When your numbers refuse to budge, it isn’t willpower you’re missing—it’s a new stimulus. Strength plateaus happen because your nervous system has milked every drop of adaptation from the straight-set routine you keep repeating. Below are three evidence-backed ways to jolt progress back to life.Walk into any box on a Saturday morning and you’ll see it: a row of athletes who have mortgages, kids’ soccer games, and maybe a little gray at the temples—but they’re still hunting PRs like it’s 2009. I love coaching this crowd because they bring two priceless assets to the floor: life experience and a deep respect for smart preparation. Neither sport—whether it’s the chaos of CrossFit or the predictability of HYROX—makes concessions for age, so our programming can’t rely on shortcuts or nostalgia. We need training that honors physiology and ambition.