Beating The Plateau:
by Shin Otake
When you repeat the same activities over and over again, eventually you get bored—and so does your body. That’s when you hit the dreaded fitness plateau—where despite your workout efforts, your results come to a grinding halt. Today I’m going to show you how to bypass a plateau and share with you one of the most effective tricks to accelerating your results, but first let me tell you a quick story…
Did you ever the story of the guy that became a doctor at the age of 48?
Yeah, 48. He already had a comfortable job making a good living, but there was one problem: It wasn’t what he really wanted to do. So instead of staying in his comfort zone and residing to the fact that life was good enough “as-is”, he decided to make a change and enrolled in medical school at the age of 40.
He literally gave up everything he knew and was good at to pursue the life he really wanted. Pretty cool, right? While this story is truly inspiring, most of us only wish we had the guts to make a change like that.
So what does this story have to do with your fitness goals?
Plenty.
The truth be told, we’re creatures of habit. We get comfortable with doing things a certain way and we tend to stick to our old methods simply because they’re familiar and for the most part, well, we just don’t take change very well (even though change would improve our lives in most cases).
So, if you’ve been stuck in a rut and haven’t seen much muscle definition or the fat around your belly budge for a long time (despite working out), you need a change…and you need it bad!
Here’s why…
Did you know that it only takes as little as 3 weeks for your body to adapt to a workout routine – at which point your results come to a standstill?
Yikes! That’s probably not what you wanted to hear, but this is exactly why when you start a new workout routine, you get good results in the beginning and then your progress suddenly stops after just a few short weeks.
Even the very best workout isn’t going to get you the results you want if you repeat it too often.
What causes this “plateau” effect?
Your body is very smart, and over time it adapts to your routine. It becomes so efficient that it no longer has to work as hard to perform the same exercise or workout. That means, eventually you’ll burn LESS calories doing the SAME thing!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0JufI4iPc_s]
So let me ask you, do you tend to repeat the same exercises or workouts with no real plan in mind? Don’t worry, I know how it is. You get good at doing certain exercises and get comfortable doing a handful of routines. Plus, you don’t have spend a lot of time planning your workout when you do the same stuff all the time. It’s just easier to stick with what you know.
But that ain’t gonna get you the results.
Your body responds to CHANGE, not comfort.
The more you can keep your body from getting used to an exercise or workout routine, the better it will respond by building lean muscle and shedding unwanted fat.
…And change doesn’t always have to be drastic. A little tweak may be all you need to keep your body guessing…just enough for you to stay challenged so you can KEEP getting better results. Even small changes like decreasing your rest period between exercises, changing the number of reps, and using full-body exercises instead of isolated exercises are all super effective ways to challenge yourself.
The bottom line is this: You MUST get out of your comfort zone if you want to beat the plateau and kick things up a notch so you can start seeing visible changes in your body again. Variety is key to fast-tracking your way to better results without stagnation.
Here’s another tip: by constantly mixing up your exercises and routines, you can actually multiply your results. It’s a like a cumulative effect. By avoiding any halt in your progress, you not only get results faster but you also end up getting better results in the process. Go figure!