How To Get Out Of A Fitness Plateau With Your Workout
Push past your workout plateau with periodization
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we answer a viewer question about how to get out of a fitness plateau with your workout.
This is another episode from our #WayBackWednesday series, where we highlight the best questions from previous episodes of our #AskLiveLeanTV Q&A show.
This question is from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 003.
Here’s today’s viewer question:
Ciscoballs on Snapchat asks: have you ever plateaued with your fitness goals? What have you done personally, to push past it?
Great question.
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Yes, over the years I’ve definitely experienced a plateau with my fitness goals.
In fact, I would say most people have struggled to get out of a fitness plateau.
Hitting a fitness plateau is a natural part of most people’s fitness journey
So when you experience an inevitable fitness plateau, how do you push past it?
You have to switch it up and change what you’re currently doing.
We always say this.
If you’ve invested in a 6 week workout program, these are not intended to be the only workouts you’ll ever complete for the rest of your life.
Your body and muscles are smarter than that.
Over time, your muscles will adapt by getting stronger, thus making the workouts easier for you.
When this happens, you often hit a fitness plateau
These fitness plateaus cause your weight loss or muscle growth to stop.
This is why we’ve created TeamLiveLean.com.
As a Team Live Lean member, you receive a new periodized, 30 day workout program every month.
What is a periodized workout program?
Periodization with your workouts simply means each workout builds on the previous workout.
Here’s an example.
Phase 1: Strength
The first phase of training could be a 6 week strength building program designed to get stronger.
When following a periodized approach to your workouts, after 6 weeks of getting stronger, the next 6 week program would focus on building muscle.
Phase 2: Muscle
Since the previous 6 weeks was focused on strength, you should now be able to lift heavier weights during your 6 week muscle building phase.
A stronger muscle often leads to building a bigger muscle.
After completing the 42 day muscle building program, you would then move on to a 42 day fat burning workout program.
Phase 3: Fat Burning
Since you’ve added muscle during the previous 6 week program, now you will be burning more calories, and leaning down during your 6 week fat burning workout program.
This is because lean muscle increases your metabolic rate, thus burning more calories throughout the day.
Recap: periodized approach to training:
- First Phase: 4-6 week heavy lifting program
- Second Phase: 4-6 week muscle building program
- Third Phase: 4-6 week fat burning program
Depending on your goals, you could also include a few plyometric athletic training workouts.
Periodize your workouts to stop hitting fitness plateaus
To stop hitting plateaus, periodizing your workout programs is essential.
Periodization will help you get out of a fitness plateau with your workouts.
When you keep completing the same number of reps, the same tempos, the same number sets, and the same exercises, you will hit a plateau.
Changing up your workouts also helps mentally
Not only does changing up your workouts help you push past plateaus physically, it also helps mentally.
If you get bored with doing the same workout over and over again, you’ll eventually stop working out.
This boredom can also slow your progress and make you go backwards.
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If you watch us on Snapchat or any of our social media, Jessica and I keep our workouts fresh and interesting by doing different workouts.
In other words, you’ll rarely see us doing the same workout, with the same weight twice.
This doesn’t mean you should program hop or stop following your structured program
Hopping from random workout to workout can actually be one of the causes your fat loss plateau.
Even if we schedule the same workout multiple times in a 30 day program, we’re building on the previous workout, by lifting heavier weight.
Therefore, it’s not the same workout, as we’re pushing our muscles to lift heavier weight.
What is the point of completing the exact same workout, over and over again?
If you are completing the same exercises in a workout, the goal is to lift more weight than the previous workout.
In other words, the goal is to one up yourself from the last time you completed that workout.
This will ensure you are progressively improving, thus pushing yourself past the point of plateauing.
Periodizing also changes the training modalities
Lastly, another way to get out of a fitness plateau with your workout is to change up the training modality.
By changing the style of workout, you’ll be challenging your body in new and different ways.
For example, if you’re experiencing a muscle building plateau, try adding this pre-exhaust method to your next workout.
This is how to get out of a fitness plateau with your workout periodization.
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Questions For You:
- What have you done to push past your fitness plateaus?
Be sure to share your answers in the comment section below.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
This blog about How To Get Out Of A Fitness Plateau With Your Workout.
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