Ways to Overcome Training Plateaus

Plateaus can occur in all areas of our lives. A plateau is a period of little to no progress even after actions have been taken. They can feel inconvenient, frustrating and discouraging.

Plateaus are very common when it comes to exercise and lifting. They are bound to happen to everyone especially if you aren't making an effort to avoid them. With the right tools, you can navigate and overcome fitness plateaus. 

These tools are things like progressive overload, training blocks, rest time between sets, incorporating exercise variations, working on your mindset and more.

Progressive Overload

The greatest tool you can utilize is progressive overload. We briefly mentioned this topic in a previous post discussing ways to level up your lifting. This tactic can be implemented in a number of ways. 

The most common are increasing the number of sets, number of reps per set or the weight (resistance) you’re lifting. When increasing the number of sets, add a set at the beginning at body weight or a low weight. If you are increasing the reps, go for lighter weight. If you are increasing the weight, go for less reps. 

You can also increase time under tension. This is the length of time a muscle is being strained during an exercise. Increasing this means you focus on taking longer to complete each phase of the movement. Ideally, concentrate on making the eccentric portion the longest.

Another variation of progressive overload is increasing frequency. This simply means you are performing the exercise more often. Rather than squatting once a week, squat twice.

This concept applies to more than just lifting. Progressive overload can be applied to most forms of exercise such as conditioning, yoga, running, etc. If you're a runner, this could look like increasing the duration, mileage or number of runs per week. 

It’s crucial to only implement one variation at a time. Pick one that seems doable, but strenuous enough to push yourself. Aim to execute progressive overload as often as you can within your program.

In doing these, the muscles are working harder and growing more muscle fibers. Executing some type of progressive overload ensures that you are continuously challenging your muscles and in turn, getting stronger. It gives the body the extra push it needs to make progress. It’s a tried and true tool that helps both men and women. 

Training Blocks

Related to progressive overload is the use of training blocks, also known as periodization. A training block lasts anywhere from four to 12 weeks with most people following a block that’s six to eight. In the chosen time frame, an individual will follow their program.

When those weeks are up, they will tweak their program or training just a bit. They will follow that tweaked plan for the next block. This cycle repeats to regularly foster a challenge.

Here, the emphasis is on just a bit.

The idea is to adjust how the movements are completed, not eliminating specific movements all together. If your goal is to gain muscle mass, you want to ensure you are doing the same movements again and again. But if you do the same movements at the same weight for the same number of reps for another block, you are going to hit a plateau. 

Something needs to change by a small amount to ensure you’re continuing to challenge your muscles. This is where a variation of progressive overload comes into play. As stated above, this could be the weight, number of repetitions, time under tension, frequency or rest time between sets (see section below). Let’s go through an example. 

Say your first training block is scheduled for six weeks and you are focusing on lifting heavy weight for low reps. Once those six weeks are up, your second block will include the same movements but this time using lighter weight to complete way more reps. This second block will also last six weeks.

You can think about it as an ongoing training program with progressive overload built into it.

Rest Time Between Sets

Rest time between sets is another means that can help move past a plateau. The purpose is to ensure the muscles have enough strength for the next set. There are a few considerations when determining how long you should wait.

The most important being how your body feels. The optimal rest time for general fitness and most individuals is 30 to 60 seconds. The muscles get just enough of a break that they’re generally fatigued but still working.

Keep your goals top of mind as well. For someone who is following hypertrophy training guidelines and wishes to build muscle, the sweet spot is anywhere between 30 to 90 seconds. For an individual focusing on strength training, it can range from 60 seconds to five minutes depending on glycogen or phosphagen.

Remember to listen to your body. It will let you know what amount of time feels best. You may feel ready to flow into the next set way before or even after the suggested time. This is the last type of progressive overload you should try.

Exercise Variations

Maybe you’ve hit a plateau with a certain exercise. You’re struggling to push past your personal best for squats or you can’t curl more than 25 lbs. There’s no need to eliminate the exercise(s) or swap it out completely. 

Instead, incorporate different variations and burnouts such as:

• 10-way curls (Alternating bicep curls to alternating hammer curls to alternating cross body curls to alternating wide bicep curls to alternating c-curls)

• 7-7-7 curls (7 low curls to 7 high curls to 7 full curls)

• 10-10-10 squats (10 reps of the upper half of a squat to 10 reps of the lower half of a squat to 10 full squats)

This allows you to work the same muscles, but in diverse ways. The fibers are working in ways they are unfamiliar with and ultimately, being challenged (Are you catching on to the theme?). This helps keep your brain on its “toes” while breaking the well-known pattern your muscles love and know.

Mindset

Many aspects of our lives overlap and influence other areas like a domino effect. If one thing is off, it may cause two or three other things to be off including our training. Most tend to be in our control.

Consider the following questions:

• How’s your mindset and internal dialogue? Are you speaking kind to yourself? Try changing your self-talk and show yourself gratitude, grace and love. 

• What have you been eating lately? Are you properly fueling your body? 

• Are you getting enough sleep? 

• For women, where are you at in your cycle? Hormone levels play a HUGE role in strength and endurance. 

Most of the time it takes some internal work. If you can’t stay interested in your program or dread certain types of workouts, it’s because you don’t like it. Take the time to discover what you like doing and how you enjoy moving your body. 

Be specific, find your direction and watch yourself progress. 

In Conclusion

Variability adds challenge. It forces our brains and muscles to work harder to avoid autopilot. Start by choosing one of these tools that sounds like a practical challenge for YOU to strive for during workouts. Once you reach the end of your program or you hit another plateau, change it up and try another.