Avoiding Exercise Plateaus - Everything You Need to Know

Have you experienced a point in your workout routine where you feel and know that you've been exercising so much in order to lose weight but your body won't even shed a pound anymore? If you have, then this article is for you so read on.

When you reach a point in your work out where you no longer notice significant improvement on your overall physical condition, then your system is said to plateau. This can be very frustrating especially to those who are doing their routines religiously and have sacrificed a lot of time just to be able to hit that perfect figure in a specific time frame. Avoid it if you can but if you have already hit an exercise plateau these are the things that you can do in order to counter its effects on you. Here are some tips:

1. Do not follow a single routine over and over again. If you have been following a single routine for along time then there is a big possibility that your body won't respond to it anymore--you hit the plateau. Try other exercise routines. Break the unnecessary repetitions. If you are exercising from top to bottom it is time to do it from the bottom up.

2. Use different exercise equipment. If you have been lifting those dumb bells for years then throw it in one corner and use something else. No other equipment? Be creative. Use other equally heavy objects like books or chairs. You can even carry your child as you walk in your garden or in the park. For sure your child will love the experience!

3. Do interval training. Do not be too regimented. Vary your training from intense to light then back to intense again. Chances are, when you follow a single monotonous routine your muscles won't respond to it anymore. Switch more often from fast to slow or from lifting light objects to heavy. This is more interesting to do and is one of the best ways to prevent an exercise plateau.

4. Change your diet. Since you have already hit the plateau with your current diet, it's time that you switch to something new. Your diet should still be nutritious but again vary the distribution of essential nutrients. You can eat rice for carbohydrates instead of bread or chicken meat instead of beef.

5. Rest. When your body ceases to respond to exercise, it is its way of saying that it needs rest. In any exercise regimen, rest and recovery is very important. After a strenuous exercise the cells in your muscles are damaged so you should give them time to repair. You will never bulk up unless you give your body a time to repair its cells. There is also such thing as active rest. When your body has been lifting weights for years you can go to biking or mountain climbing for a couple of weeks. This shift gives your muscles a chance to repair and do active rest. You can resume lifting weights after the second week.

The secret word here is VARIETY. Change your routines as often as possible and avoid that dreaded exercise plateau!

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