Overcoming a Plateau

There is nothing more rewarding than starting to see results from going to the gym regularly. At this point in the process, your confidence is sky high and motivation to keep going comes easier than ever. Unfortunately, many people experience a sudden decrease in results a few months into their training. Plateauing can be frustrating and discouraging, but there are several ways to bounce back and keep the results coming.

Make sure you are getting enough sleep.

Nutrition and exercise are obvious factors of your results, but sleep is another important factor that many do not prioritize as much as they should. Not only will your workouts suffer after a poor night’s sleep, but it will also inhibit your body’s availability to recover and rebuild your muscles. In addition to negatively impacting your workout routine, research has shown that lack of sleep also triggers the body to crave food high in sugar. So, make sure you are catching your z’s!

Be sure that your workouts are progressing in intensity.

In the beginning of your workout journey, your improvements in strength or cardio are fairly easy to attain and more noticeable. A few months in, however, you may start to realize that it is more difficult to increase the weights you are lifting or improve your speed and distance with your cardio. This is natural, but in order to attain more results, you need to make sure your strength or cardio routine is progressing. Strength wise, there are several techniques that will help you increase the amount of weight you are lifting if you just can’t seem to improve. Say you typically do three sets of twelve reps of fifty pounds. Next time do those three sets but do a fourth set of fifty-five of as many reps as you can do. Even if you can only do three, this will help you increase your strength for next time. Or, do the weight you are comfortable with but add an extra set than you usually do.

Track your food intake.

If you feel like you have been eating healthy but aren’t seeing the results you expected, try tracking the food you are eating. When you track your food, you might realize that you are eating more or less than you thought you were. Tracking your food will prevent you from overeating and make you more aware of what might be preventing you from seeing results.

While all of these factors are important, the most important step to overcoming your plateau is to not lose hope and keep pushing for improvement. While diminishing results can be extremely discouraging, it is a natural part of the process and you will eventually start seeing those results again. You are stronger than you think you are so push yourself and keep going!