Little Tweaks for Overcoming Fitness Plateaus

We’ve all experienced dreaded fitness plateaus at one time or another. Things can be going along great, your body can be adapting to your workouts, and you can be hitting PRs left and right when suddenly, your progress stagnates.

Whether you’re a CrossFitter, weight lifter, runner, cyclist, triathlete or an average gym-goer, it’s always frustrating when your workouts stop producing the results you’re searching for.

Luckily, there’s no need to completely change your fitness routine or goals to break through your plateaus. Making a few simple tweaks can help you build the strength or endurance you need where you need it most, and get the gainz flowing.

Check out our tips to overcome some of the most common training issues by adding in just one piece of equipment to your routine.

Problem: You’re hitting weight plateaus on your lifts and no matter what you do, you can’t lift more.

Solution: Strengthen Your Core

Equipment to Try: TRX

Competitive weightlifters know core strength is kind of everything. According to this article on Core Training: Evidence Translating to Better Performance and Injury Prevention published by Stuart McGill, PhD an expert on spine mechanics and kinesiology out of the University of Waterloo in the Strength and Conditioning Journal

“By stiffening the torso, power generated at the hips is transmitted more effectively by the core.”

In a 2014 study conducted by a robust research team and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that pressing exercises done using TRX straps recruited more core muscles than other versions of the exercise and had the greatest impact on core activation.

TRX markets themselves as an effective full-body workout, but in my experience with taking a class and using the equipment as part of my weekly workout routine, these straps are a core killer, and amazing for building core strength and spine stability.

For weightlifters, this translates directly into heavier lifts.

Moves to Add:

Beginners should try incorporating a TRX Plank for three rounds of 45 seconds to one minute holds two to three times per week into your workout. This can be done on the front and the side to maximize muscle recruitment.

Intermediate exercisers can add some movement to the plank, either on their elbows or hands, by doing scissors or mountain climbers while holding their core stable. This should be done in 3 or more rounds of longer rep sequences of 10-25 reps.

Advanced exercisers can come up onto their hands and incorporate crunching and piking movements. These should also be done in longer rep sequences, or could be done as part of a combination of movements For example, do 20-second plank hold, 10 scissors, 10 mountain climbers, 10 pikes and rest.

For loads more options and tons of great resources, check out the TRX website.

Problem: You have loads of endurance, but you’re just not getting any faster.

Solution: Build more speed, increase lactate threshold and V02 Max

Equipment: Kettlebells

Building endurance is pretty straight forward. In order for your body to be able to go farther or longer in a given workout, you simply add more minutes/miles weekly at an increase of about 10 percent of your total volume over time.

Distance runners training for a marathon, for example, will typically have a scheduled long run weekly that will increase by 1-2 miles every week leading up to their “A” race.

Going farther is a simple equation, but getting faster is the tricky part. In order to be faster or more efficient in endurance sports, athletes need to also spend time training for power, speed, and doing exercises that challenge their lactate thresholds and V02 max.

While every endurance sport has their version of speed work, a 2010 study on conducted by the American Council on Exercise on the efficacy of kettlebells as a mode of training shows that this nifty little tool can help endurance athletes break through their training plateaus.

If you’ve ever done a killer kettlebell workout, the findings of the study were probably unsurprising. In a 20-minute workout with 10 trained adults, ages 29 to 46 years old, men and women with experience in kettlebell training, the results for calorie burn and V02 max were off the charts. In addition, the study concluded that a 20-minute kettlebell workout was an effective means of burning fat, building strength, and building cardiovascular endurance. There are literally dozens of other studies out there with similar results singing the praises of kettlebells.

By adding in even one power and speed boosting kettlebell workout weekly, athletes can see direct correlations to their progressions in speed during endurance workouts.

Moves to add:

Finding the right kettlebell workout to improve your performance will depend on a variety of factors including your current strength training program, level of fitness, distance of race, and more.

Generally, athletes doing four or more endurance sessions of one sport per week (for example, runners doing 4 or more runs per week) can consider replacing one of those sessions with an intense 20-30 minute kettlebell workout like the one outlined here.

Athletes without kettlebell experience looking to add in just one exercise to see some benefits should consider adding the kettlebell swing. Performed correctly, this is a full body movement that targets every muscle from your traps to your calves, and can help you build core strength, power, and speed while also providing a great aerobic workout.

Make sure that you choose a heavy enough kettlebell, and perfect your form. For tips on executing the perfect kettlebell swing check out this article.

Try doing five rounds of 25 reps with a short break in between rounds to start.

Problem: You’re constantly coming back from an injury and just can’t seem to keep your body healthy.

Solution: Mobility

Equipment: Foam Roller

If you’re anything like me, mobility work was one of those things I only ever did if I had time for it. If I only had an hour to fit in a workout, it was unlikely that I’d spend ten to twenty minutes stretching, rolling and working on the movement patterns of my muscles.

That was until a string of injuries had me sidelined for close to six months. It seemed like every time I would finally heal and be released back to doing activities, I would end up with another injury within the week. The most frustrating part was that I wasn’t even re-inuring the same muscle or ligament. I was plagued by a series of different injuries one right after another.

Luckily, I connected with an ART therapist who, after giving me a stern talking to helped me to work through the worst of my movement patterns and to use a foam roller (and other mobility devices) to help my body move in ways that are both safe and effective. Three years later, and I’m still injury free.

But don’t just take my anecdotal word for it. There have been hundreds of studies done on the importance of mobility work, specifically foam rolling for maintaining healthy muscles. This one, published in 2015 in the Journal of Athletic Training on Foam Rolling for Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Recovery of Dynamic Performance Measures takes an extremely in-depth look at both the muscle soreness and performance results of foam rolling. The results were staggering.

Not only did foam rolling keep muscle soreness at bay, but athletes who engaged in the activity saw improvements in their sprint times, and their dynamic performance measures.

The translation? Foam rolled muscles are happy, healthy muscles that are ready and able to perform when you want them to.

Moves to add:

Every athlete can benefit from adding foam rolling into their weekly workouts. The study above found that a 20 minute session immediately after exercise is highly effective, but in my opinion, any amount of foam rolling is beneficial.

Start by determining areas in your body that are particularly tight or sore, or may become so as a result of your workout (i.e. if today was leg day, foam rolling your lower body is a great idea).

Spend time both rolling out the length of the muscle, and also putting focused pressure on any sore or “crunchy” spots for a duration of ten to 30 seconds.

There are hundreds of ways to effectively foam roll. Here’s a link to a quick lower-body circuit, or you can explore this page for ideas on how to foam roll any sore muscle you might find.

Summary

Article Name

Little Tweaks for Overcoming Fitness Plateaus

Description

Sometimes, we hit a wall in our training and there doesn't seem to be a way around it. However, we've got several small tweaks you can make to lift heavier, run faster and workout longer.

Author

Nicole Kurz

FitnessHQ