Have you ever tried to lose weight? How about gain strength? With either of these goals, you likely came to
a point where you just couldn’t continue moving forward with your goal, no
matter what you seemed to do. These
plateaus (times when you don’t see any forward movement, but rather stall out
on your goal) are common, even expected, from time to time. There are ways to decrease how often you see
them, and ways to get over them more quickly.
As the year began, I’m sure that many of you decided to get into better shape, more than likely with one of these two goals in mind. One of the most common fitness questions I am asked is why these plateaus occur and how we can avoid them. Unfortunately answering this question and putting it into practice are two totally different things. The answers are easy to understand, the work takes a little more time and effort. These plateaus are usually caused by your body adapting to what you are doing. If you are trying to lose a lot of weight, your body gets to a point where it resists. This is due to a protective mechanism that notices that things aren’t the same as they have been. The body kind of goes into a stall to protect against further move in the direction you have been moving. The weight loss scenario is a little easier to explain, so we will go a little deeper into that. Take starvation as the example. You have always weight 180 pounds. Your body is used to this weight. You don’t have much food for a period of a couple weeks and you drop down to 155 pounds. Your body stops your weight loss through a few mechanisms to keep you from depleting all of your resources. This is a survival technique to keep you alive until you can find some food. Obviously if you are on a weight loss plan, this kind of works against you, but it is something that can be overcome. The strength side is similar, but the protective mechanisms are for a different reason. Your body doesn’t want you to get too strong too fast and damage the tissues and bones that they are attached to. This is one of the reasons steroids are so dangerous (tendon injuries are very common). So…how can we safely bypass these protective mechanisms to keep our bodies moving forward? Like I said above, the description is a lot easier than putting it into practice. No matter what your goal is, you need to vary the type of exercises you are doing quite often (the more often the better). In your workouts, if your body can’t get used to a set number of sets, repetitions or a series of exercises and weights, you will likely see your body continue to progress. The same is true of the diet; if you continue to eat the same foods day in and day out, take in the same number of calories and eat at the exact same times, your body is going to recognize a pattern. If it does get used to things, then it starts to reprogram things. Variance is the key to progression. Rest is also a key to progression. This sounds counterintuitive, but let me explain. If you don’t get enough rest, your body doesn’t repair. If your body doesn’t repair it continually breaks down. If you continually break yourself down, the body is forced to take action to stop this cycle and avoid injury. It doesn’t matter if your goal is weight loss, strength gain or a combination of these. It works on the same process. By getting plenty of rest, you give your body ample time to build back up to full strength. This allows you to continue moving forward, no matter what the situation is. Rest is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. I can’t decide what the right time is for you to take a break. You have to “listen to your body”. If it is telling you that you need a day off…take a day off. Be sure to get back into the gym as soon as you are past that point though. I have seen way too many people fail to reach their goals because one day off turns into a week, which turns into a month, which… Finally, you must eat. Even if you are trying to lose weight, you have to take in sustenance. You may lose some weight in the short-term via starvation, but long term you are forcing your body into the same cycle that lack of rest puts you into. You must supply your body with the nutrients it needs to re-build its systems. If you don’t have them, it starts to break down. Getting ample protein is an important part of this stage (please consult with your doctor before increasing your protein intake, as it can present problems with your kidneys, gout and a few other ailments). You have made it through the first couple weeks of the new year. You may still have a ways to go, but by remembering these key principles, you will see your progress continue rather than stall out. The principles are easy. You must WORK to make it happen. I’m pulling for your success… If you have questions, or would like to discuss this further, please contact me at: Jeffrey L. Cumro, Doctor of Chiropractic, Certified Personal Trainer
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Health Blog >
AVOIDING PLATEAUS IN YOUR FITNESS GOALSposted Jan 13, 2012 8:42 AM by Jeffrey Cumro |