.: Why You Plateau...or Don't

Regardless of your specific fitness goals, somewhere along the line you are bound to hit a sticking point in your progress.  The human body is a pretty smart thing, and this is perfectly natural.  Though it can be discouraging, it shouldn't be a devastating blow to your motivation.  If anything, it should motivate you to work even hard to reach your goals.  Here are some tips to break through whenever you find yourself stuck.

Push Yourself

All too often it is easy to get comfortable when it comes to exercising.  Finding a routine that you like and then sticking with it religiously.  Unfortunately, training the same way week in and week out without any progression just isn't going to cut it.  If you ever want to see real results you have to be constantly pushing yourself to improve upon your performance.  There is no reason that you shouldn't be setting a PR every single week.  Every time you push your body to a new limit it will adapt to that new stimulus and rebuild itself stronger so that it will be prepared for it next time.  So if you just keep doing the same thing over and over again without progressing, why would your body continue to adapt?  Some examples of simple ways to constantly push your body to new limits are:

• Using progressively heavier weights every week for a given exercise
• Progressively completing a workout faster each week
• Doing more reps or sets of a given exercise
• Walking / Running longer than you did last week
• Add an additional sprint to your sprint workout each week
• Run the same distance faster each week

These don't have to be drastic improvements every week.  Babystep your way to success, and over time these small improvements will add up to big gains.

Measure Your Performance, Not Your Weight

 When it comes to determining your fitness level, bodyweight is a pretty worthless number.  What you really need to be concerned with is your performance.  Make sure you are keeping a workout log, and recording your performance each and every time you train to include:

• Exercises you did
• Weight you used for each exercise
• Reps / Sets you completed
• How long  your workout took to complete

Keeping this log will give you something to compete against each and every time you train.  You will be able to track your progress and see tangible results, rather than just relying an arbitrary number like your weight.

Mix Things Up

 Like I said before, the human body is pretty damn clever and will eventually adapt to any stimulus that is repeated for long enough.  Since no one can just continue to add weight, reps, and sets to their workouts indefinitely you have to find other ways to challenge your body.  This is why you should change your routine every 4-8 weeks.  Switch to new exercises and focus on improving on those for 4-8 weeks and then switch it up again.

• Usually run or walk for your cardio?  Try swimming or biking
• Usually use bench press and curls for upper body?  Focus on overhead press and pull-ups.
• Usually go for long runs?  Try sprints
• Usually workout in the gym?  Try taking your workouts outside and use your bodyweight.

The possibilities are endless and will keep things from getting stale, and more importantly, will keep you progressing towards your goals.

All too often you see people just going through the motions when it comes to fitness.  People going year after year without seeing any real improvements.  Make a commitment not to be one of the those people.  Take yourself out of your comfort zone and actually push yourself to get better.  I guarantee you that your hard work will pay off in the form of results, and you will have a hell of a lot more fun!

What are some other tips you know for busting through plateaus?

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