How to Bust out of Fitness Plateaus

Christopher William McCombs runs Positively Fit Personal Training in Beverly Hills, California. Chris stumbled on a very different approach to losing fat one day which he uses to help people all over LA County. Chris is also teaches Marketing for Personal Trainers and helps personal trainers all over increase their income while cutting down their hours.

If you have been exercising for a while, you have probably experienced the dreaded plateau on more than one occasion. This is the time when you discover that you stop being able to run any longer or faster, haven’t been able to make progress with your weights for a while, or can’t seem to increase your flexibility any more for yoga. Some people can be content achieving a base level fitness, but for the more ambitious, these plateaus can be a tad discouraging.

If you want to bust out of your plateau, follow these simple tips.

Take a Break – Believe it or not, one of the greatest culprits of plateaus is over training. If you are the type who likes to exercise often, there is chance that you hit your plateau because you just work out too hard or too often. So taking a week off from exercising might actually give your body just what it needs to recover from how hard you are working it. You may be surprised by just how energized you feel once you get back into the swing of things after the break. You should also do you what you can to get a solid eight hours of sleep every night, as lack of rest might be preventing your body from recovering.

Try Different Exercises – Another major cause of fitness plateaus is doing the same exercises over and over again. Once you find a basic exercise routine that you like, it can be tempting just to stick to it week in and week out. But the fact of the matter is that after a while your body just kind of gets accustomed to the same old workout, and then stops developing. It helps if you do a major shakeup in how you exercise every couple months. If you really like jogging for your cardio, you might try jump roping. If you have never done plyometrics before, now might be the time to give them a shot.

Neglecting Post Workout Nutrition – Exercise is a powerful appetite suppressant, so many people choose not to eat anything immediately after a workout. This is typically a mistake, as for about half an hour after your work out, your body is very receptive to absorbing the kind of protein and carbohydrates that can make you stronger, faster, and healthier in the long run. So be sure to have a plan to consume your post workout meal very quickly after you complete your workout. It won’t just improve the quality of your workouts, it will also make you feel a little better after working out by raising your blood sugar.

Decrease Time in Between Sets – This one is specific to weight training. When working out, many people make the mistake of taking long breaks in between each of their sets. They might set the weights down and chat with their workout partner or go get something to drink and lose track of time. But if you spend to much time resting, you actually won’t put enough stress on your muscles, which means that you won’t be getting as a good a workout as you could. That’s why it’s best to keep the rest between sets less than ninety seconds. It won’t only get you more fit, it will also actually make your workouts shorter.

photo credit: hrtmnstrfr

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