Let’s talk Plateaus
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Plateaus are a normal process in fitness. Everyone hits them, I have hit them so many times I can’t remember. The biggest thing your body needs is to be “shocked” back into responding. Even though you say your “workouts” change or are switched up, I’m guessing they are somewhat similar in function just different exercises. The change that in my opinion needs to happen is in the form of something your body has never experienced before, and that usually occurs in the cardio style source of your workout.
As an example if you’re used to doing weight training, and then cardio after, even though your weight training changes all the time, and you use a different cardio machine, that is not “changed up” enough. (I’m not saying this is your scenario, just an example). The body needs to be put through something TOTALLY different.
In the above example I would recommend switching the cardio to HIIT cardio for a couple weeks, or do 30-45min of high intensity circuit training, something that gets your heart rate VERY high for intervals. Sprints are also an activity that is interval based and most people rarely ever incorporate.
Nutrition wise, plateaus can occur when you consistently feed your body the same thing. I am firm believer in cheat meals once every 7-10 days. My belief is that it shocks the body with the dramatic influx of calories and keeps the body semi guessing for the next 7 days. With that in mind though, eating consistently and clean throughout the week plays it’s part and is needed as well, but that cheat meal can shock your body into responding on a regular basis. If your calories are consistently stable, then another mechanism would be to slightly raise your calories for 2-3 days (clean cals only) and then back down to your regular nutrition level. Again the key here is to put your body through something for a temporary time that completely shocks it into responding.
NOTE: Dropping your calories significantly is NEVER the right way to shock your body, that will lead to further lowering your metabolism and will be counter intuitive to your goals.
Whatever you do, DO NOT get discouraged. Keep your focus, and FIND a way for your body to respond, it’s out there, you just need to find it. DO NOT let your mind tell you, that is as lean as you’re going to get, that is false, you can get as lean as you want, you just need to find the combination of fitness and nutrition that gets your body back to responding. In almost every scenario I’ve experienced with myself and clients one of the above methods has worked great and got the measurements, scale, photos, etc. showing results again.
If you find yourself in a plateau, try the above, if after a couple weeks you still have no change, come and talk to me, I will make it my personal mission to find a way through for you.
Shock the world today!
-Jeremy
About The Author
Jeremy Reid
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