Hit a Plateau? What To Do

Whether you haven't gotten stronger, heavier, lighter, or made progress in the past few weeks/months these could all be clear indicators you have hit a plateau. Plateaus are a frustrating thing and might lead you to published studies or some online guru that might just confuse you more. Don't worry we got your back! Don't forget to share us with your friends so they don't encounter the same frustrations we talk about here. So where to start?! Let us look at the top 5 factors that can have an impact on progress:

1)Training Frequency

2)Rest times between sets

3)Caloric Intake/Diet

4)Training Style

5)Sleep Patterns

Training Frequency

I listed this one first because it arguably has the largest impact on progress yet is overlooked the most when taking into consideration plateau. This one's tricky because automatically you go to the assumption; I've hit a plateau because I don't train enough. This might be the case in some situations but is definitely not allowed to be assumed. Since your body is genetically programmed to at all costs survive this means naturally it will adapt. As it adapts it becomes more accustomed to the amount of stress you tend to put it under, and as time passes, the stress no longer becomes sufficient. Whether this is because you train too much and your body is used to that level of stress or because you don't train often enough. This is why athletes change their exercise patterns, amount of weight lifted and training frequency about once a month(not saying this is the only approach, there are many). Without putting new stressors on your body, it has no reason or desire to change because homeostasis is ideal. Common methods are to change your exercise lineup every month or month and a half, Add to the amount of weight you lift by 5lbs per week, change up how often you train or take an off week once in a while.

Rest Times Between Sets

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to give you the answer you probably don't necessary want to hear. Resting itself is import to replenish energy sources like muscle glycogen and ATP that way you can carry out your training without injury. It's hard to find the perfect medium but talking with Larry about his perfect training split might be hindering yours. Rest times of anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes are acceptable for hypertrophic recovery and anywhere from 2-4 minutes is acceptable for heavy strength training. The higher the intensity, the more stress you put on the muscle cell, the more calories you burn and I cannot emphasize how important this can be for growth and progress! So keep the rest times to a minimum if possible!

Caloric Intake/Diet

You are what you eat!!! This couldn't be more true! Sometimes people tend to be stuck at a plateau because indeed they have made progress but aren't feeding their bodies the calories it requires. Think about it. If I gain an extra 1lb of muscle, that lb of muscle can burn on average an additional 6.5 calories per hour which accumulate to an additional 78 calories per day! Still feeding it the same amount of calories it was fed previously to the gain of the 1lb of muscle leaves the body now in a 78 calorie deficit. So why would it hold onto that additional lb of muscle? Doesn't make any sense right? Remember, efficiency is integrated into our DNA and an extra lb of muscle is an extra lb to carry around...not very efficient is it? It is key that for progress to be made, a proper diet needs to be in place to facilitate growth and maintain it. A balanced diet, in general, is essential for a healthy body and should not be overlooked for a healthy body and mind which are the 2 catalyses for absolutely anything!

Training Style

How you train is very important. There's a fine line between beneficially challenging and flat out stupid. To avoid the stupid you can incorporate select training styles that allow you to push yourself past the point of comfortable and toward growth safely. Technically supersets are defined as 2 or more exercises in a row without rest targeting 2 or more muscle groups. I say we alter that definition and make it 2 exercises in a row targeting the same muscle group. doing this would increase the metabolic stress on the muscle, maximize time under tension and lactic acid buildup(being a good thing in this case), as well as utilizing anabolic signaling mechanisms. Another good strategy is drop sets. This is performed by starting off the set with your strongest weight, carrying out the exercise, and with each set slightly decrease the weight. you can perform these sets back to back or with breaks in between. These have been tried and true strategies for decades to break even the most stubborn of plateaus. Methods like these prove to work by providing new stimuli constantly not allowing the body to adapt.

Sleep Patterns

This one really comes down to common sense. Since our bodies require sleep to Repair tissue(muscle tissue), synthesize hormones and perform numerous other tasks it's easily extracted that if you shortchange yourself on sleep you are shortchanging yourself on months of progress. It is important to remember that you don't make the biggest gains in the gym but in your sleep, and you don't lose the most weight during the day but rather your sleep! Why do you think you weigh yourself in the morning first thing?! Makes sense right! I just gave you an even better excuse to sleep in and catch some z's. You're welcome!

Plateaus are not as scary or frustrating when you take into account these 5 factors and apply them correctly. Remember that everybody is different and requires different things. This isn't a list of all of the reasons you might be at a plateau just the key ones. Taking care of yourself is the first step towards anything great! We appreciate you taking the time to read our blogs! You mean the world to us. New blog posts coming every week so stay tuned:)

~STRIATIONSfitness~

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