Plateauing

[xRedfern]

Hi all,

Im new to the forums and also very new to the gym (started a few weeks ago).

I like to research and prepare myself so i know what im doing and what to expect and i got to thinking, of course, its going to be a long while away but eventually, i am going to plateau, whether it be with my aesthetic gains, strength or endurance etc and this may cause me to end up lacking motivation if i cant break that cycle.

I wanted to get some peoples comments on their experiences and what they done to power through this part and maybe get some ideas on how to prevent it for as long as possible, i kind of feel a key part of gaining is persistance and consistency but surely, following the same routine each week would cause your progress to start slowing, is it just as simple as switching it up from time to time?

Cheers!

[Chrisnyssen]

Plateauing can and is avoided by mixing up your routine as much as you need to. It's different for everyone.
For example with myself I noticed I started to plateau with chest flyes. Overcame this by moving them to the start of my chest workout for a few weeks to shock the muscles, and now my flye progression is back on track.
If anything plateaus are what make body building fun and exciting. You never know when you're gonna need to change it up and find that next isolation exercise to push your muscle a bit further than it's used to.
Enjoy the ride bro you're in for a hell of a long one.

[SquattsAndOats]

Just keep going for what you're aiming for. Take a picture at the start and then one 2 weeks later and by all means you will see differences. Most plateaus are in the mind.

In the sweet words of Freddie Murcury

"I want.. to... break free"

I find singing this helps lol

[AdamTrue85UK]

Drop sets. Not to be overdone and tried once you've got some solid miles of working out behind you. Set to failure. Drop weight. Continue to failure etc Taxes more muscle fibers.

Sometimes even a slight break will help. Often when hitting a plateau it's because people have been overworking the muscles, their energy levels are heavily depleted and they hit a catabolic state where muscles break down.

Also, try some new splits. Or a new exercise for the same area for progression. Get the body guessing for a bit. Of course, if your routine is working for you and you're making gains changing it can be counterproductive. Don't think the old "change your routine often so your muscles don't get bored" is a principle that works for everyone, I find it tends to be overemphasized. For a lot of people they don't have to change their routine all that much for long periods of time. While for others, they simply needed to be trying out a different program from the start rather than mixing it up tons. When starting out, consistency is the key man. But if you hit a plateau, changing things up for a bit works really well.

EDIT: And of course diet. Maybe you need more calories? Or extra carbs after workouts to get your body in a proper anabolic muscle building state.

[xRedfern]

Thanks all,

As i said, im fully aware ive got a long way to go till this becomes an issue so ill stay consistent for now, ill look into some other good splits and diet plans for some good ideas in the future, of course, if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

I'm currently following Bill Starr's 5x5 for the time being which certainly seems to be doing exactly what it says on the packet, though i feel once ive gained a fairly decent amount of strength, i may need to switch this up to a split of some sort that incorporates more of the smaller muscle groups.

[lionman1989]

You are approaching this all wrong. I understand you want to optimize your gains and not waste any time. obviously. Who does? But it won't happen like that. There will be ups and downs. Times where you explode and times where you regress.

None of that matters. What maters is you persist through it. It is not the gains that should drive you. Instead let it be the satisfaction of kicking your ass in the gym and knowing you did what needed to be done for that day and looking forward to the next time you get to do it. Look forward to feeding your muscles with whole nutritious foods. Look forward to resting your body and allowing it to recover. Those should all be your driving forces.

Track your reps, weights, workouts, rest period... Everything. And each workout make sure you improve. Whether it be more weight, more reps, shorter rest. Just make it a little harder each time. Your body will have no choice but to improve.