Ugh, the dreaded plateau!
We’ve all been there. Whether we’re trying to lose weight or add muscle, it is inevitable, that we will hit that point in our progress where
everything seems to stall.
Do any of these sound familiar?
“I’ve been losing weight for months, and yet I’ve been stuck
the past two weeks despite doing all of the same stuff, what
gives!?”
“I’ve been adding a medicine ball to my squats and sit-ups ,
but this week I feel like I could do less than before!
“I’ve been kicking harder and pushing myself harder than ever
before, but I do not seem to be making any changes!”
So... these dreaded plateaus... Are they
real? What happens when you get stuck on one? How can you break
through?
Plateaus: it’s game over for you, we are going to kick it up
to Level 10!
OK FXB’ers, what is a plateau? A plateau occurs when you
stall out on progress despite continuing to do “all of the right things,”
including eating right, exercising properly, getting adequate rest,
etc.
Our bodies go from losing weight consistently to getting
stuck at a certain number (so frustrating!), or we go from building muscle and
getting stronger, to having a week or two where we can’t seem to band
up.
We call this point in our FXB journey “The Plateau,” and we
don’t like being stuck on them.
We humans (especially FXB members) are happier when we make
progress. When we work hard for something and don’t see progress, we get
unhappy.
When you feel you've plateaued, you really have to ask yourself:
“Have you REALLLLLLLLY plateaued? REALLY?”
In a strong majority of the cases, plateaus are really just
issues with concentration in disguise. Before you think you’re stuck, or in a
plateau, consider the following:
1) Track your meals for the next few days. Oftentimes we
think we are being meticulous, until we realize that after a few weeks of eating
great we’ve started slacking. For women, a big issue is not eating ENOUGH
calories! Rededicate yourself for two weeks, track your meals, and see if
progress picks back up!
2) How are your workouts…REALLY? If you are weeks or months
into a workout plan, I bet the initial luster of “NEW! PROGRESS! WINNING!” has
worn off. Have you been skipping that last rep, or not pushing yourself at
Level 10? I know when I hit a plateau at the gym, it’s generally because I
haven’t been pushing myself as hard as I had been previously. Make notes about
your workouts diligently for two weeks and see if these changes kick you back on
track.
3) Are you getting enough sleep?…REALLY? This is one that
most people skip out on. They are exercising, eating right, but for whatever
reason they’ve been slacking on their sleep. We all know sleep is important;
lack of sleep leads to increased levels of stress, less time for our bodies to
rebuild muscle, to recover from strenuous activity, and more. I know that if I
didn’t get a good night’s sleep, then my performance in the gym the next day
will suffer.
Track yourself for two weeks then ask yourself if you are
really getting quality sleep, nutrition, and exercise? In many cases we think
we’re stuck, but with a little focus we can break the plateau and continue on
the path to a healthier lifestyle!
I hope this helps!
-Amy
