When you work out, your body learns to compensate for the physical stress that you place on it so it begins to work more effectively, which will mean that the benefits of challenging your body will be reduced. In other words, your body becomes fitter as it works to meet the fitness challenge. The more accustomed to the fitness challenge your body becomes, the lower your heart rate, the easier your breathing, and the less your muscles have to work to accomplish the task. This is actually a good sign but you will need to up the challenge to continue improving your fitness.
Plateaus are common and can happen at any time in your fitness program. It’s important to not let a plateau discourage you.
You can overcome a plateau by making a few minor adjustments:
- Try adding high intensity intervals to your workouts. Cardio intervals may consist of quick bursts of hard cardio work for 30-60 seconds followed by a slowdown of twice the time that you pushed. These types of intervals are common for people who run, but you can also add them to strength training workouts by pushing hard cardio between sets. This type of training can burn extra calories, boost your metabolism, and break the plateau cycle.
- Change up your strength training routine by changing the types of exercises that you do, increasing the weight/resistance, or adding repetitions or sets of exercises. If you’re stuck, then you may want to consult a fitness trainer that can help you make these changes.
- Make sure that you rest. It’s essential to allow your body to heal after workouts.
- Take a look at what you are eating. Is that affecting how you feel? Are you eating enough protein but avoiding carbohydrates? Your body needs complex carbohydrates and protein to continue to build strength and endurance.
- Most importantly, have patience with yourself. Make sure that you are expecting reasonable results and give yourself the time it takes to break through that plateau.