Why you may have come to a standstill in your training
If your are one of the many people out there who have come to a halt in either their fat loss or muscle growth, then this article is for you. There are many factors that contribute to growth in health & fitness, as well as life for that matter. When you come to a halt, which we all do, you should assess the situation and determine what is holding you back. This way, you can keep on improving.
Here are some things you should consider:
Overtraining – This is defined in a number of ways. If you’re hitting the same body part 3 times a week, it might be wise to decrease the volume of work to allow some growth to occur. This is very common with bodybuilders.
Undertraining – Are you training enough? This is also very common! Asses your frequency of training and how often you are working out each week. If it’s less than 3-4 times per week, then it’s time to get your ass doing some more work!
Consistency – Are you being consistent with your programme? Are you skipping set, cutting reps or making friends when you should be training? A lot of people fail to see progress because they are not consistent with their training. Don’t expect instant results once you embark on a new plan or exercise. Progress takes time and the best trainers out there recognize this. In a successful programme, patience and perseverance is needed.
Flexibility – The best tip you may read here is to STRETCH! When you exercise, you shorten the muscle tissue. If you don’t stretch the fascia, you will end up with shortbread muscle tissue, which cannot properly move in a full range of motion. You see this with bodybuilders who walk around with bracket-arms because they’ve done bicep curls their whole lives and never taken the time to stretch their arms. A tight muscle or inflexible joint could be what’s holding growth back in your target area. It could be your upper back, your left pectoral or your legs. Asses your flexibility level and find a stretching technique that works for you. Yoga, massage therapy, ART and Pilates are all effective ways to regain flexibility and to kick-start growth once again.
Nutrition – Big one here! Are you eating quality, whole foods? Once of the most neglected aspects of training is nutritional intake. After training, you should consume protein, adding carbs to that depending on the work done during the session. Check your overall protein intake and assess if you’re eating enough to repair tissue. Make sure your eating vegetables and getting the right amount of carbs to build muscle. Also, make sure your eating healthy fats and you’re not dehydrated.
Recovery – Are you giving your body enough time to wind-down and recover? Growth only occurs when the body and mind is resting. As well as checking your sleep quality, make sure you taking enough time to sit and just release your thoughts. Relaxing your mind is just as, if not more important than resting your body.
Exercise Variation – Not manipulating your workouts could be the reason you have come to a grinding halt in your progress. Alter your exercise movements, reps & sets, and lifting tempo. Also assess your exercise technique and see if you can improve it, chances are, you can!
There you have it, 7 ways in which you can kickstart your results and get the ball rolling once again.
