Breaking through Plateaus
What are Plateaus and why do they occur?
Going through the period where you feel your not losing any body fat or not gaining any muscle or just feel unmotivated to train in general and cant get back into a good routine to keep you on track will happen to just about all of us.
So what do you do to keep yourself progressing and charging ahead with your health and fitness goals?
Its time to evaluate what you’re doing and ask yourself the following:
Am I keeping track of my daily food intake and calories?
My mentality of hitting plateaus is simply because the attention to detail is not there when it comes to food and training.
Keeping a log of what you are eating and constantly assessing it keeps you aware of how progress is being made and if you need to tweak your plan at times when things slow down. When you are diligent in this way and have the right structure for you to follow then constant progression to attaining your goals should be very achievable.
Whether its writing it down, having a phone app or whatever way that works for you it’s a must to determine where your at and where you need to go still to achieve your goal. Keeping this mentality will help you keep those small progressions happening.
Do I need to switch my workout intensity and frequency?
Whilst your food is being written down and constantly assessed so must your training. Your body will adapt to strenuous activity within 4-6 weeks so once that time period comes up it is wise to have a plan of attack with how your going to structure the next 4-6 till neural adaptation occurs.
This can be done with changing your intensity technique from heavier weight to higher rep and faster through your workout, frequency of sessions through the week, types of exercise, give weights a miss for the week to add some functional movements and bodyweight exercises.
Are you getting enough rest at night?
These days’ people are so busy in their working and personal lives that its sleep they skip out on. If you are exercising right and look at your food and see your on track to getting the results you want then it could be time to evaluate your sleep patterns. Sleep is such an important part of keeping your body running optimally. Lack of sleep will result in high stress levels (cortisol build up), slower recovery times between workouts, not becoming as productive as you plan to be.
Get your good nights sleep. Your body will thank you.
Keep hydrated.
Some little facts why water is the most critical nutrient in the body. Your Brain is composed of 95% water, your Blood is 82% water, and your Lungs are almost 90% water. Water is critical for your growth and development.
A drop as little as 2% in your body can cause symptoms such as decrease in concentration, neuromuscular coordination, fatigue, lack of productivity, headaches, reducing endurance, decrease of strength, lack of mind to muscle connection and cramping.
Dehydration is such a common cause of daytime fatigue so be sure to keep hydrated throughout the day to avoid these symptoms and keep your body running well.