People in Fort Lee, NJ, often face plateauing when they’re getting fit. They may face stalled weight loss or the inability to progress further in strength, flexibility, endurance, or balance. If you face those same struggles, don’t worry. You can overcome plateaus in fitness by making a few changes. Identifying the type of plateauing you face determines the solution.
Are you having problems with stalled-out weight loss?
Weight loss doesn’t occur in a straight decline. Some weeks you’ll lose more weight than others, despite doing identical workouts and eating the same amount of calories. Sometimes, you are losing fat and gaining muscle. Since muscle weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, you’ll look thinner but weigh the same. That’s not a problem. In that case, you’re making progress. Other times, you’re doing neither, building muscle or losing weight. You have to reevaluate your program to solve that problem.
Both weight-loss and workout plateaus have similar causes.
If you’re not varying your routine or making it more challenging, you’ll plateau. Your body becomes efficient at the workout you’re doing so it burns fewer calories. You may maintain your endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility level, but won’t get any better. The more you continue the same routine, the fewer calories you’ll burn and the less muscle you’ll build. Make your workout more challenging and vary your workout more often to overcome the problem.
Over exercising can lead to plateauing.
If you’ve changed your workout and are pushing hard, maybe you need to look at your workout schedule. Are you working at peak intensity every day without giving your body a chance to rest and recover? That can also lead to plateauing. Overtraining exhausts the body, especially when you’re doing high-intensity workouts and strength-building exercises. Strength training causes micro tears in the muscle that require 48 to 72 hours to heal. If you don’t allow enough time for recovery, it can cause plateauing and even loss of progress. That can lead to weight gain, loss of muscle tissue, and burnout.
- Plateauing can occur if the workout you’re doing isn’t effective. It can also occur when you’re not exercising consistently, pushing yourself enough, or increasing the reps, sets, or amount of weight used.
- Lack of sleep can affect your progress. When you sleep, it allows your body to heal. Lack of sleep can also affect your energy level and the intensity of your workout.
- Maybe your plateauing isn’t starting in the gym. Maybe it occurs because of an unhealthy diet. If you’re eating too many calories, you’ll gain weight. If you don’t have enough protein, you’ll lose muscle mass.
- Our trainers at VIP Fitness will create a personalized program that includes dietary help. We track your progress to ensure you’re making the fastest progress possible and make the changes necessary to avoid plateauing.
For more information, contact us today at VIP Fitness Center