Sunday, March 25, 2018

How to Get Out of a Plateau!!!

Hi Motiv8ers,

Coach Ty Here. Lets get back to work to making you GREAT.  lets cover a topic I feel will help you be more mindful of where you are now and help you figure out how to make your next step to grow and get stronger especially if you feel like you are in a slump.

Topic for today is 'Why We Plateau and Three Things That might Cause a Plateau in Your Fitness.'

Motiv8ers, throughout my career as a Coach I have heard numerous times this phrase, "Ty I just feel like I am hitting a plateau.  I am not loosing any more weight, I am not getting stronger, and right now I just feel really tired and sluggish.  What can I do to get back on track?"  Motiv8ers there are a lot of factors that can cause you to feel like you are plateauing but I have narrowed it down to just three things that I feel have the biggest impact on your fitness.  Lets get started.

First you have to have the Mindset of Improving Every Day!

Motiv8ers this is the easiest factor to make a change in.  As you come out to your SETS regularly you will begin to get stronger.  Your core will improve, you will notice you can get through a whole SET without to much difficulty, and you will begin to get use to the workouts and exercises.  But this is where you can get into trouble.  If each week and each day you push yourself at the same level, use the same size weights, or never try the harder form of each of the exercises you will never see the improvements you want over the long term.  Because you will eventually get used to your workout and you will plateau.  So make sure that you are always striving to improve.
  • Every couple of weeks try to increase the size of weights you use.  You might not be able to do as many reps but you will start to spark that muscle growth to see the muscle tone you want.
  • Each day try the harder versions of each exercise before modifying and then each day try to do a little more. This will keep you always out of your comfort zone and keep you in a stat of constant growth
  • As you get use to the cardio aspect of the workouts try to start maximizing your heart rate a little more each day.  Get that heart rate up high and see how long you can keep it there.  Then each day after that try to keep your heart rate up a little longer.  This will help improve your cardiovascular.
Crew if you feel that you need help in this area talk to your Coach because we love it when we hear our clients say, "Coach can you push me a little more!"  =)  Start having the mindset of improving each day Crew.

Second, The Amount of Energy You Take in Doesn't Match Your Energy Output! 

Motiv8ers as you get stronger and your cardiovascular improves you are going to start working harder at your workouts.  Plus, with your new found strength and endurance you are going to find that you can now just do more through out your day.  You level of Energy Out put will become so much greater then it used to be.  But, here is where the plateau happens, if your energy Intake, meaning the foods and calories you eat, do not match your energy output then you are going to find yourself feeling sluggish, tired, lazy, and not able to recover from your workouts.  So Motiv8ers make sure that as you increase the amount of exercise you do through out your day you also increase the amount of calories you take in.

But Now I know what you are thinking.  'Ty if I start eating more food I will just gain all of my weight back."' Well Crew that statement is true and false.    Basically, as we have learned from other blog posts, if you eat whole plant based carbohydrates with a good dose of fiber your body will store those calories for energy and help fuel your body.  But if those calories come from processed junk food with no fiber more than likely those calories will be stored as fat leaving you with no energy.  Crew if you want to understand this process better on how the body stores calories as energy vs. fat then check out some of our other nutrition blog posts.  Motiv8ers if you feel like this might be the cause of your plateau then talk to your coach immediately.  We are here to help and help point you in the right direction the right way to fit your needs.

Lastly, The last Form of Plateauing can be caused by STRESS!!

Motiv8ers stress can come at us in so many different ways and it can hit our body's really hard. Stress can be caused by work, from a serious family event, from over training with no rest, not getting enough sleep, etc.  These stresses can cause injury, sickness, depression, or lack of appetite.  Crew watch this short video to learn how stress affects the body.

 So after watching the video you see there are tons of ways to make sure you are managing your stress so it doesn't effect you physically.  Those tools are:
  • Finding a supportive group of friends that you can talk to and help you through the stress you are going through.  And, crew you have that.  Your Motiv8 Team and family is awesome.  Definitely reach out to them.
  • Find some time to be with just yourself to relax a little.  Try yoga at home, go for a jog or walk, or do some meditation.  Spend some time paying attention to your thoughts that are stressing you and use that time to figure how you can take the next step in managing your stress and being more productive. Be more mindful of your situation.
  • Next you might be working yourself to much without any rest days.  If you have been exercising day in and day out and not letting your body recover then that stress could cause an injury in the long term.  So make sure you get a good amount of rest in between each workout.
  • Lastly make sure you are getting enough sleep each night and drinking enough water through out your day.
Motiv8ers lots of info here and I know you will have questions after reading this so post below, talk to your coach, or call me and lets talk for a while.  Hitting a plateau is something that every one hits and all it takes to get out of that plateau is just possibly making a few adjustments to  your diet, making sure your mindset is on point to push yourself, or making sure you are managing your stress and getting enough rest.  Remember Motiv8ers we are here for you so reach out to us.

Crew that is all for today.

Stay EPIC and Don't Forget to Be AWESOME!

Coach Ty Out!!!

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