Refresh Your Workout and Get Off That Plateau

By CocoaDiva on Sep 16, 2008 with Comments

So you have reached that dark place all people trying to lose weight hate….PLATEAU. (Cue scary music and voice over). Not to worry. Your body has simply adjusted to all that good exercise and good food you have been throwing at it. Instead of getting frustrated and picking up those Oreos and pasta, switch up your workout routine and kick that plateau square in the pants!

What Is A Plateau? – What it means is our body has gradually adapted to match our new energy intake, and we now require less energy to maintain the new weight. This process was ideal many years ago when our ancestors roamed the land, but unfortunately for us, this is a part in dieting where we cannot seem to lose any more weight. For this reason we need to view any long-term weight loss in different stages.

How soon is too soon to change my routine? 3 weeks is really the shortest period that you should do any program. Any shorter and you will not leave enough time for the body to properly adapt to the new exercises. Beginners generally take longer to adapt, so it’s no surprise that continue to lose weight and build musle using the the same program for 8 to 12 weeks. More seasoned exercisers can maximize or burn out on a program in as little as 3 to 4 weeks, but less than this is too little time to get all the potential out of even the simplest program.

How do I make a change? a change in program can be as simple as adjusting the weight you use so that you fail at a different number of reps. The quick, once-over looks like this: endurance, over 20 reps, hypertrophy, 6 to 20 reps, and power, 1 to 6 reps, and power-endurance is evaluated by how much time you spend above your lactate threshold, or working in the state where your muscles are filled with lactic acid and feel “pumped”. In the simplest format, a program should start with higher reps and less weight and move towards lower reps, with more weight.

What About Changes in Cardio? As far as cardio is concerned, you want shake it up a bit when you hit a plateau, so that you never get too comfortable. This is easy and as simple as changing to any different cardio workout. Gyms offer a variety of options to change your cardio routine like spinning, kick-boxing, step, power yoga, etc, etc. Many times, all it takes to break through a plateau is a random change: your run to a bike ride, your spinning class to an aerobics class, just anything that rocks the boat from time to time and doesn’t let your body get too comfortable.

If you are not using a gym to work out change your walk route, find a new hill, add some jumping jacks or jump-rope to your routine. Try to add 5 more minutes to your run or bring back that old workout tape that you got bored with. All your body needs is a jolt. This may also help prevent boredom in your workouts. Don’t be a big baby, switch it up and get some results.

Boredom Can Lead to a Plateau -If you become so bored and/or uninterested with your workout that you stop going to the gym or quit working out as often, or you saw quick results and now the going is slow, it is definitely time to make a change. Boredom can prevent you from putting full effort into your work outs and hinder your progress. Because, while the short term progress may be good, if it’s going to cause long term problems (like you quitting because you’ve lost interest) then this is the one time when change should be made even though what you’re doing is working.

Change What you Eat -Zig-Zag Calorie Intake
Zig-zagging, or calorie cycling is the process of varying daily calorie intake, while maintaining the same weekly intake. Instead of consuming (for example) precisely 1800 calories each day – you can mix it up. Eat 1500 calories one day, and 2100 calories the next. This can be as simple as halving then doubling a portion size, or adding a post-workout shake into the plan. Just keep your body guessing.

If you are a gym user like me- here is a 60 minute work out you can try to help you get off that Plateau!

10 minutes	Warm up on the bike.
5 minutes	Climb the revolving step machine (exertion level 4).
5 minutes	Walk on the treadmill (exertion level 4).
5 minutes	Walk uphill on the treadmill (exertion level 4, incline 1.0 grade).
5 minutes	Row on the rowing machine or rowing ergometer (exertion level 4).
10 minutes	Step on the stair-stepper (exertion level 5).
10 minutes	Ride on the elliptical trainer (exertion level 4).
5 minutes	Climb on the climbing machine (exertion level 3).
5 minutes	Cool down on the recumbent bike.

Working out at home? Try this 60 minute workout!

5 minutes	Warm up by walking around the block.
10 minutes	Run around the block.
10 minutes	Alternate 3 sets of 12 jumping jacks and squats.
10 minutes	Step up and down off a step or stair in your home.
10 minutes	Alternate 3 sets of 12 back lunges, push-ups, and biceps curls.
10 minutes	Alternate 3 sets of 12 rubber band rows and lateral raises.
5 minutes	Cool down by marching in place.

Are you a runner? Try this on for size!

15 minutes	Warm up by walking from a slow to brisk pace.
5 minutes	Jog.
5 minutes	Jog faster
5 minutes	Jog slower.
2 minutes	Run as fast as you can.
5 minutes	Walk.
2 minutes	Run as fast as you can.
5 minutes	Walk.
5 minutes	Jog.
3 minutes	Pick up the pace and run.
8 minutes	Cool down by walking.