HOW TO AVOID HITTING A TRAINING PLATEAU

We will all hit plateaus in our training progress whether we are beginners or advanced fitness experts.

Even the top bodybuilders and those who are taking steroids will plateau from time to time and it is something that we need to understand to break through.

The first thing many people will do is to increase their training intensity.

This is the wrong move for most beginners and intermediate people as it quickly leads to overtraining.

Many times these plateaus will come about when the body is crying out for a bit more time to recover and rebuild.

Inexperienced fitness enthusiasts will see this as a sign that they need to push harder to continue their development and so begins an ever more difficult time where the training intensity increases but the results diminish.

If this problem isn't addressed soon enough it can lead to illness as the immune system gets overloaded with the loads that are being placed upon it.

If you find that you aren't making progress with your training then it might be time to reduce your training intensity, either by lifting lighter weights, working out for a shorter time or in the case of aerobic exercises like running, reducing the distances and times of your training for a week or two.

In some cases where the training has been particularly intense, you might even need to take a few days or a week off where you have a complete break and come back rejuvenated.

The more you exercise the better you get at reading your body and understanding when it is time to train harder and when it is time to take a break.

You might also need to consider having a backup training plan for these times where you will do something completely different to maintain fitness but still have a rest from your usual regime.

If you usually run for fitness you might try swimming for a week or two before coming back to your running training again.