Plateau

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To grossly oversimplify, for most of us, resistance-training plateaus basically fall into two categories: overtraining syndrome or lagging body part. It is possible, however, to continue improving incrementally without encountering a serious training plateau—as long as you take the time to analyze your program and implement any number of the following plateau-busting strategies.

1) Monitor overtraining symptoms:
Listen to your body and heed the signals: Are you cranky and easily irritated, do you look for excuses to skip
workouts, do you have trouble getting enough sleep, etc.? Ok, first step is to back off from training. Take some time
off—one, two, three days, even two weeks if necessary.
Next, evaluate your nutrition program. Is your diet nutrient-dense enough to support heavy training efforts?
Final step: Program rest into your schedule.

2) Use a personal trainer:
There’s no substitute for the motivation afforded by someone standing over you. Even more important, when a
personal trainer isn’t enjoying seeing you writhe in pain, he’s offering form tips, suggesting alternative approaches,
adjusting your goals and critically assessing your progress.

3) Switch your workout patterns:
To prevent your muscles from adapting to the stresses placed on them, try training different combinations of body
parts. One way is to organize your workouts into a push-pull system. Or you could train arms together, then chest, back,
legs and shoulders each on separate days.

4) Vary your training routine:
For a change, hit the gym and train instinctively. Go ahead and do 12 sets of bicep curls, or 16 sets of seated
cable rows. Also, try hitting major body parts on the weekend, when you’re more rested and energized. Another
suggestion is to work out at a different gym every so often.

5) Cycle your training:
Remember, it’s impossible to set personal bests at every workout. Try creating a simple eight-week training cycle in
which you alternate between heavy, medium and light training sessions for each body part. At the end of the eight-week cycle, take a week off. If you utilize several successive cycles, it’s not a bad idea to take off one month a year to recharge your mental focus and let your body recuperate fully.

6) Choose the appropriate exercise:
If you are in mass-building mode for chest, back, shoulders or legs, select four or five different movements to comprise your workout; for smaller muscle groups like biceps, two or three exercises will suffice.

7) Feel the muscle:
Pay attention to proper form and avoid cheating as much as possible. Also, don’t hold your breath. Proper
breathing may, in fact, force you to lower the weight used in certain movements, allowing you to focus on "feeling" the
muscle work through the entire range of motion, from extension to full contraction.