5 Things You Can Do To Bust Out Of Your Personal Training Plateau

5 Things You Can Do To Bust Out Of Your Personal Training Plateau

It happens to everyone, and it's a bummer every time. You are going with your training program, everything seems to be progressing swimmingly, when all of sudden you discover weeks have gone by and you've made no progress. You haven't lost any fat, you haven't gained any muscle, you're not stronger, and you haven't improved your endurance. How does one break of the fitness doldrums?

1. Shake Up Your Sets

If you have been doing high reps with small weights, do the exact opposite. If you prefer few reps with heavy weights, see what it's like on the other side of the coin. Training differently at different speeds and different weights will train different fibers if your muscles, and that will lead to better development.

2. Learn New Exercises

If you have hit a plateau, your muscles are probably begging to be worked in a completely new way. Find great exercises to replace your usual routine and try those for a while. Sure the squat is a must if you want to build your legs, but if you have been doing it the same way for years, try throwing in the deadlift or the lunge. It will work muscles in different ways, and might even work a few that have been neglected by your stale routine.

3. Train Mostly With Free Weights

If your workout involves a lot of weight machines, you are really doing your fitness a disservice. Weight machines are fine if you limit their use, but constantly using them locks up your muscles into a very preset motion. Free weights usually mean that every rep is going to be ever so slightly different from all the other reps, and that difference will help your fitness progress. Also, the act of balancing the free weight works muscles that the weight machines just don't. Working these "stabilizer" muscles will make your body look better, and help you burn fat faster.



4. Get Enthusiastic About Training Again

Nothing damages motivation like hitting a plateau. Your workouts are half hearted, you might "cheat" on a few reps, or you might even skip an entire workout out of sheer frustration. Know that plateaus are temporary, and do what you can about getting fired up about fitness again. Think back to when you first decided to get fit, and the reasons for that. The number one motivator is a goal you want to accomplish, so always keep that goal (or goals) in mind while you get back into the groove of working out.



5. Make Sure You Are Getting Enough Sleep

People who train regularly need more sleep than your average person. At night is when your muscles heal and grow from your workouts the fastest. If you aren't getting a solid eight hours every night, some of that time you spend pumping weights in the gym is going to waste. In addition, people who don't get enough sleep have slower metabolisms, so all the food you eat is more likely to get converted into fat.