5 Ways to Break Through a Workout Plateau

Are you feeling bored of the same old workout routine? Have you stopped making progress? Don’t feel discouraged if you’ve hit a roadblock. Use these 5 tips and tricks to break through a workout plateau. 

What’s a Workout Plateau? 

Over time, your body adjusts to the demands of your training sessions, resulting in a workout plateau. Workout plateaus can leave you feeling unmotivated and bored. This is a clear sign that you need to switch up your training and try something new. 

To keep seeing results, you need to challenge yourself in new ways, a concept known as progressive overload. By definition, progressive overload is when you gradually increase the weight, number of repetitions, frequency or intensity in your training routine.

So before you’re tempted to throw in the towel, let’s dig a little deeper into what you can do to combat a workout plateau. 

What Can You Do if You Hit a Workout Plateau?

#1: Change Things Up

Small changes will do the trick to prevent plateaus. Increase the weight, the number of sets or reps, train at a higher intensity or increase the number of sessions each week. You can even use variations of different exercises or take less rest between sets to encourage progression. 

In the Gymondo app, you’ll find a huge variety of workouts—HIIT, weight training, cardio, Pilates, yoga and more—which makes it easy to keep progressing. 

#2: Incorporate Strength Training Into Your Weekly Routine 

Strength training provides numerous benefits, including lowered body fat, improved metabolism and increased lean muscle mass. Adding a 20-30 minute strength training workout to your schedule at least 2-3 times per week will do wonders for your physical and mental health. Plus, it’s an effective way to avoid workout plateaus. 

Related: 3 Clear Reasons Why You Should Strength Train 

#3: Drink More Water

To ensure you’re well-hydrated, drink 2 to 3 liters of water each day. Water does wonders for your health, including better skin and hair, improved metabolism, more energy throughout the day and fewer hunger pangs. Plus, good hydration plays a critical role in muscle performance and recovery, which is important when trying to avoid plateauing. 

Related: 5 Ways to Create Positive Energy by Staying Hydrated

#4: Track Your Fitness Progress

If you’re not tracking your fitness progress, how will you ever know if you’ve hit a plateau? There are many different ways to track your progress, so choose the method that works for you. 

Here are 5 common ways to track your fitness progress: 

1. Use fitness apps like Gymondo to get a daily overview of how many workouts you’ve completed, how many challenges you’ve finished and how many hours of training you’ve done each week. 
2. If you’re a tactile learner, record your workouts in a journal. Include the number of reps completed and the weight used for each exercise. 
3. Use a fitness tracker.
4. Take before and after photos. 
5. Do a fitness challenge every 4 to 6 weeks. 

#5: Get Enough Rest

The two aspects most fitness enthusiasts tend to neglect are sleep and recovery. But skipping out on a good night’s sleep or limiting your post-workout recovery period can halt your gains and increase your risk of injury.  

Rest days allow your body to replenish its energy stores and repair muscle tissue used during your workouts. This ultimately helps your muscles grow and become stronger. 

So don’t feel guilty about rest days—use them as an opportunity to do other things you love, like spending time with family or reading a good book. 

As a reminder—If you’re lacking sleep, it’s best to work out at a lower intensity to reduce the risk of overtraining and injury. 

Related: 3 Reasons Why Sleep and Recovery Are Crucial for Your Workout Performance

Takeaway 

Avoid workout plateaus with these 5 helpful tips. Just remember—choose activities you enjoy. Doing things you love is the key to leading a healthy lifestyle in the long run. Above all, be patient with yourself and keep going! Do you have any workout advice to share? Leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you! 

Find everything you need to avoid workout plateaus in the Gymondo app. Explore a huge variety of training styles to keep you motivated daily. Start your free 7-day trial today!

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