How To Manage Plateaus In 5 Steps
It can be very frustrating and leave you feeling disinterested and unmotivated with your training. This feed-forward cycle can wreak havoc on long-term success which is why I want to discuss some ways coaches and athletes can break through plateaus before they become problematic.
Step 1: Take a step back and reflect. Has the gym been a priority lately? Have you been able to deliver your best effort every time you show up? Have you been consistent or have you missed a lot of training days? Depending on how you answer these questions and questions like them, it may be that your training program is fine and that other things away from the gym are causing your plateau. If you think that’s you then take the time to figure out the “why’s” behind these changes. Getting to the root of those problems will be essential in either getting back into your old routine full steam or realizing that your routine/goals needs to be adjusted to match what you give right now.
Step 2: Think about your recovery. While at the gym are you making sure you tackle warm ups and cool downs as mindfully as you would your strength work or metcons? Have you taken your nutrition seriously? The more involved training gets the more nuanced your diet has to become to support your training habits. How about sleep - an area everyone can be better with? Are you getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night? These are all things we know should be done, but only a few actually commit themselves to making these a regular part of their routine. If you’re the person who only puts half-effort or no-effort into their recovery habits and are in a plateau, realize that a little goes a long way. Pick one habit that can use some work and do what you can to make it better. Notice how all things related to your training start to improve.
Step 3: Time to start looking at what you have been doing in the gym. Sometimes we are doing too much. You may not even realize it, but if proper care isn’t taken to how much volume or intensity we are hitting day-to-day and week-to-week, eventually, it’ll sneak up on us. Aside from not hitting the numbers we want in the gym, pay attention to how you’re feeling each day outside the gym. Most often these folks tend to notice drops in energy which can be a clear sign that changes need to be made. The solution for most is to find a structured program to follow that attends to all the possible variables that exist in a program. The more controlled the program is, the better off the athlete will be.
For those that do follow a program or take group classes and are experiencing a plateau make sure you are not adding in too much, if any, extra work. Programs, even templated ones, are written with the understanding that they are in control of your fitness. That means that if you start adding more cardio, extra lifting etc. then you are exceeding the volume of work that was intended. As mentioned, doing too much is a problem so make sure that if you’re on a plan that your sole focus is on that program.
Step 4: None of the above apply to you, then what? Now we start to look back at the basics. At the highest ends of fitness, quality movement and ownership of basic positions is imperative to be successful long term. We can get away with a bad foundation for a long time - but at some point progress will stop. So for these individuals make sure your movement [i.e. ROM + Flexibility] as well as technique are on par with things that you are expected to do inside a training program. If something isn’t perfect, make it perfect. The more movement quality and/or technique improves, the better the body can handle higher volumes and higher intensities.
Step 5: If you’re still confused on how to break through your plateau, hire a Coach. It is their job to create programs that suit your lifestyle, goals, current fitness level, etc. We constantly communicate with you to make sure that all of the above is being addressed before plateaus arise. If one still does pop up, we have the tools to work through them, together, in an efficient and effective manner with clear eyes on where we need to go next.
Although plateaus can happen when we least expect it or when things are seemingly going well, the above steps can be a great place to start to get you back on course. Take everything written with a grain of salt and think past some of the example questions. The more open-minded you are, the faster you’ll get through those plateaus and back to smashing weights.