If you have been working out for a long time there is good chance you have run into an exercise plateau at some time. If you stay doing the same workout routine, you will never get out of it. Getting past the exercise plateau can be done by changing your workout routine.
In order to understand if you are in a exercise plateau let's take a look at the symptoms. In real life a plateau is a land mass that goes up to a certain elevation and then flattens out across the top without a peak. Don't let your workout routine reach an exercise plateau.
An exercise plateau is when you have built your muscles up to a certain point and then all of a sudden you just can't make any more gains. You can train your muscles as hard as you want but they will not respond if your muscles have become acclimated to the routine and the same kind of stress you inflict on them. It is time to break out of an exercise plateau!
Here are some ways to break out of it today!
1: You must "trick" you muscles
To break out of the exercise plateau you need to shock your muscles by training them in a way they are not used to. You will then be able to break down the muscles again allowing them build back stronger when you are recovering. A a good way to do this is by switching your repetitions up. If you are used to general fitness training(8-12 rep range) then you can switch to either power training(4-6 rep range) or endurance training(12-20 reps). You cannot do the same rep range throughout your whole life and not expect to hit an exercise plateau.
When you switch your workout routine to one of these alternative training methods, such as power training or endurance training, you should begin to see more response and growth out of your muscles again. The body will get confused after lifting moderately and then switching to extremely heavy or light weight with high reps. You will be confusing the muscles and not allowing them to get acclimated to a certain routine and this could spark new muscle growth.
2: Change Up Your Lifts
Doing the workout routine for an extended period of time will halt you from getting maximum growth out of you muscles. Even if you switch from one training method to the other you should not continue to do the same lifts. During each phase of training you must switch up your lifts. For example, if you did hammer curls once already in the week you do not want to do them on your second arm day. You want to switch it up to keep your body guessing. The more muscle confusion the better.
Let's take a look at chest training for another example. If your chest routine always starts with bench press, then eventually you will stop making gains. You can switch your routine up by starting with dumbbell chest press, or an incline chest press instead. You may be thinking that you are going to lose out on your bench press numbers but is that what you really want to achieve here. Switching your exercises up will give you better chest development, isnstead of working the chest in the same matter all the time.
3: Keep A Sufficient Diet
This is the one part where you may or may not have to change but is so vital to getting results. If you are trying to gain muscle you might want to go with a higher protein/moderate carbohydrate diet. You can go by the formula of 1-1.5grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Muscles need protein for growth so make sure you are getting yours. When it comes to carbohydrates, don't buy into the myth of not taking any in. Usually a 200lb. individual can get around 400-500 grams of carbohydrates a day for energy to fuel your workouts.
If you’re trying to gain muscle you might want to consider eating a high protein /moderate carbohydrate diet. To ensure you’re getting enough protein multiply your body weight x 1.5 – this is your necessary consumption of protein per day. Carbohydrates are also necessary to the gainer’s diet. Usually a 200 lb. individual would eat around 400-500 g of carbohydrates a day to fuel muscular growth. Carbohydrates are the best natural source of energy. Taking in enough carbohydrates will give you the energy to power through your day and your workout.
Keep your fats under 120 g daily. Eating a moderate carbohydrate diet with too much fat will cause a significant rise in body fat percentage. That is something we definitely do not want.
4: Drink Plenty Of Water
This is a simple concept because water is vital to life. If you do not take in enough water and you workout, you run the risk of getting dehydrated. This will cause muscle fatigue and make it harder to make any gains and harder to finish your workouts. During intense training you sweat and that sweat needs to be replenished. Water will help keep you hydrated and help flush out the toxins that are in your body.
It’s hard to get beyond exercise plateaus for some people because they don’t know how to change their routines or even think of changing their routine. Remember this, diet and training go together they are not separate. Having one without the other is just going to limit your progress. Also, you cannot always train the same way because this will certainly lead to an exercise plateau effect. Tricking your muscles by switching up your workout routines will keep you from reaching an exercise plateau a continue to get results!
