Hitting a plateau in your workout can be discouraging. The same thing that has worked for you now isn’t. And, you are stuck. It’s frustrating, and you need answers. The good news is a plateau is normal. And the better news is that there are many things that can be done to help you bust through a workout plateau.
Here are five tips to break free from the plateau so that you can start seeing gains again.
Determine if You’ve Hit a Plateau
First of all, you need to determine if you have actually hit a plateau. Some signs that you have are:
- loss in strength
- failure to achieve a pump during your workout
- lack in motivation
- decrease in appetite
Hitting a plateau can even be mental. Here are some other signs.
- feeling flush
- having no progress in muscle gain in at least two weeks
- feeling aggravated and annoyed
- having a variance in your resting heart rate.
Change up Your Routine
The biggest reason for getting stuck in a plateau is having the same workout for a long time—your body gets used to it, and it won’t help your body.
Change your routine; don’t do your workout in the same order anymore. Keep your body guessing. Add random intervals between different sets. Slow down and be more intentional with your workout, or quicken your speed to push yourself to your limit. Try to cross train…use weights and do aerobics. Run and do yoga. Just change it up.
Change Your Diet
Believe it or not, your diet can be affecting your plateau. Try switching it up as well. Start by direction your focus on eating healthier, or protein packing. Taking a reputable pump enhancer will also help to rev your body up enough to push through the plateau.
Change Your Environment
Working in the same gym may be affecting the mentality of your workout. Give yourself a week of purposeful recovery, then go back to the gym. Try doing some workouts in your home gym or at a park.
Move with the seasons—do seasonal workouts and pay attention to the weather (the heat and humidity may be affecting you). Or, compete with a friend. Having a workout buddy might give you new ideas for workouts and some motivation and competition.
If you have the money, hire a personal trainer— a personal trainer’s career focuses on helping you reach your goals.
Change Your Attitude
Mentality plays a big part in achieving goals of any sort. If you are getting frustrated with yourself or feeling that your workouts are boring, you may need to change your attitude to get through your plateau. Make routines playful—make them a game or a challenge and compete with yourself. Learn a new physical skill for a sense of achievement and for a change to add to your routine.
Set different goals for yourself. Intentionally change your attitude—go to workout with a smile and determination, have a sense of accomplishment before you even begin. And, if worse comes to worse, bribe yourself, then reward yourself.
If you follow these five tips on changing your routine, you should be able to easily break through any workout plateau and continue to grow in strength and building your dream body.
BIO
Phil Slater is a blogger and fitness expert who writes about all things health and fitness. Over the years, Phil has helped many of his personal training clients live happier and healthier lives by helping them achieve their fitness goals.
Here at Selfweightloss, we show you how to lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle with tips and articles on Weight Loss, Fitness, Diet, Nutrition and Food, updated daily by our community of authors and editors.
