How to overcome a fitness plateau – Reading Eagle

Everyone has their own fitness goals when they start an exercise regimen. Maybe the plan is to lose a certain amount of weight or to lift a certain amount of weight. Goals help people evaluate their workouts to see if they are achieving the desired results.

At some point in almost everyone’s fitness journey, it can feel like progress has stalled. Changes in the body may no longer be noticeable or the scales show the same weight every week. It’s easy to get discouraged when exercise plateaus. But being aware of this phenomenon can help people get their training back on track.

What is a fitness plateau?

Exercise resource GymBet says that a fitness plateau is a phase where the body adapts to a training regimen and stops further progress. The body has adapted to stress and changes its exercise routine to build muscle, lose fat, or improve workouts.

What causes a plateau?

The human body is incredibly resilient and can adapt to the physical demands of training. This means that initial training can produce noticeable results. But over time, the body adapts, and what was difficult will become easier. As a result, the usual and once effective training will no longer give the desired results. Some call it the general adjustment syndrome. Although hitting a plateau may seem disappointing, it is a good sign that a person is making progress in their fitness program.

How to overcome a plateau?

The American Heart Association says one way to overcome a plateau is to follow the FITT principle. This stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. Once a plateau is reached, the individual will need to modify one or more of the FITT components to get the desired results again. This may mean increasing the frequency and/or intensity, spending more time exercising, or changing the type of exercise. If the plateau is due to a lack of weight loss, then tracking your food for a week or two can show how many calories are coming in compared to how many are being expended. Often, plateauing can be traced back to dietary changes.

Banish boredom

Another factor in reaching a fitness plateau that people may not realize is mental motivation. A person who gets bored while training may not put in the same level of effort and this may show in a lack of results. Changing up your workout or joining a new program can be a little push to reach a new level of fitness.

A fitness plateau is something active people need to consider. Changes can be made to restore progress.