The Plateau Effect
Dustinsteven22
Posts: 280 Member
The Plateau Effect
You have been hitting your workouts every day and even logging them into the MFP app. You input your daily calories in your food journal. You have been dropping weight every week and you are on a fitness high. Then the day comes when you notice that you have changed. Your weight is still the same and you feel like there is something wrong with you.
In an attempt to solve the problem, you try double workouts and start cutting calories, but still nothing changes. You are becoming increasingly frustrated with yourself. You might even talk to a close friend about it, but you kind of feel alone in the matter. So, what happened?
You my friend have hit a plateau.
Here is a definition of a plateau:
“A period or state of little or no growth or decline”
Does that sound about right?
How do you fix this problem so you can move on with your fitness journey?
I believe there are three components to a plateau: Nutrition, Sleep, and Lack of Variety.
Nutrition
If is vital to your success to eat healthy foods and take in the proper amount calories in day. Nutrition is the #1 reason why people plateau. You think to yourself that you are making such great progress; you are allowed to fall off the nutrition wagon here and there. The fact is that your body is not the same as when you first started. You are becoming more fit and need to start thinking like an athlete. Food is now your fuel. It is important you watch what you put into your body. Crap in, crap results. Here are a few ideas to help you get back on track.
Portion sizes. Are you eating too many calories and not exercising enough? Are you not eating enough calories to help build the muscle you need to keep up your metabolism? I would recalculate your calories and see how different they are from when you first started.
Food journal. It’s a must if you want to reach your goals.
Try new healthy foods and recipes.
Midnight snacking. Stop the midnight treats. If your daily calorie intake allows you to eat more, I would make it a casein protein shake. Casein protein is a slow digesting and could take up to 8 hours to fully digest. Which means you will feel fuller longer.
Post-workout recovery. I always thought that a protein shake was all I needed after a workout. Boy was I wrong. You have a window of 1 hour or less to take in the proper ratio of carbohydrates and protein to help aid in recovery. The correct ratio is 4 carbs to 1 protein. If you ever get the shaky feeling after a workout, your body is telling you that your glycogen stores are depleted and you need carbohydrates to restore your body. I have tried several different brands and they usually either are missing the ratio, too much sugar, too much protein, or not enough carbs. A banana and a protein shake work well.
Hydration is very important for stable energy levels. (You store 3 molecules of water for every glycogen molecule). Water is essential for keeping your metabolism running and also to build muscle. The more muscle and the higher your metabolism, the more fat you will burn. You need more than 8 cups of water a day.
Sleep/Rest
Active Recovery. On lift days you are essentially tearing the muscle fibers in your body. You need to allow time for your body to repair the tears, which adds more muscle. One way to aid this process is to do a light workout the following day. For example, you do leg day and you use weights. The next you do some body weight squats or lunges to help workout the lactic acid in your muscles. Stretching is very important and should be done prior to any workout and after any workout.
Sleep. Now that you are working out and feeding your body healthy foods, sleep is essential to see the progress you want. It is said that 8 hours of sleep is idea for athletes. I know some people find it hard to sleep for the long of a period. I recommend taking naps if at all possible. Your body changes during rest/sleep, not when you are sweating to the oldies.
Exercise Variation
In my twenties, I read a ton of fitness magazines and I decided I was going to be a huge, muscle man. I took supplemental, did the exercises in the magazines, and tried to be like them. The thing I missed was who I was. I was stuck in the gym rat mentality. “If I could only lift that weight, I need this to make me bigger, I wish I could be like that.” I was missing who I was created to be. My reasons for working out were dumb. My life changed when I did my first round of P90X. I lost 15lbs and I started to see abs. My mentality changed as I got older and I realized I was doing the same routine for the past 10 years.
To be successful, you must constantly change your fitness program and plan ahead. If your goal is to lose 80lbs and all you did was buy one program and hoped that it would work, you might need to rethink it. My team plans ahead, even though we are just starting a new program, they are already thinking of the next one. To change your body you need variety.
Plan ahead, think smart, set your goals, and Bring it!
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to add, please feel free!
Dustin
You have been hitting your workouts every day and even logging them into the MFP app. You input your daily calories in your food journal. You have been dropping weight every week and you are on a fitness high. Then the day comes when you notice that you have changed. Your weight is still the same and you feel like there is something wrong with you.
In an attempt to solve the problem, you try double workouts and start cutting calories, but still nothing changes. You are becoming increasingly frustrated with yourself. You might even talk to a close friend about it, but you kind of feel alone in the matter. So, what happened?
You my friend have hit a plateau.
Here is a definition of a plateau:
“A period or state of little or no growth or decline”
Does that sound about right?
How do you fix this problem so you can move on with your fitness journey?
I believe there are three components to a plateau: Nutrition, Sleep, and Lack of Variety.
Nutrition
If is vital to your success to eat healthy foods and take in the proper amount calories in day. Nutrition is the #1 reason why people plateau. You think to yourself that you are making such great progress; you are allowed to fall off the nutrition wagon here and there. The fact is that your body is not the same as when you first started. You are becoming more fit and need to start thinking like an athlete. Food is now your fuel. It is important you watch what you put into your body. Crap in, crap results. Here are a few ideas to help you get back on track.
Portion sizes. Are you eating too many calories and not exercising enough? Are you not eating enough calories to help build the muscle you need to keep up your metabolism? I would recalculate your calories and see how different they are from when you first started.
Food journal. It’s a must if you want to reach your goals.
Try new healthy foods and recipes.
Midnight snacking. Stop the midnight treats. If your daily calorie intake allows you to eat more, I would make it a casein protein shake. Casein protein is a slow digesting and could take up to 8 hours to fully digest. Which means you will feel fuller longer.
Post-workout recovery. I always thought that a protein shake was all I needed after a workout. Boy was I wrong. You have a window of 1 hour or less to take in the proper ratio of carbohydrates and protein to help aid in recovery. The correct ratio is 4 carbs to 1 protein. If you ever get the shaky feeling after a workout, your body is telling you that your glycogen stores are depleted and you need carbohydrates to restore your body. I have tried several different brands and they usually either are missing the ratio, too much sugar, too much protein, or not enough carbs. A banana and a protein shake work well.
Hydration is very important for stable energy levels. (You store 3 molecules of water for every glycogen molecule). Water is essential for keeping your metabolism running and also to build muscle. The more muscle and the higher your metabolism, the more fat you will burn. You need more than 8 cups of water a day.
Sleep/Rest
Active Recovery. On lift days you are essentially tearing the muscle fibers in your body. You need to allow time for your body to repair the tears, which adds more muscle. One way to aid this process is to do a light workout the following day. For example, you do leg day and you use weights. The next you do some body weight squats or lunges to help workout the lactic acid in your muscles. Stretching is very important and should be done prior to any workout and after any workout.
Sleep. Now that you are working out and feeding your body healthy foods, sleep is essential to see the progress you want. It is said that 8 hours of sleep is idea for athletes. I know some people find it hard to sleep for the long of a period. I recommend taking naps if at all possible. Your body changes during rest/sleep, not when you are sweating to the oldies.
Exercise Variation
In my twenties, I read a ton of fitness magazines and I decided I was going to be a huge, muscle man. I took supplemental, did the exercises in the magazines, and tried to be like them. The thing I missed was who I was. I was stuck in the gym rat mentality. “If I could only lift that weight, I need this to make me bigger, I wish I could be like that.” I was missing who I was created to be. My reasons for working out were dumb. My life changed when I did my first round of P90X. I lost 15lbs and I started to see abs. My mentality changed as I got older and I realized I was doing the same routine for the past 10 years.
To be successful, you must constantly change your fitness program and plan ahead. If your goal is to lose 80lbs and all you did was buy one program and hoped that it would work, you might need to rethink it. My team plans ahead, even though we are just starting a new program, they are already thinking of the next one. To change your body you need variety.
Plan ahead, think smart, set your goals, and Bring it!
If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to add, please feel free!
Dustin
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Replies
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I have a question, I tried going from 45 to and hour a day of good cardio/plyo to and an almost 2 hours. Here lies my problem I can barely move my legs when I wake up, its my quads. It feels like i have a constant charlie horse. I drink at least 2qts water, not including coffee and unscented tea. I stretch. I am at a loss with myself. Its now an everyday battle. I will be running and half mile in I can see my quad muscles twitch. Any ideas? i0
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I'm working on your answer. I'm not ignoring you
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Quick answer might be you are overtraining and your body is not used the increased workload, I suggest rest days0
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From one who has history of overtraining it does sound like you need more rest. Try cutting back some for a week. While you are resting you might also find benefits from using ice to get inflammation down. It can be there without injury and without outward signs.
Good Luck0 -
When I was reading this I noticed two things. First Dustin is a born leader and he Is driven to help others. I like people like that. Second It depends on what the plateau is about. If it's about diet or Muscle growth or both. The approach to resolving each issue is a bit different.
For weight loss it can be as simple as constipation or there may be some hidden food or calorie issue. When I stop loosing I know its time to analyze my diet and if all is well there I should just stick with things and it will eventually ketch up. For me when I fail its usually in the diet arena.
When dealing with muscle growth plateaus that's different than diet Plateaus. In my experience that's complicated and the answer should be directed at the specific issue and for each specific person.0
