It’s inevitable. At some point during your exercise program your body will fail to respond to the exercise and diet that has guaranteed you results in the past. This state, known as “the plateau effect,” is your body hitting the proverbial wall. Strength increases dwindle; fat loss slows; lean muscle gains aren’t as apparent. Life was good at the beginning of the program when your body responded by shedding massive fat, gaining pounds of muscle, and gaining superhero strength almost overnight. Welcome to reality.
So, here’s what can you do to push beyond the inevitable plateau.
1. Clean up your diet:-- As your body fat percentage lowers the body clings to its remaining fat stores making it harder to lose additional body fat. Your diet must remain very, very clean to drop below 10% for males and 15% for females.
2. Cheat or re-feed:-- When you follow a very clean diet your body may need to be shocked. This is when eating pizza, nachos, etc. can actually jumpstart your metabolism and help push beyond your plateau.
3. Rest:-- Vigorous exercise puts a lot of stress on the body. If you’ve worked out hard and consistently for 6+ weeks you should consider taking a week to let your body recover.
4. Variety:-- Try varying the weights and doing more or less reps. Try performing different exercises to work the body in a slightly different manner. Try to adjust timings in your exercise routine. Try adding things like supersets, drop sets, negatives, etc. to your lifts. Try to introduce more intensity into your cardio.
5. Intensity:-- Consider setting a new goal if your problem is mental. Consider supplements such as Creatine if your problem is physical. Consider training with a partner if your problem is accountability. Just remember, you can’t spell “workout” without “work.” Don’t make the gym experience overly social.
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