5 Ways to Break Through A Training Plateau
Eat More Food.
When it comes to solving problems related to your health or fitness, the answer is often rooted in nutrition. Training plateaus are no exception. Most people get started at the gym to lose weight or burn off extra body fat. In the beginning, cutting back on calories can help novice gym goers reach their goals faster. But once you train consistently for a while, continuously dieting may actually start hurting your performance, resulting in a training plateau.
This does not mean you must start eating everything in sight or gaining weight back to progress at the gym. But you should ensure you are eating enough to fuel your performance and recovery so that the PRs keep coming and you keep progressing.
Take A Week Off.
As our progress slows at the gym, many people think they are no longer getting stronger or fitter because they are not doing enough. So many of us feel we need to do more, and more, and more.
Sometimes a training plateau is just a sign that your body needs actual rest.
And not just a day or two off. Maybe your body could use a whole week off. If you’ve been training hard and consistently without a long break for an extended time, a week off could be exactly what you need to break through a training plateau.
Ramp Up.
On the other hand, some people may need to ramp up their intensity to get back to progressing at the gym. After a while, some athletes settle into just going through the motions at when they train. Without intention and proper intensity in your training, you could find yourself hitting a training plateau.
You’ll know if you are just going through the motions at the gym. Ramp up the EFFORT, stay consistent, and you will start progressing again in no time.
Try Something Different.
Sometimes our body just needs a change to keep progressing forward. If you have been doing the same thing at the gym for a long time, it might be time to change things up. Peloton rides on Monday and Wednesday, a little bench press on Tuesday, and a little squatting on Friday will only get you so far.
Reevaluate Expectations.
This one might be the most important thing you can take away from this email. The truth is that no matter who you are, progress will eventually slow down at the gym. It is unsustainable for you to continue progressing at the same clip today as you did when you first started your training journey.
The more advanced we become, the harder it will be for us to get stronger or increase our capacity. This applies to everyone. The best thing you can do as a more advanced athlete is to accept that and shift your expectations accordingly.
If you are patient, you will eventually progress, but you need to be ok with that progress not being linear and PRs taking more time than you’d like.
