Uh oh… I Think I’ve Plateaued
Feel like you’re doing everything right, but your numbers are no longer moving? It’s okay, you may have just hit a plateau.
What is a plateau?
More than the geological formations found in the desert, a plateau as it refers to training is when your training stimulus, or a variety of other variables, are contributing to lack of improvement in the areas of fitness you are prioritizing.
For example, your goal is to hit a 300# Deadlift, but you’ve been stuck at 280# for weeks. Your goal is to drop 2lbs of body fat per week, but the scale has been stuck on the same number for what seems like eternity. Your goal is to get under a 7 minute mile, but you just can’t quite seem to shave off more than a second or two each week.
Wherever you’re stuck, the fact of the matter is, you’re stuck… and it sucks.
So what do you need to change?
It depends, but there are a few common reasons why people plateau.
Doing too much, and now it’s back firing
When you first start training, your body is going to respond quickly and the effects of training typically happen rapidly. That can present negatively as extreme soreness or positively in relatively rapid weight loss. In either case, your body is undergoing new stimulus and it likes it - even though sometimes it feels like the opposite!
Because our body’s are amazingly adpative, after awhile these changes become less dramatic. The soreness isn’t as extreme or lingers as long, the weight isn’t dropping as fast, the gains in strength are less noticeable, the time you're shaving off of runs isn’t as large, etc.
A common response is… well, I guess now I need to do more to have the same gains as before. I should workout twice as much or twice as hard. Not necessarily the case! Doing more can and most likely will backfire on you sooner than later. Your body will start to do the opposite and break down, referred to as overtraining.
Furthermore, during the mesocycles of your training (your 4 - 12 week snapshot), you need periods of deloading. This means your intensity and volume decrease to allow your body to recover and rebuild stronger than before, something referred to as supercompensation.
FAQ on deloading: no it doesn’t mean do nothing, no it doesn’t mean you can’t workout every day. It more looks and feels like working at intensities that won’t make you sore.
Give your body a little rest, and you will feel better going into subsequent training weeks!
Not prioritizing Recovery
We just talked about deloading, which is one factor of smart training. Another variable in smart training is optimizing your recovery on a day to day basis. This allows us to maximize today’s work, and feel better for tomorrow’s work. In no particular order of importance, these strategies include:
Getting enough sleep, typically 7.5 + hours
Getting enough water, at least half of your body weight in ounces + more on training days
Eating to maximize nutritional needs, not just caloric needs - this includes eating enough in general and eating enough nutritionally dense foods (stop relying on your multi-vitamin)
Supplementing vitamin D as needed. If you live in a climate where sun is not present on a daily basis where you can get 10 minutes or so on your skin so that your body can absorb vitamin D, you most likely need to supplement this extremely important vitamin. Consult with a doctor.
Add 5 - 15 minutes of mobility work into your day. Doesn’t matter when or where, this work to release tension in your fascia and muscles is more important that we give it credit for.
Not Doing Enough
This is a highly subjective and sensitive topic, but needs to be addressed regardless. Unfortunately, your plateau may be a result of simply not being doing enough either. There is a principal in strength and conditioning called progressive overload. This means that as your body adapts to the intensities you’re training at - weights, work capacity, etc. - then you need to up your weights or paces to progressively continue to overload your body’s systems. Aka, you can’t keep going for the 20# dumbbells, eventually you’re going to have to go for those 25#’s.
Being fit and healthy is not easy, and no supplement or drug will ever replace the powerful impact of consistently working out and eating healthy. Both of those variables require effort and intentionality. The majority of us don’t have a personal trainer and personal chef, so we can’t just show up to our day without thinking about these things.
If you struggle to make time at least 4 times a week to sweat, or to cook your own food daily, then it needs to be something you start scheduling time for just like you would schedule your work appointments, go to class, shuttle your kids around, etc. Allowing yourself to continue telling the story of “I don’t have time” or “I don’t have energy” is enabling yourself to continue to fail and plateau.
Increase your Chances of getting over the plateau exponentially
The quickest way to hack your way to success is to join a community of like-minded individuals. Find a gym with excellent coaches, smart workout programming, and people you vibe with! Perhaps intimidating at first, you will not regret your choice to immerse yourself into a fitness community.
