same workout routines - so switch them up. Stick to the core exercises; squats, push press, dead lifts, cleans, snatches and bench press as they all build overall strength and size, but vary them. Perform drop-sets, pause-sets, hit high and low rep ranges or change up your grip. Don't do the same exercises, apart from the above mentioned core lifts, every single week. If you're a runner, don't just run the same 3 miles every other day; instead stop half-way through and do 30 lunges, or do 10 sprints with small breaks of jogging slowly midway through your run. You have to alter your workouts in one way or another all the time.

Get Proper Sleep
Just like having regular rest days, sleep is equally important. I recommend 7-8 hours of deep sleep every night. If you stay up until 2 A.M. every night I can ensure you that it will hurt your progress. It's vital that you have a consistent sleeping pattern - go to bed around the same time every single night and wake up around the same hour in the morning.

Dieting
If you are eating unhealthy, you will not overcome any plateaus. Make sure you are at least getting your body weight in grams of protein. I am 193 lbs, so I attempt to consume at least 200 grams of protein every single day. I always suggest that most carbohydrates should come from vegetables as well. Eating smaller meals throughout the day, also, speeds up your metabolism. Drink plenty of water, at least a gallon a day. Constantly educate yourself on healthy eating to ensure you beat those plateaus and get better.

Stay Consistent
Don't fool yourself with excuses; you have to keep working out, you have to keep eating healthy and you have to get proper rest. Be patient; the results will come with time.

Identify Your Goals and Work Towards Achieving Them
If your goal is to get a bigger butt then find out what you can do to achieve that goal. Perform squats every week or super-set with lunges midway through your leg extensions. If you want a specific part of your biceps to get toned then find out which exercises you can perform to achieve that goal. If you want to shed fat then perform HIIT (Interval Training) In other words, you have to be smart about your training, that way you will constantly improve and avoid hitting plateaus.

If you have any questions find me on Twitter @FitnessOracle