6 Ways to Overcome a Plateau and Start Getting Stronger Again

In fitness, as in life, we are always looking to move forward. If you're putting in the hard work in the gym, you should only continue to progress, right? Well, ideally, yes. Many, unfortunately hit a plateau somewhere along the way that may leave them feeling unmotivated or discouraged. If you approach your workouts the right way, however, you will only continue to progress and grow.

Here's a really helpful (not) diagram of a plateau for science.

Here are 6 reasons you aren't progressing in the way you want:

1. Intensity- Are you giving your workout your all, or are you texting in between sets? Each week, you should try to add more weight or increase the number of reps you're performing. If you just continually squat 135 lbs week after week, how do you expect to get stronger? If you're not gasping for air at the end of your sprints, you're not pushing yourself hard enough. The only way we can create adaptation is to give our bodies something to which it can adapt! It's important to make sure you enter your sessions in the gym with 100% effort. (Well...most days, anyway. We all have our "off" days...)
2. Variation- It's nice to have a set split or program and follow that week after week, but if you're only doing the same handful of exercises ad nauseum, it can get pretty dull. Every once in a while, add a few new exercises into your routine and get rid of a few of the older ones. Not only will it keep your workouts interesting, your body will find a completely new way to challenge itself with a new task.
3. Muscle imbalances- A weak or underactive muscle might be preventing you from advancing as you'd like. Let's say you have really strong quads, and you can squat 300 pounds for reps. Just imagine how much more you could squat if you actually learned to use your butt! When our muscles work together in force couples as they're supposed to, beautiful things happen.
4. Program- Maybe it's time to either ask a friend for help programming your workouts (preferably one with lots of experience) or do some research online. Unfortunately, strength doesn't progress linearly, so it's important to make sure you account for that when you write out your program. Play with the number of sets, reps and the amount of weight you're using and find out what works best for you.
5. Planning- My father always tells me "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!" You need to set real, tangible goals for yourself. For example, one of my goals is to deadlift 300 lbs before the end of the year. As you can see, I gave myself a set number and a date by which I want to achieve it. Your goal might be to lose 10 pounds by June. Whatever those goals may be, make sure you've clearly articulated them to yourself and written them down so you can hold yourself accountable.
6. Recovery- Perhaps you're not giving yourself enough time to recover between workouts. Make sure you're eating enough food to sustain your activity level and drink a lot of water. A lot of people I meet have a tendency to deprive themselves of the food their body so desperately needs to rebuild and repair itself. Remember: food and water are fuel!

When you start to see a flatline in your progress, it's time to step back and reassess your approach.

"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein 

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Using High Intensity Interval Training for Weight Loss

ByMarcus J Michael

A time there was when the best advice from fitness experts was that you spend hours in the gym performing cardiovascular workouts in order to build better muscles and lose weight. However, there is a new twist to this erstwhile popularly held notion and it is the use of high intensity interval training.

Unlike several other quick weight loss advices that most people consider to be "too good to be true", high intensity interval training (also referred to as HIIT) is rather a proven, efficient, and safe alternative to effectively lose excess body weight when compared to conventional cardio exercises.

One issue that makes conventional cardio exercises which generally employ specific training methods over a period of time inefficient in helping individuals lose weight and maintain it is the fact that after about four to eight weeks, the body normally starts adapting to this specific training method and overall effectiveness starts to reduce.

The human body is good at adapting to both internal and external conditions especially those it considers to be stressors - like exercise. Therefore, while low intensity cardiovascular exercises have the ability to help individuals lose weight, a diminishing effect is generally experienced once the body finally adapts. At this stage you might have reached a "plateau" which generally indicates that your body has successfully adapted to your current routine.

This is one of the reasons why high intensity interval training (HIIT) is more effective as it does not allow the body to get used to the exercises being performed by interrupting its rhythm. HIIT is a specialized form of interval training that involves the incorporation of short intervals of maximum intensity exercises with longer intervals of low to moderate intensity exercises in an exercise session.

Essentially, HIIT is you having to do a number of short burst of intense exercise followed by a longer recovery interval and the repeat of this sequence during your exercise session. This abrupt interval jolt automatically - howbeit unexpectedly - turn things up a bit forcing the body to search for more energy to satisfy the sudden increase in demand.

The body has three major options for sourcing energy fuel to satisfy this increased demand and these are - carbohydrate, fat, and protein and which can be obtained from either the bloodstream or the muscles.

Unlike carbohydrate, fat generally require more energy to burn and is considered a slower burning energy and is what is mostly used during cardio exercises as there is sufficient oxygen in the bloodstream for its oxidation at this intensity level. However, if sufficient intensity is applied to aerobic exercises, the body suddenly runs short of oxygen supply and this results in a reduction in the amount of fat than can be oxidized by the body.

Consequently, for the body to be able to keep up with this abrupt energy demand, it usually turns to carbohydrates which are a faster burning energy. At moderate intensity, the body can source carbohydrates (in the form of glucose) from the bloodstream but at higher intensities it generally turns to the glycogen (mixture of water and glucose) in the muscles.

At high intensity the body is said to be exercising in an anaerobic state - whereby the body is exercising so fast or energetically that the bloodstream cannot supply enough oxygen to the muscles forcing them to exercise without oxygen.

Having expended most of the glycogen in the muscles during the short energy burst, the body resorts to its stored body fat during the recovery interval and this cycle continues to the end of the exercise session. This routine generally creates a significant energy deficit in the body.

However, it is actually after the high intensity interval training itself that the effectiveness of this routine is experienced. This is due to the fact that the body continues to burn its stored fat while attempting to replace the expended muscle glycogen. It has been demonstrated that this fat burning process can continue for up to 48 hours after performing HIIT exercises and therein lays the awesome power of HIIT - supercharged increase in basal metabolic rate (BMR).

HIIT can be used during your sprinting, swimming, rowing, cycling, walking, or cardio machine (stationary bike, cross-trainer, or treadmill) exercise sessions. Incorporating HIIT into your regular fitness routines will enable you to increase your overall endurance, improve your oxygen intake, build new metabolically active muscles, and also burn calories much faster.

However, HIIT is pretty physically demanding and definitely not meant for everybody. It is therefore recommended that those who are relatively new to aerobics, who are not in good shape, have cardiovascular problems, or any other serious health concerns, should endeavor to start with low to moderate intensity exercises for some time before attempting any form of high intensity interval training.

In summary, it can be categorically stated that high intensity interval training is the best way to go for any individual who is really serious about losing weight. If you've seen little or no results from your conventional cardio exercises, it is time to turn to a more efficient, effective, and safe weight loss strategy by making use of high intensity interval training.

Re-take CONTROL of your life today to get that trimmer and healthier figure of your dreams by checking us out right now to get some topnotch best weight loss tips in addition to some of the best weight loss programs that will help you lose that excess body fat permanently!

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Low Intensity Vs High Intensity Exercise - What Is Best?

Many new people to exercise may ask themselves, as well as others, "What type of Cardio should I do?", "Does it matter how hard I train?" "What type of cardio should I do to lose weight?"- Do these make a difference to how quickly I lose weight?

This does not have a simple, clear-cut answer. There are many variables associated with this. I will break these elements down and explain, without over-complicating.

Firstly, I need to explain the Anaerobic Threshold (AT). This is a certain level where a person begins to train anaerobically, ie without oxygen. It is also when the body makes Lactic Acid faster than it can be metabolised. Simply put, it's that point of training when the exerciser starts breathing really heavily and/or the muscles start to really burn. Exerciser's cannot train indefinitely above their AT - a) they are not metabolizing enough oxygen, and b) the lactic acid will eventually be too great. Everyone's AT is different, and it directly reflects the exerciser's fitness levels. Now that you understand what the AT is, I will explain how this fits in to the topic.

The human body burns a higher percentage of body fat as energy when training at lower intensity levels, that is, below the AT. This element alone suggests to people that they would be better off walking or taking it easy when it comes to exercise if they wish to reduce body fat. For example, working at an intensity of 5-6 out of 10, or below 60% of maximum Heart Rate. For a more accurate answer, we need to look further into it.

When the body works harder, it needs energy more readily. It is much easier for the body to use carbohydrate as an energy source, so it prioritizes to use carbohydrate (glucose/glycogen) when training above the AT. This sugar is released from the liver and is found in the blood and muscle tissue. Simply put, when the exerciser works really hard, breathing heavily etc, sugar is the priority energy source. If the body has excess sugar levels, it will eventually convert it to body fat.

However, and this is a BIG however, when an exerciser consistently trains at a high intensity, they get fitter. This means that their AT increases. Therefore, in short time, an exerciser could be training below their AT when they previously were above it. A practical example of this is a running speed on a treadmill. If you put a beginner on a treadmill at 15km/hr, they are likely to only last a minute or two. This is because this intensity of exercise is above their AT. However, consistent training will mean their fitness improves, as will their AT. This will mean that they will be able to run at 15km/hr for long periods of time. If they can sustain this speed for more than a couple of minutes, they are working below their AT, and are therefore burning a higher percentage of body fat.

Training at a higher intensity will also significantly increase the body's metabolic rate. This means that the exerciser will continue to burn into their fat stores, even after they've finished training!

Although training at a high intensity burns a high percentage of carbohydrates and a low percentage of fat, the total energy (calories) required to do the work is much greater than low intensity exercise. Therefore, the percentage of fat that is burnt in total is lower, however total amount of fat that is burnt is higher, because far greater amounts of energy is required as a whole.

In summary, although low impact/low intensity cardiovascular training has its merits, and any exercise is better than no exercise, high intensity training, even at shorter durations is much more effective, and has more health benefits than low intensity training.

For more information, please visit http://www.gymprogramonline.com

Shaun Ahearn
Director
Gym Program Online
http://www.gymprogramonline.com

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Increase Your Workout Intensity

For many people there never seems to be enough time for anything, each day is a continuous rush from one job to the next, then bed, wake up and the repeat the whole process the next day.

This can be the same for exercise as well. We rush from one thing to the next not necessarily following any plan but just jumping onto the next available machine.

Pre planning your exercise routine is as important as pre planning your day. We can all achieve so much more by planning your day in advance and this is just the same with exercise. Just spending a few minutes planning your day and planning your exercise routine can help you achieve all those goals you set yourself in life.

Here is a great tip to help you save some time in the gym whilst increasing the intensity of your workout. I use the type of training with myself, my clients and my classes because I want everyone to hit their exercise goals. We all know how important resistance exercise is in maintaining a healthy weight, so by combining two exercises together we can not only work more efficiently but challenge the body systems more. This creates a multiple joint and muscle exercises, that help the body burn fat quicker.

An example of this is the squat and the shoulder press. 2 exercises that are common in the gym, one is important functionally movement for the lower body and the other helps to strengthen the upper body, but combined together the squat/ press will do all that and increase the challenge on the cardiovascular system.

Start in the standing position with dumbbells held in the shoulder press position, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor then return to standing position. From there press the dumbbells overhead then return to the shoulders. Repeat this 8-12 times for a great combined exercise.

Other examples of this type of training are:

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High Intensity Interval Training In Just 3 Minutes

It's everyone's dream... little work and lots of benefit, but before you sign on you need to understand what this is all about. According to some new research, a few short bursts of very high intensity interval training (working out to just a few minutes per week) can bring you many of the benefits that come from hours of more conventional workouts. It sounds too good to be true...

However, the claim is backed by a number of years of research that comes from different countries. The form of exercise, known as High Intensity Training (HIT) involves doing three minutes of intense exercise per week for a month and appears to bring some pretty impressive changes in important health indicators.

Insulin sensitivity can be improved (according to research) by 24% by just 3 minutes of HIT for a month. Aerobic fitness, an indication of how well your heart/lungs are doing at giving your body oxygen also improves and serves as an excellent signal of future health.

But there is a small catch... how much you benefit from these kinds of workouts may depend largely on your genes.

A research team looked into the reasons for why exercise worked for some and not for others, and found that the results could be linked to a few genes. Today there is a genetic test designed to see who may respond to HIT and who will probably not get the full benefit.

The idea that some people may be genetically wired not to respond to aerobic exercise is intriguing. An international study on 1,000 exercisers found that while 15% made incredible strides, 20% of the subjects showed no real improvements from exactly the same exercise regimen.

Once you start, HIT is super easy. One example is to do some gentle cycling as a warm up for a few minutes and then hit high gear for 20 seconds. Take a few minutes of gentle cycling to get your breath and then do another 20 seconds. Repeat this pattern a third time and your HIT workout is complete for the day.

If you have any form of pre-existing condition, talk with your doctor before giving HIT a try. If this isn't the approach for you, there are lots of other fun, engaging activities you might do instead.

Why does it work?

According to the experts, part of the reason is that this form of exercise uses more muscle tissue compared to classic aerobic exercise.

HIT calls for intensely working the leg muscles as well as the arms and shoulders - that's 80% of the muscle cells in the body. This compares to 20-40% used when walking or doing moderately intense jogging or cycling.

This type of exercise also appears to break down stores of glucose found stored in muscles as glycogen. When you break up glycogen stores you make more room for glucose to be removed from the blood.

Keep in mind too that many of us feel uncomfortable when it comes to exercising because we're self-conscious about our fitness level or how out of shape we look. Don't let this stop you from trying high intensity interval training and getting in shape. Working out with friends who don't care what you look like or how you do can be tremendously beneficial, because you get companionship, support and someone to help keep you going.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more on the benefits of swapping from traditional exercise to high intensity interval training, plus other great weight loss ideas.

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The Dreaded Plateau: What Can Cause Them, and How to Overcome Them With Intensity

ByAaron Gee

It happens to all of us. We begin a training regimen, and after a few weeks we notice ourselves getting leaner, looking more toned and getting stronger. This continues for a while, but then sort of tapers off, until we hit the dreaded "plateau" in our training, where we feel like no matter what we do, there's nothing that can be done to improve our physical conditioning. We've hit the ceiling.

Can anything be done to reverse this trend? Of course. But first, let's take a look at a couple things that may be causing you to plateau.

The process of working out breaks down muscle. Over the course of the following days, the muscle rebuilds itself, becoming stronger and larger. From looking at this, one obvious culprit of stagnation is a lack of proper rest time. By breaking down the muscle even further rather than allowing it to fully recover and grow, you may actually be deteriorating the muscle.

A good rule of thumb is to only exercise a particular muscle or muscle group once or twice a week. If you are working out your chest by doing bench press one day, don't turn around and workout your triceps heavy the following day.

Another possible reason your training may have stalled is due to a lack of relative intensity. I use the term relative, rather than absolute, simply because of the fact that as your muscles grow stronger, the workouts you performed and weights you lifted as a beginner will not have the same effect as they once did. Your muscles can become accustomed to a certain routine, and, in turn, performing the same routine over and over again will break down the muscle less and less over time, allowing for less muscle growth.

So what can you do about overcoming plateaus in your training? All of these solutions revolve around one key theme: INTENSITY!

Try mixing up the style of lifting you do every two weeks or so. Used to doing bench presses every week with a barbell? Try it out with dumbbells for a few weeks. Experiment with doing squats in a wide stance and a narrow stance to target different areas of the thigh.

If you're comfortable doing a given weight for a desired repetition range, increase the weight. If you've been doing sets of 8 reps for the past few weeks, increase the weight incrementally and see how you do. You may also experiment with lower weights for a few weeks just to target the slow-twitch muscle fibers.

Probably the most important factor in overcoming training plateaus is pushing your muscles beyond failure. This is typically done by performing assisted reps or drop sets. With an assisted rep, a spotter can help you lift a small percentage of the weight so that you can perform a few more reps at a lighter weight. The concept of the drop set is the same, where you perform as many reps as you can at a given weight, drop the weight, and without any rest in between, continue pushing out a few more reps until failure.

Drop sets can be especially handy at the end of a workout. For my leg workouts, I like to get on a leg press machine and perform a drop set with 3 iterations. The first set I will do as heavy as possible for about 10 reps, the second set will be typically 50 pounds lighter for another 8-10 reps, and the third and final set will be about 50 pounds lighter for as many reps as I can push out until my legs can't move anymore.

You can also try lifts that use the same primary muscle but target different secondary muscle groups. For example, try performing a set of upright rows immediately followed by a set of military presses. In both cases, the primary muscle is the deltoid (shoulder), but the secondary muscles shift from the biceps to the triceps, allowing you to target your shoulders for just a little bit longer because the triceps are fresh. These are excellent at the end of a shoulder workout.

Try working in some of these into your workout regimen and say goodbye to your plateaus!

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-A G

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