Reaching a plateau in your diet sounds all too familiar and (perhaps) is the number one reason behind why most people give up on losing weight. So what happens when you hit an exercise plateaus and your 45-60 minute workout stops working for you? First, you have to understand why your body has hit a “plateau” and how to push past this point of no improvement.
“Homeostasis” is the point at which our body wants to run on the lowest possible use of energy. Once our body adjusts to the lack of calories or type of physical exertion we’re demanding (i.e. workout, training, exercise, etc.) it begins to adjust, conserving calories as future fuel. Sometimes, that’s a wonderful advantage for us (if we’re stranded on a desert island) but usually it causes frustration and makes us want to give up. The good news is this: We can do just a simple few things and find ourselves overcoming the hurdle that has been set before us in a very short time.
Muscle confusion
The beauty behind the human body is its ability to “recall”. Without it, we’d be bumping into walls and tripping over stairs. However, when it comes to working out, recall can cause us to stop building and strengthening our muscles beyond a certain point. To get past this point we have to intentionally change our workouts. Doing just a few simple things to “change-it-up” will help your body to push past the plateau, while building new muscles and strengthening your core.
“Give me 5”
“Give me 5” is a strategic way to change the routine of your workouts for better results. The theory is very simple: Every five minutes make simple changes to your routine/workout. For example, if you’re a walker, try lengthening your stride (longer strides) as you walk or increase your speed. Take a different route, intentionally walking up and down stairs/inclines/hills. Integrate “lunges” into your workout. Try rotating between different weight resistance/strengthening exercises each workout. Every other day, do something different so that your muscles will not only get a new workout but they will also be using different muscle groups in a new order.
Add five pounds, repetitions or minutes to the length of your workout/routine and you’ll start noticing a difference almost immediately. If you’ve been doing 30 crunches, try doing 35. Add or subtract a few pounds to your bench press routine. Try five new exercises this week, a new one each day, and you’ll start physically noticing the difference sooner than you think.
Whether you’re at the gym or at home, pick out five different exercises to perform each time you work out and rotate through them every five minutes. Then repeat the routine until you’ve reached your goal for that day. For example, warm up on the Elliptical or Treadmill machine for five minutes, followed by five minutes of leg exercises (squats/lunges), five minutes of abdominal exercises (crunches, etc), five minutes of upper body exercises, etc. Try changing the routine, through increasing and decreasing the number of reps, weight and/or movement you’re performing with each exercise.
Kick the habit!
Habits are not only boring, they’re routine and (eventually) stop challenging/working for us, resulting in plateaus. Unless you “kick the habit” of your daily routine through making slight changes, your routines won’t work! The only thing you should routinely be doing is practicing wellness (mind, body, spirit) everyday. Making slight changes in your daily regiment will not only produce better results, it will help increase your stamina and strengthen your body.
It may sound simple, but it’s no more difficult than this: Change is the mother of results. If you’re not seeing improvement or the results you desire, “give me 5” and you will!
Quick Tip for Wellness: Give me 5!
“Quick Tips for Wellness”, Pat Ferguson, Copyright © 2011, All rights reserved.
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