16 Jun 8 Ways To Break The Plateau To Achieve Your Health and Wellness Goals
We all struggle with training plateaus at one point or another during our fitness journeys, and it can be extremely frustrating and difficult to overcome, sometimes, even, resulting in cancelled gym memberships. But before you rerack your weights and find comfort in a pint of chocolate ice cream, here are a few ways to overcome those plateaus and continue seeing results for all of the hard work you’re putting in!
1- Vary Your Cardio Routine – Don’t stick to one kind of cardio. Mix it up and keep your body guessing what you’re going to do next. When you stick to one form of cardio, your body adapts to expect that routine and prepares for it to happen, hence why you hit that plateau. Instead of steady state cardio, try out HIIT cardio, or fasted cardio, or even bounce back and forth between all three!
2- Incorporate Dropsets – Even if you don’t realize it, your workout may not be seeing your full potential. Dropsets can safely push you to the point of exhaustion or failure with perfect form, while building muscle and shocking your body.
3- Do Supersets – The “less is more” saying often applies to working out. After an hour of high intensity exercise, your cortisol levels rise while your testosterone levels decrease, which inhibits muscle growth while prohibiting weight loss. This is where you can implement supersets. A Superset pairs two movements that work opposite muscles. Essentially, it is when a set of one exercise is done directly after a different exercise without a rest between them. Then, rest for 2 minutes.
4- Vary Repetitions – Switching up the number of reps for workouts will confuse your muscles. Increase your weights and go for lower reps- but do so gradually to limit the risk of injury. Or on the flip side, decrease your weights and go for higher reps, while isolating movements by pumping them out at the end. This will help you build muscle, develop strength in your stabilizer muscles and break through your plateaus.
5- Plyometrics – Plyometrics can aid in busting through your plateaus by activating fast twitch muscle fibers that haven’t been activated in a long time, if ever, consequently making it so you can push more weight. Pushing more weight means skyrocketing your metabolism.
6- Cross train – Trying a variety of training styles targets different muscles, and can reduce risk of injuries, while shocking your body, building muscle and breaking plateaus. It can also be fun and exciting to be open minded, meet new people and learn something new about working out!
7- Workout Somewhere Different- Working out in different locations is a great opportunity to refresh your mind and find balance in life, as well as experiencing a different atmosphere. Go to a different gym and feel the difference in energy or even get active outdoors.
8- Rest- Muscle fibers rebuild stronger formations on days when you aren’t at the gym. You won’t see your strength develop to its full potential without rest days. Whether it’s a day of foam rolling, relaxing on the beach or getting a massage, rest days are crucial to reaching your goals and busting through plateaus!