We’ve all been there before – you just started a new exercise program. You’re starting to eat better, work out regularly, and take all those steps necessary to be healthier and lose some pounds. You step on your scale at the end of week one and – Wahoo! You dropped 2 pounds. At the end of week two your scale says you’re down and additional pound! Week three you are down another pound still, but then something happens week four… zero weight loss. Unfortunately week five is the same thing – zero weight loss. Now frustration starts to set in accompanied by the thought of “if I am putting in all this hard work and not seeing any results, why bother?” You’ve reached the dreaded fitness plateau. This is a dreaded place where almost all exercise programs go to die. Simply put, if the reward (i.e. weight-loss) is not there, that behavior (i.e. working out) will taper off and eventually stop all together.
So how do you prevent this from happening? What is the best way to get off fitness plateau and maintain steady, consistent progress towards your goals? Today I offer you three tips to get off the plateau and maintain progress towards attaining your goals.
Tip #1: Progression progression progression- if there’s one key aspect in the world of exercise programs that most-often goes overlooked it’s this: in order for you to keep progressing, your exercises must progress! The idea is pretty simple really – what was good enough on week one is no longer enough good enough on week four. If you start out by doing three sets of 10 modified push-ups and you have never done push-ups before, then that should be a great upper body workout. However, after three weeks of three sets of 10 modified push-ups your body has gotten a lot stronger. If you’re not adapting your exercises to keep up with your increasing muscle strength and endurance, no longer do these exercises produce the same results that they used to. The solution: you must progress your exercises! Instead of three sets of 10 modified push-ups, try three sets of eight full push-ups. Instead of 20 sit ups, go for 30. If you walk for 10 minutes on a treadmill at 3.0 mph try walking on a treadmill for 12 minutes or increase your speed to 3.3 or put the treadmill on an incline. If you have reached a plateau in your exercise program, chances are you haven’t progressed your exercises to the next level. Push harder to get back on track. What was good enough 3 weeks ago isn’t good enough for the new you!
Tip #2: Muscle confusion is key to keep climbing- Another common reason that people plateau out during an exercise program is they fail to integrate the concept of muscle confusion. Many times, we get comfortable in the gym. We start to operate under the principle of “Monday is leg day. I am going to do these four exercises for my legs” and then that’s all we ever do week after week. Another key element in getting off your fitness plateau/helping your exercise program to progress is the idea of muscle confusion. Make every week slightly different so that your body and your muscles never become fully comfortable doing the same thing. I’m not saying that leg day every Monday is a bad thing, but I am challenging you to find some new exercises. If your time allotment allows for five exercises in a given time period of time, I challenge you to do five all new exercises this week that you did not do last week. The same challenge goes for the next week. Try to go at least two weeks without performing the same exercise and see how fast you can start climbing again. Who knows, you may even find some new favorite exercises!
Tip #3: Find a balance between strength training and cardio- Finally, a balance between strength training and cardio is vital to maintain progression. Most of the time when people tell me about a plateau I find out it is because they have been doing a ton of cardio without any real progression (see tip #1). “I work out on (your cardio machine here) for 30 minutes five days a week. At first this worked great, but I am not seen weight-loss anymore.” My suggestion sometimes shock people: lose the treadmill! Strength training plays an integral role in health and fitness. Resistance training is an excellent way to increase strength and boost metabolism in your body. The stronger you are, the more calories your body actually burns at rest as well as the throughout the day. My recommendation is that if you’re doing cardio five days a week and have reached a fitness plateau, try replacing two of those days with some strength training. This is an excellent way to keep your body on the upward trend towards your fitness goals.
The fitness plateau is an awful, barren wasteland where fitness programs go to die. Just remember… it doesn’t have to happen to you! Following these three key principles; Progression, Muscle Confusion, and Strength/Cardio training, will help you get off this plateau and get you back to climbing to where you want to be!
Looking for more great workouts and healthy recipes to help you progress?
Check out Tone and Tighten’s 8-Week Beginner Workout Plan!
Awesome workouts, healthy recipes, tips, and motivation to start strong and keep you going!
Click here for more information!
Check out Tone and Tighten’s 8-Week Beginner Workout Plan!
Awesome workouts, healthy recipes, tips, and motivation to start strong and keep you going!
Click here for more information!
As always I love hearing from our readers! If you have any questions or suggestions for Tone and Tighten please feel free to comment below or email me at toneandtightenfitness{at}gmail.com.
Make it happen,
Jared
By Jared Beckstrand