WEEK TWENTY-THREE :: What Is The Best Way To Break A Plateau?

[admin]

TOPIC: What Is The Best Way To Break A Plateau?

For the week of: April 19th - April 27th.

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You've been working out for awhile now and your friends and family have really noticed your results. The results you were getting from your training kept coming and coming and your motivation was at an all time high... and then, like a stack of 45 pound plates crashing into the ground, your gains abruptly stopped.

Each week you would work out harder and harder, but each time you stepped on the scale with your eyes half closed, afraid to look, you were let down by the realization that after all of your hard work, you hadn't gained another ounce of muscle. Are you just wasting your time?

A plateau is one of the most frustrating things in bodybuilding, second only to an injury. Don't worry though, you are not alone. Almost everybody hits a plateau from time to time. Some people never get out of the slump and quit, but some people seem to get past it and start gaining again almost immediately. How do they do it?

What are the major causes of plateaus? What should you do if you hit a plateau? Is there a special "shock" training program that you can do? Should you be analyzing your workout, nutrition, and supplement programs to see what is wrong? Should you try something different with your training, nutrition and supplements? Should you take a break, and if so, for how long?

Give your full and detailed advice to help others around the world who are suffering from this dreadful condition!

Show off your knowledge!

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $75 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it. Become famous!

Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com

[Lion Heart]

I think the best way to break a plateau is to stop it even before it happens. I'm a firm believer that continual change in one's routine is key. Whether it be a change in how you lift, the number of sets and reps you do, your exercises, continual change is key.

Myself for instance, I am constantly alternating between four different routines each year. I follow each routine for six weeks, before switching to the next one. I feel this continual change is what has helped my stop any plateau's before they happen.

[squazo]

plateaus are going to happen there is no way to stop them but you can delay them. make sure to vary your routine by throwing heavy workout weeks, say once a month, and on this week do everyting with sets of four. the plateau will still happen but when it does it will be at a much higher weith because your muscles will be used to it. and once you finnaly get to the inevitable go workout really hard for a week and then just stop, because your muscles are beat your body needs to rest thats what a plateau is, your body needs to catch up.

[FortifiedIron]

Its simple the cause of a stagnation in training is due to the fact your training does not trigger your adaptive mechanism enough to promote some form of adaptive response. During this time one should look into their training protocol to determine what changes could be made to their training or diet to help restart the adaptive/growth process once again. Here are some basic ways one might implement into their training that could help restart the adaptive response from weight training.

1. Loading periods- Loading is exactly what it sounds like. This is another way to boost growth and adaptive mechanism into growing again. Loading or “shocking the system” (better termed in bodybuilding) induces a heavy amount of fatigue. This is best known as the principle known as the fitness fatigue model is which the accumulation of heavy training there will be a dramatic increase in fatigue. This is why after a loading phase there should be a period of deloading (discussed as step II). During the loading period biomechanical process will increase or decrease which can be the main culprit (chemically) for overtraining. However overtraining should take place during this phase, however in a mild state known as overreaching. Basically overreaching allows you to tap into the high fitness level. Here is an exert from another article of mine:

“Other than certain biochemical markers, identifying your limit through trial and error is the most ideal way to gauge this. The Testosterone/Cortisol ratio and the Glutamate/Glutamine ratio are the most common indicators of overtraining, but testing them regularly is expensive and impractical. Research has shown that the optimal degree of change in Testosterone and Cortisol ratios are around 10-30% before a period of deload should be done. Lon Kilgore, Ph.D has found that with Glutamine and Glutamate ratios the following guidelines are practical and optimal when attempting to measure overreaching and overtraining:

** Glutamine/Glutamate Ratio and Overtraining
GN/GT ratio >5.88 = Normal
GN/GT ratio >3.58 <5.88 = Adaptation
GN/GT ratio <3.58 for <2 weeks = Overreaching
GN/GT ratio <3.58 for >2 weeks = Overtraining

How much stress the body can take before it reaches its breaking point is highly individual. Due to several neural and metabolic differences, not all methods will suit each individual. For example, many Greek Olympic lifters are able to load for up to 3 weeks before deloading. Few individuals are able to sustain that amount of bodily stress without overtraining.’’

Example of Normal Training and Loading periods:
Normal Training phase 1-3wks
Upper day 1:
Bench Press 3x6
Close grip 3x6
Push down 3x6
DB shrugs 3x6
Weighted pull ups 3xF
Military Press 3x6
Preacher Curls 3x6

Upper day 2:
Incline Press 3x6
Flys 3x6
Triceps extensions 3x6
Barbell Shrug 3x6
Upright Rows 3x6
Push Press 3x6
Barbell Curl 3x6

Lower day 1:
Squat 3x6
Leg Press 3x6
Good morning 3x6
Glut Ham Raise 3x6
Straight Leg Deadlift 3x6

Lower day 2:
Deadlift 3x6
Front Squat 3x6
Weighted Step-ups 3x6
High Pull 3x6
Standing Calf Raises 3x10

Loading Phase 1-2wks
Upper day 1:
Flat bench 3x8
Skull Crushers 3x8
Iso-metric Plate raises 3x6 (5 Second pause at top)
Power Shrugs 3x8
Lat Pull downs 3x8
Bicep Curls 3x8

Upper day 2:
Incline DB press 3x8
Barbell overhead extensions 3x8
Barbell Curls 3x8
Iso-metric DB shrugs 5x5 (5 second pause at top)
Upright Rows 3x8
Push Press 3x8

Upper day 3:
Decline Bench Press 3x8
Weighted Dips 3x8
Preacher Curls 3x8
Seated DB Press 3x8
Dumbell Rows 3x8

Lower day 1:
Squat 3x8
Good Morning 3x8
Glut Ham Raise 3x8
Seated Calf Raises 5x10

Lower day 2:
Deadlift 3x8
Front Squat 3x8
Weighted Step-ups 3x8
Standing Calf Raises 5x10

Lower day 3:
Leg Press 3x8
Straight Leg Deadlift 3x8
Glut Ham raise 3x8
Seated Calf Raises 5x10



II. Deloading- the term deloading is simply defined as nothing more then decreasing the load placed on the mechanism as a whole. This can be achieved by decreasing the volume (sets*reps*weight) of your training or frequency of your training.

Example: (tapering based on the first example)

Tapering/Deloading Phase 1-2wks-
Upper day 1:
Bench 2x10
Close grip 2x10
Military Press 2x10
Upright row 2x10
Hammer Curls 2x10


Lower day 1:
Squat 2x10
Deadlift 2x10
Glut Ham raise 1x10
GM 2x10

As you can tell the total volume/frequency between the regular training phase and the deloading phase is cut down dramatically. What this is doing is taking into account the fitness fatigue model where heavy training will increase fitness but at the cost of increasing fatigue as well. What the deloading period allows is for your body to reboot or restore depleted mechanisms and energy sources lost from the continuous heavy loading.

III. Fluctuation of variables- This one is just simply ‘changing things up’ in your training.

- Sets and reps matrix - This is nothing more than taking sets and flipping them with reps. For example if you have been doing 3 sets of 8 for 5 weeks using 190 on the bench and don’t see either your bench or your mass increasing you can do 8 sets of 3 next training session. What this variable does is allow more weight to be used thus stimulating different thresholds and responses. You will need to increase the load being used which is one reason why this variable is effective.

-Density- Simply means to decrease the rest periods between your sets. This is great to do with the above variable (matrix) to really test out your work capacity.

-Increase Frequency- Which means nothing more than training each muscle group more often during the week. Most people get “frequency” training cross mixed with volume training which to a degree it could be however does not have to have a high level of volume. (look at the deloading period above) Basically to increase frequency you will have to decrease the total load per training session to allow you to spread this out evenly during the week. If you just try to duplicate a day chances are you will not see the results from this. Decreasing the frequency is very important or it wont work correctly if used for long periods of time. Basically take your number of sets and reps for lets say quads. Lets say (for example only) you are doing 18 total sets in one session for quads alone. Now take half of 18 (9) and instead of doing 18 sets in one session spread it out to do 9-12 sets per session during the week. As you can see you can do more on two days than you can in one day. This makes recovery quicker opposed to only training each muscle group once a week to the point you murder yourself for no reason.

-The other goods- There are some other goodies you might throw into your training protocol, this is especially useful for those whom might have a lagging muscle or muscle group. Basically increase the exercise variable. Here are a list of some ‘toys’ one might use in their training to help spark those adaptive mechanism into growth again!

Eccentrics- slow negatives on some lifts.

Failure- training a movement to failure every now and again wont be to harsh on the nervous system, especially if your in a loading phase. It does place a heavy tax on the nervous system and can cause excess firing of motor neurons which will cause a very hard crash on the nervous systems so be careful as to how you apply it in your training.

Changing head position, feet positioning, etc- For example why not change up your grip spacing on the bar during the bench press or feet width during the squat? It adds variable to your training protocol.

Static/isometric- Yup, isometric training is a great way to increase not only strength but mass.

And…….. Well I know this section is brief but it would take me forever to write out all the methods to this. However point is this.. If it can cause growth it will cause grow so why not implement it into your training protocol? Besides variation is key to growth and that is what the majority of people lack in their training and thus never see the results they desire. So implement all these goodies in your training here and there and watch yourself grow!


FortifiedIron

[FortifiedIron]

plateaus are going to happen there is no way to stop them but you can delay them.

Periodization

Kc

[NATURAL BB]

ways to overcome a plateau:

1. diet: ovelook your diet to make sure you are getting enough calories ( the right ones too, no cheating ) for optmium muscle growth

2. more resistance : an old saying among bodybuilders advises, "Go heavey or go home." This statement reflects the training philosophy of lifting heavey resistance to build size. The more resistance used, the bigger the muscles will become.

3. Forced reps : Forced reps are an advanced training methode that extends a set past the point of failure. a training partner or f your free hand helps finish the repetition after your muscles fail. you can apply as many as 3 forced reps to an exercise if you use them correctly.

4.Controlling the negative: the eccentric portion of a repetition is when the weight returns to its starting point. this is also referred to as the negative part of a repetition. many exercise physiologists have theorized that the negitive portion of each rep causes the most damage to the muscle fibers, which later contributes to their growth. it is also agreed that the negative part of the repetition builds strength and power more than the concentric part of a reptition.

5.Power rack partials: another technique for improving strength on the basic exercises is patial reptition in a power rack. placing the pins at a specific locations in a power rack limits the range of motion for an exercise, allowing partials reps.


6. More Volume : as you move past the beginning stages as a bodybuilder, one way to make your workouts more intense is to add exercises and, consequently, more sets.


7. 10 sets of 10.!!!!


8. Resting less in between sets!!!!

9. SuPeR sEtS: another method for completing a workout at a faster pace is to use supersets. a superset consists of 2 exercises with no rest between the two movements. supersets can invole exercises for opposing muscle groups or two exercises for the same muscle group.


10.Preexhaustion : another methode of superseting is to combine two exercises for the same muscle group. this is called preexhaustion and uses an isolation exercise supersetted with a basic exercise to exhaust a muscle to failure.


11. drop sets: drop sets are an excellent way to increase intensity. after reaching failure in a set, the lifter uses a lighter weight for the next set back to back.

12. more sleep and rest!!!!

13. supplements!!!!!!!





yours turly

natural bb

[Damien]

First, take a week to deload, ie do less overall volume/frequency/intensity.
Keep food high and sleep high in that week. Also take a mental break from the stress you put yourself under when trying to break a plateau hard.
The next 2-3 weeks do a simple strength training phase (I'm assuming you usually work for hypertrophy).
You use the 3 weeks to load, ie overwork the system to a point close to overtraining, after the load, take a week completely off.

I would ramp up the frequency in the loading phase, lower the reps, raise the sets, take out assistance work and add in paused work (ie pause benches, pause squats) and heavy lockout work (floor presses, half/quarter squats, rack deadlifts, etc).

Depending on the lift you're trying to improve, take one day of the week to work on the lift but with a mechanical disadvantage (eg CG bench) and lockout work.
On the other day, do the paused work and some bottom position work (ie db bench, front squats, etc).
On the bottom position work, keep the reps at 5-6, the rest should be about 3-4 reps, higher than usual sets.
This doesn't mean let your form slip.
When doing 4 reps it should be 4 good reps, good form.
Hard but controlled.

Over the 3 weeks, gradually add sets and if possible weights (ie go from 4 sets per exercise to 5 then to 6), the overall volume in the first week should be what you can do without overdoing it (aries from person to person), from there on increase.
Keep the rest times between 2-3 minutes.

Eat a lot of clean food in that time, sleep enough and have a general positive mindset.

After the following week off, take up a program that revolves more around higher reps, lower rest type of work.

[mivi320]

What is the best way to break a plateau?

Let's face it, we all hit a plateau at some point with our goals in the sport of bodybuilding. A plateau is when one becomes plagued with a stagnate lack of progress, and experiences a relatively stable level with no improvement in body composition, strength and size gains, or whatever one's fitness goals might be. Bodybuilding and overall self-improvement takes time, and is not an easy task. Rome wasn't built in a day, and either was that physique of your favorite bodybuilder. Somewhere along the line, a plateau will be reached. How does one break through this plateau and continue making solid progress and advancement? Read on to learn how to continue progressing in the strength and size departments, after you hit that dreaded plateau with these 4 tips!

1. Plateau crushing nutrition
Nutrition is perhaps the biggest part of making continuous progress with your fitness goals. Take a step back and analyze your eating habits and overall nutrition program. Are you eating enough calories that correlate with your particular goals? Be sure you are eating enough quality protein (a minimum of 1g protein per lb. bodyweight). More importantly, examine your carbohydrate intake carefully. Carbohydrates have gotten bad press due to the fact that people looking to lose weight eliminate carbohydrates from their nutrition regimen in hopes of eliminating calories. This is just another myth not to abide by if you're looking to make gains in size and strength and break that awful plateau. The bottom line is that you need carbs, and a large amount of them. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of fuel, help with protein synthesis, and replace depleted glycogen from exercise and activity. Take a look at your fat intake as well. Fat, like carbohydrate, has gotten bad press as well. Like carbohydrates, it depends on the type of fat you're ingesting as the majority of your fat intake. A diet chock full of the two essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) will aid in recovery and be utilized by the body for proper metabolic and hormonal functions, and even prevent a wide array of various diseases and infections in the long run. In conclusion, make sure you're consuming enough calories to encourage gains and plenty of macronutrients to provide your body with a sufficient energy supply.
2. Training smarter to break a plateau
If you're nutrition is in check, and you're still not making progress, evaluate your current training program. If you continue to do the same thing over again, you will continue to get the same results. If something is broken, fix it. It's important that you must establish objective goals to bust through that plateau and move forward. The best way to do so is to keep a training journal and examine any changes in body composition on a regular basis. Once you have your objective goals and a training log established, then it's time to analyze your current method of training to break on through that plateau. Examine your current workout split or routine and check for symptoms of overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining include Insomnia, constant muscle soreness, lack of energy and motivation, headaches, and a lowered resistance to common illnesses. Overtraining and poor nutrition are usually the main factors that contribute to reaching a plateau. This is where the method of periodization training comes into play to better your training progression. Perioidization is basically concentrating and focusing on progressively raising intensity and effort, which will accommodate your overall goals and fitness plans. Be sure to vary your choice of exercise, repetition, and set selections so your body does not adapt to one particular stimuli. It is also important to change to a new routine or split every 4-8 weeks to avoid reaching a plateau. In conclusion, you must keep a workout and nutrition log, evaluate your current training program, check for symptoms of overtraining, focus on the periodization way of training, and repeatedly fine-tune your training and nutrition program.
3. The importance of Rest and Relaxation to break through that Plateau
Now that we have covered the nutrition and training aspects of plateau busting, it's time to analyze the importance of R and R. After training and overloading the muscles for a long duration of time, they deserve some time to repair and recuperate to their fullest. That's where the importance of rest comes into play. Make sure your muscles are fully recovered before training them again. If they're not, you're simply setting yourself up for overtraining. Pay attention to your body's signals. For example, if you train your legs Tuesday and then on the subsequent Tuesday, and your legs are extremely sore, then simply don't train them again. Remember, we're training here to break a plateau and stress the principle of periodization. It's highly unlikely any progression will occur if you continue to train a sore bodypart that was not given ample time for rest.
4. Cardio that causes a plateau
Most bodybuilders perform an average cardio session of atleast 2-3 times per week. What most bodybuilders don't know is that too much cardio can actually be detrimental to progressing, and can easily lead to that dreadful plateau. Extended periods of cardio or excessive cardio can interfere with the production of testosterone, which we know is correlated with muscle building. A good rule of thumb is to perform 2-3 sessions a week at no longer than 30 minutes per session. Apply the same principle of never training a sore muscle to your cardio sessions. If you are sore or are experiencing signs of overtraining, take a week off to recover. Don't just slack off on your week off. Eat properly, get enough sleep, and continue feeding your body with quality protein to create an anti-catabolic atmosphere that will diminish and put an end to that plateau.

Conclusion
There ya have it. Follow these 4 tips to continue progressing, and break the plateau. Just remember, even the best bodybuilders eventually reach a plateau. It's up to you to outwit that awful plateau, and with these 4 tips, I'm sure you can.

Good luck!
Mike

[drugzkill]

Mivi props on mentioning the R and R. Its 90% of the time a better way of breaking a plateau than by adding volume, pre-exhausting going to failure or any of the forementioned crap.

[NATURAL BB]

Mivi props on mentioning the R and R. Its 90% of the time a better way of breaking a plateau than by adding volume, pre-exhausting going to failure or any of the forementioned crap.

your body is to use to the same routine , it will have no reason to grow/adapt, yes rest is important , but you need to look at a plateau as a whole.

[Muscle D]

This means I have until April 27 to turn in my article right?

[ravadongon]

WEEK TWENTY-THREE :: What Is The Best Way To Break A Plateau?

Having your training stagnate leads to frustration, a feeling that undercuts the fulfillment you hope to enjoy from lifting. When frustration mounts, it will ultimately overwhelm you. Becoming overwhelmed is the main reason many lifters quit training altogether.

Plateaus occur because as your body continually compensates for the work load, by repairing old muscle fibres and building new ones, it is also ADAPTING to the work load.

The most common statement coming from a frustrated lifter who is going through a plateau is: "my routine for (enter bodypart) is exercises X, Y, and Z for 3 sets each, 6-8 reps, and I'm not gaining anymore". Well, there's plenty you can do to tweak things. Newer lifters will think there’ll be a single right right answer to this dilemna, but that is definitely not the case. There is no one right answer, everyone will have different answers to breaking their plateau. Here are some ideas you can take into account, and areas you can assess if you are going through a plateau:

Big Changes:

- Take a week off after every 2 months of intense training. Two months of constant training likely will take a toll on your muscles' ability to recover, so you must allow them to recover by giving them a break. Eat right and get plenty of rest so you are able to hit the weights again next week.

- When you stop seeing results change your entire routine. Say you’ve been doing a 3x/week split, hitting each bodypart 1x/week, give higher frequency 4x/week split a go, hitting each bodypart 2x/week, perhaps using push/pull, light/heavy or strength/hypertrophy days. Do your research and try some more popular types of training e.g. HST, Max-OT, GVT etc.

- If you have been previously training for hypertrophy, try out a strength routine, for a while as a change (e.g. 5x5), before changing back.

- Take a long hard look at your diet. Are you eating a good breakfast? Are you taking in enough nutrients pre and post workout? Are you keeping hydrated throughout the day? Are you getting your requirement of good fats in for the day? Are you eating too much simple carbs? Or are you carb depeleted? Are you getting in enough calories to put on mass? Are you eating regularly throughout the day to

- If you're on a supplement, go on an off cycle for a little while before using it again, try switching brands or try new supplements altogether e.g. if you've been using Creatine Monohydrate and you're not seeing great results, drop it and give CEE (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cee.html) or Kre-Alkalyn (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/kre.html) a shot. If you want to target specific brands that are working for people, a great place to go is the "Product Reviews" forum (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30). The search facility (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/search.php?) on the forums is also great for this.

Moderate Changes:

- Change your exercise selection. Rotate exercises in and out of your routine every 2-3 weeks. For example, you may be doing Barbell rows for your lats, after 3 weeks you’d want to change this to maybe Wide Grip Chins.

- Try variations of the same exercise by varying your grip or foot positioning for leg exercises e.g instead of doing back squats all the time, try front squats, hack squats, sumo squats or low box squats.

- Change the volume per muscle group e.g. if you do 3 exercises 4 sets each, switch it up and try 4 exercises for 3 sets each.

- Change the structure of your sets, e.g. instead of doing 3 heavy sets of 5, try doing 2 warm up sets and 1 very heavy set.

- Alter your rest periods e.g. Try both longer rest periods when working close or at your max and shorter rest periods when using a lower percentage of your max

- Don’t neglect muscle groups. Take squats, which we hear about often as training abs indirectly. This is true, but misleading. If your abs get trained by squats, then having strong abs and obliques will only help your squats. Same reason strong forearms help your deadlift and strong biceps help your pull ups. Those muscles are involved, so training them will only be of assistance to you in those lifts.

Small Changes:

- Change your rep tempo e.g. if you are normally keeping your concentric phase equal to your eccentric phase, try doing slower eccentrics and more explosive concentrics.

- Alter your volume and intensity e.g. increase volume and decrease intensity (or vice versa)

- Change from dumbbells to barbells or vice versa, on exercises where possible

- If you normally train at home, go to a public gym for some sessions, or workout with a friend at home, you will normally find your strength will increase a little due to obvious reasons.

- Change your workout times e.g. if you always work out at night, try doing some morning routines.

So keep your heads up ‘plateauers’ and make the necessary changes to your diet/routine, so you can get back on track and start making some nice gains. However keep in mind that you shouldn’t change a winning combination, so please don’t get obsessed with changing absolutely everything every week, give things time to work, and if something is working for you don’t change it till it no longer gives you results.

[NATURAL BB]

how do you guys get all thoose big letters and bold print?

[ravadongon]

how do you guys get all thoose big letters and bold print?

Read this, mate - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/misc.php?do=bbcode

[antihero]

Plateaus are an event that plagues a bodybuilder’s life, and as we all know, there is nothing more aggravating than not being able to add mass or weights. Even though plateau’s occur quite often, most people do not know how to go about giving their training a kick-start again. A plateau can occur for various reasons, but no-matter what the reason is (whether it be from your CNS or your diet) they can be overcome. Here I will outline 10 things that you can do to get past this new plateau.

1. Review Your Diet/Nutrition
Diet/Nutrition is probably the main reason that a person will reach a plateau. What is important is for the person to recognize if this is where the problem lies. To adjust your diet, you should a) increase your daily protein intake; b) increase daily caloric intake; c) remove all junk food from your diet; d) make sure that you are taking in enough of each vitamin and mineral. Increasing your protein intake will allow your body to use the protein for rebuilding muscle fibers. Increasing your caloric intake will allow your body to provide you with more energy during workouts. Removing all the junk food from your diet will remove calories, but those are essentially empty calories that do nothing for you. This is where step b fits in. Step d is very important because vitamins and minerals are easily depleted when your body is trying to rebuild muscle fibers. Vegetables hold large quantities of these vitamins and minerals, but one or two multi-vitamins will also help (this will be covered more in depth later on).

2. Switch up your Training Methods
Your training method will have vast effects upon the frequency that you plateau. The first thing that you must remember is that everyone’s body is different. This means that the routine I use and grow well off of may do nothing for you. If the routine you are currently using is a high volume – low frequency, switch to a low volume – high frequency routine. If you use a customized routine that you developed for yourself, consider rotating exercises every few weeks, even if you haven’t yet reached a plateau on that exercise, it may sound crazy, but it will keep your body guessing. Another thing that you can change is the days and body parts you work on. If you are doing a Monday, Wednesday, Friday split, consider breaking your muscle groups into a 4-day split. Here is a link to the workout database, so that you are able to find whatever kind of routine you are looking for. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/workoutdatabase.htm.

3. Review your Cardiovascular Exercise
As we all know very well, cardio is an important part of this sport, because it allows you to keep your bodyfat percentage down. But it is possible for you to be doing too much cardio, and not getting enough rest. It is important make sure that you are doing this at the correct times, and that you are also getting the most benefit from your cardio. For more information on choosing which cardiovascular program is right for you, go to http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek20.htm.

4. Take a Short Vacation
Some bodybuilders look at a day out of the gym as if it is a sin, and if they were told to spend a week or two out, they’d probably flip out on you. But you must understand that every once in a while, your body does need a break. Giving yourself a break for a week or two can be very beneficial for not only your body, but also for your mind. During this time you can catch up with doing things you haven’t had time for, while your body repairs itself, and relieves stress. Something that is often overlooked is that fact that extreme duress can negatively affect the body’s ability to repair itself.

5. Vary Your Reps
Yet another thing that can be done to overcome a plateau is to put variations in your rep. You can do this in a number of ways: a) vary the number of reps done per set; b) use supersets; c) use per-exhaustion supersets; d) use cheating reps; e) use forced reps; f) use descending sets; g) use burns; h) use negative reps; or i) use psycho sets. For an explanation of any of these techniques, please go to http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/plateau.htm.

6. Vary Your Time Between Sets
Varying the time between reps will also help you overcome a plateau. If you allow yourself to rest for 2 minutes between sets now, the next three weeks should be done at a slightly lower weight (but gradually increasing as normal), and for the same number of sets and reps. But for those three weeks, only take 1 minute rest between the sets. At the end of the three weeks, increase the rest period between the sets back to the 2 minutes that you originally had it at, and I guarantee you’ll see an amazing increase in your weights on the exercise, and as we all know, with strength comes size.

7. Determine Whether You’ve Actually Reached a Plateau, or If You’re Just Overtraining
This happens more often than you would believe, people actually mistake reaching a plateau for overtraining. This is why it is important to monitor your volume very closely and determine exactly what type of training your body responds best to, and just how far you can go. Remember that there is a fine line between growth and overtraining, and you must remember to push yourself far enough, but not too far.

8. Keep Your Focus/Determination
While in the gym, it is very important that you keep your focus and determination, so that you can put everything you have into your lifts. Bodybuilding is like any other sport; you have to “keep your head in the game” so to speak. This is where choosing the proper workout partner comes into play. The person needs to be someone who you can talk with easily, and has to be someone who has the same desires as you. But, the two most important features in a workout partner are trust, and motivation. You must be able to trust your workout partner in all circumstances, because when you are bench-pressing near your max weight, you cannot afford to have the weight lying on your chest and your partner/spotter laughing at you. Also, your workout partner should be a source for motivation, and not a distraction. Having friendly competition between you and your spotter is one way to keep your focus better while in the gym.

9. Stay Hydrated
The most overlooked part of any sport is proper hydration. You must keep in mind that if your muscles are not given enough water, you will lose strength. This means that you need to drink water often throughout the day, because if you are thirsty at any point, you are already dehydrated. But, keep in mind that drinking large amounts of water all at once is the worst thing you can do. Because, the body will respond to a sudden sharp increase in water by releasing diuretic hormones to excrete as much of the excess water as possible, further dehydrating you.

10. Consider Supplements
I want to start by saying that there is no magic supplement to break a plateau. There are some supplements that will help you do it, but none that do so on their own. Three that will help you the most are creatine, glutamine, and nitric oxide.

Creatine Monohydrate - Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found in meats and fish. It is also produced in our bodies by organs such as the liver and kidneys. Creatine allows bigger muscle gains, more energy, and bigger pumps. The best part about creatine is that it has been around for well over 10 years, and there are still no side effects to taking this supplement.

To learn more about this product, go to - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html

Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL (CEE) - CEE is a more potent form of monohydrate, simply because its absorption is about 30 times better than that of regular creatine.

To learn more about this product, go to –
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cee.html

Glutamine - Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the muscles. The body naturally produces it, but while the body is under intense stress, the production is not increased even though the demand for it is. Increased amounts of glutamine in the body lead to faster muscle recuperation.

To learn more about this product, go to - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/glutamine.html

Nitric Oxide - Nitric Oxide is a gas that can travel freely through cell membranes. This allows it to increase blood flow, which means that nutrients can be carried to the muscles quicker, and makes it easier to have larger pumps. Nitric Oxide also increases the production of adrenaline.

To learn more about this product, go to - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/no2.html


My Recommendations for Supplements
Creatine Monohydrate
Higher Power Creatine Monohydrate 100% Pure - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/hp/creatine.html

Creatine Ethyl Ester
Omega Sports Cre-Ethyl Thunder - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/omega/cre.html
BSN CellMass - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/cell.html
**** Cr2 - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/****/cr2.html

Glutamine
Higher Power L-Glutamine - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/hp/glutamine.html
Prolab Glutamine Powder - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/pl/glutamine.html

Nitric Oxide
BSN NO-Xplode - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/xplode.html
BSN Nitrix - http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/nitrix.html

[IGF]

The Best way to Break A Plateau!

A Plateau is the enemy of every athlete, the bane of any weight lifter and the cause of immeasurable sorrow. OK I’m over reacting a bit but yes a plateau is only second to an injury and has to be avoided or broken through at all costs. In my contribution I will discuss exactly what a plateau is and what is the best ways to not only destroy and surpass a plateau, but to make sure they never even occur.

What are Plateau's?
A Plateau in my opinion can be two things, you stop making progressive gains in a task or you have to mentally work harder to perform the same task. Plateau’s usually relate to being in an Over trained state or sticking with the same mediocre program week in week out, allowing your body to accommodate to it and thus not have a need to adapt and even start to regress. Pretty simple stuff, yet they can be immensely frustrating to anybody who has experienced one

Code Red: How to break a plateau?

One only needs to read different articles on the subject and they will find immense differences in what each author recommends, any my article will be exactly that. I will provide you with proven methods that will bust a plateau as long as you follow my recommendations to a T.

Nutrition

OK you’ve been lifting weights for a few months and been taking 3 protein shakes a day, but you are not a beginner anymore and you will need to start providing your body with the materials it needs to get results. Often this will blast out beginners from any plateau they are in. Here is a list you should consider
i)Meal Frequency: Are you eating at least 6 meals a day? It is far more anabolic to eat smaller meals throughout the day then trying to cram in as many calories as possible in just 1 or 2. This will provide a constant stream of nutrients to your muscles.
ii)Calories: Eating a measly 2200 calories a day? How do you expect to grow on such a miniscule amount of food?! Up the calories by 500-1000 and watch your gains sky rocket
iii)Protein: 3 protein shakes a day would generally provide you with about 70g of protein which is fine for a beginner, but when you’re in an advanced state you will need more. 1.5g-2g per LEAN body mass which is by far the best method to gauge how much protein you need. Bodybuilding.com has excellent articles on what protein does and what different proteins can do for you.
iv)Carbohydrates: You will never find a bodybuilder that follows the Atkins diet (or at least a good bodybuilder). Carbohydrates provide the fuel for your muscles to work (glycogen) and cause the release of the storage hormone Insulin, which can be manipulated to lead you to Muscle heaven. All your meals should contain Low GI carbohydrates such as oats, sweet potatoes, yams, fruits, vegetables and unprocessed grains. One exception to this is post workout, where a HIGH GI carbohydrate source along with some protein powder is the most optimal method for recovery and anabolism.
v)Fat: Any bodybuilder knows fats are essential to proper hormone production. Getting about 20% of your calories from HEALTHY fats is the best way to ensure you are not missing out on the anabolic benefits. Good sources are olive oil, natural peanut butter, nuts and flax seed oil

A good shock to your diet is to change the foods you usually eat, say replacing chicken with salmon and beef with some other meet like rabbit or ostrich. Your body adapts to nutrition just as much as it does to training!

Supplementation: The tools of a bodybuilder
-Protein powder: This will help you meet your daily needs and is needed post workout.
-Creatine: Creatine will make your workouts tremendously more productive. In a back issue of ‘Topic of the Week’ I wrote an extensive write up on creatine and it can be found here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=435536
-Glutamine: taking 20g a day spread into 5g serves will help recovery and keep your immune system strong
-Multi-vitamin/mineral: Your body needs vitamins and minerals like a car needs oil – without it they won’t run smoothly.

Do NOT change your supplements around, your body does not adapt to these supplements and will always produce the same “results”

The best prices for all these items can be found in the bodybuilding.com store!

Training

I)Volume: Still following the old “12 sets for large 8 sets for small” adage? Well that could be one of your major problems. Try either dramatically increasing your volume to destroy your muscle just like you were a beginner again Or on the flip side you can taper the volume down for a few. How do you know which to apply? Well if you feel over trained and not motivated to work, a taper would be just down your alley. Lower the sets by 30-50% and you will recover from extreme training while still providing your body with a stimulus. If you are motivated and ready to battle your body then up the Volume, making sure your nutrition is up to par.
2) Reps: always doing some same amount of reps each workout? Always sticking in the 4-6 or 8-12 range? A bodybuilder knows that variation is what causes gains. How about doing a cycle of low rep training or high rep training? This will cause motor units that would normally not be used to be called into play, breaking down any mental barrier that your mind thinks it has no more need to adapt! How is your rep tempo? If you’re constantly doing the same thing week in week out you are missing out on a lot of benefits. Try doing heavy explosive reps with a short negative or go light and do some real slow reps, emphasizing the eccentric for at least 10 seconds! Sounds crazy right? Well many Olympia winners have been called crazy in the past
3) Shocking Techniques: Supersets, Dropsets, Rest-Pause, Double negatives…the fun of them all! These super techniques can be applied to go through any barrier your body has erected. The main site has an excellent breakdown on each of these techniques
4) Frequency: working a body part once a week, once a day? While this is fine for any gym go’er it will not be fine for us. When you are trying to build a physique that will turn heads on the street, that will freak out the general population with mind blowing masculinity and vascularity you cannot train like this and expect it to break a plateau. Here are a few things you can do

i)Increase Frequency: Say your legs have not gained in a few months and you are still doing them only once a week. How about lowering the volume slightly and doing them twice a week? This will ensure each session you do for them will be at maximum intensity and your body has no choice but to respond. Again recovery has to be spot on and you should do this only has long as it takes for your plateau to be broken.

ii)Split volume training: huh? What’s that you ask? Well my friends this is something that is not seen often in the weight training world, but is very practiced in other athletic fields. The great Arnold himself was the first to invent this back when he was in the Austrian army, and we can see where it lead him! Say you would normally do 16 sets for chest you would realize that the weights you handled at the beginning of your workout are nowhere near the weight you could handle at the end! How about splitting the volume up, doing 8 sets in a morning session and 8 sets in a night session, allowing your glycogen stores to be refilled and letting those later 8 to be performed at maximum intensity. Pretty simple, but it again requires you to be spot on with recovery

Warning! Warning! Do not do this unless you have ice water for blood

iii)Total decimation of the muscle: Work the body part 3-5 days in a row, bombarding it from every angle and hitting it with maximum intensity, sets and weight. I must say if you do attempt this your nutrition must be up to date, your calories in excess and your supplementation correct. I would also rest that part for a week afterwards and do a half workout for your next session.

5)Exercises: Doing the same old exercises you did when your first started? Well time to change that. When you start doing the same repetitive exercise over and over again, that’s when a plateau loves to come in. Instead of doing normal standing barbell curls how about use DB’s? How about having a friend pull your elbows back? How about doing them on an incline bench? Variations such as this will take your body into new dimensions. Also the order you do exercises matters tremendously too, but I would always stay with compounds first.

6)Rest in between sets: Make your rest intervals shorter or longer.

7)Split: Doing chest/triceps and back/biceps without seeing any arm gains? How about giving those arms a day of there own allowing you to work them fresh and using the most weight possible. This can be applied to almost any body part, such as giving calves there own day instead of doing them after a brutal leg workout

Lastly how to NOT get into a plateau?
Don’t get stuck into a set routine and recognize signs of over training. Repetitive work will cause your body to accommodate to the stimulus and will not have the need to adapt – so change it up every now and then. Pre-plan ways of breaking a plateau (say your going on a program to increase your bench by doing a lot of low reps – a good way to break out of this would be doing a higher volume/higher rep approach for a session every 4-5 weeks).

Good luck!

[jgb99]

Fortified Iron's article is clearly the best, but it's most likely going to be one of the other guys that wins, because they advertise bb.com in their articles.

[cutlerfan]

Plateau's are very frustrating and can definetly psych a bodybuilder out. The key is to be patient and analyze every aspect of your program. Bodybuilders get into plateaus because they do the same routine day in and day out without change or variety. They also tend to never stray away from a particular diet or supplement plan. Sometimes they even train more often and get the opposite results then they desire. That is when a break may be the answer.

To get out of a funk a bodybuilder should do a shock program or just change up a routine. A shock program consists of many options. Light weight with high reps, heavy weight and low reps, or just supersetting for a quicker workout. Also, an individual can change up there routine by trying different exercises or changing the order of exercises. Also, when deciding what bodyparts to work instead of doing the normal back/ biceps workout try doing chest/ back for variety.

In terms of diet try high protein mixed in with high carb days. Maybe your body is just dying for more food or different kinds of food. The food you eat plays a huge role in your mindset.

When talking about supplements sometimes too much of something is bad. Cycling supplements is a very good idea. Take a creatine for a month or two and take a month off and then go on it again. Same thing with thermogenics. They only work for so long before your body gets used to it.

Hopefully this has helped you get out of a plateau and continue making great gains!!!

[antihero]

Fortified Iron's article is clearly the best, but it's most likely going to be one of the other guys that wins, because they advertise bb.com in their articles.

thats not true.Yoru looking at it as if i posted those links just to advertise this site. when in actuality those are links to sites that i felt best described the things that i wanted them to. if there was a site that i thought had a better description of super sets, and burns, then i would have posted that.

the bottom line is, ITS NOT ABOUT ADVERTISEMENT, ITS ABOUT PROVIDING THE PROPER INFORMATION SO THE READER CAN LEARN MORE.....

[mivi320]

the bottom line is, ITS NOT ABOUT ADVERTISEMENT, ITS ABOUT PROVIDING THE PROPER INFORMATION SO THE READER CAN LEARN MORE.....

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

[PcH]

Skip all these responses and READ here. I myself have come to a plateau in sports, which can be similar to bodybuilding.

When you come to a plateau, your motivation obviously declines. You become dissatisfied with not seeing as many physical or lifting heavier results. Some people may even research supplements or steriods to help them get by this huge wall of difficulty. This huge wall can change, though.

Reapply the basics of training you have (hopefully) been using all along. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I getting enough sleep? - Rest is a very important part for bodybuilding because your muscles recover while you are sleeping. I am personally learning this. I workout religiously, but average 6-7 hours of sleep her night. It's just not enough!

2. How is my fluid intake? - The majority of the human body runs on water. Drinking water flushes out your system and prevents headaches. Proper hydration during any sport, including bodybuilding, is a must. Other sports drinks, such as Gator/Powerade and Propel, offer more taste and electrolytes that water simply does not.

3. How are my eating habits? - If you aren't gaining that muscle you desire, it could be because of your eating habits. Protein and vitamins help with muscle recovery. Whey protein is a very popular supplement that is inexpensive and useful for post-workouts. Don't substitute supplements for the real, good foods, though. Meats, such as steak or grilled chicken, are healthy options for protein. If you are cutting, keep the calorie intake low (but please don't starve yourself). If you are bulking, I cannot say the word eat enough to you.

4. How much are committed to bodybuilding? - There is a fine line between slacking and working hard. If workout at least 3 times a week, you should be in excellent shape. It leaves you with plenty of rest days, but not too many. A lot of people overtrain, which does not permit your muscles to recover. Overtraining increases the likelyhood of injury. Stay committed to your workout schedules.

5. Are you switching things up? - Not every workout plan has the same result on every person. HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) might work for an endomorph, but not an ectomorph. Give pre-set training schedules a try for a couple of weeks. If you grow to dislike it, or don't see even minor gains, then change your schedule. The power is your hands..remember that.

Review these numbers whenever you feel you have hit a plateau. Believe in yourself and anything will be attainable.

[bubba g]

Fortified Iron's article is clearly the best, but it's most likely going to be one of the other guys that wins, because they advertise bb.com in their articles.

Thanks for voicing your opinion on which article is the best.

I would just like to point out that the articles are being posted ON Bodybuilding.com so it is kind of like Mc Donalds advertising on their menu board. If the people are reading the aticle odds are they are doing their shopping here anyway.

[antihero]

Thanks for voicing your opinion on which article is the best.

I would just like to point out that the articles are being posted ON Bodybuilding.com so it is kind of like Mc Donalds advertising on their menu board. If the people are reading the aticle odds are they are doing their shopping here anyway.

yet another good point...

[doggiejoe]

Total Plateau Annihilation

When you first begin working out your muscles are shocked. They’ve by no means ever had to work so hard. Soon you start to notice a new harder physique. You see muscles you never knew you had. The mirror and you are inseparable.

You start to believe you’ll never stop growing. You imagine you’ll be as big as Ronnie Coleman in a couple of months. 2 months later you’re stricken with reality. You’ve stop growing. Reason being you hit a plateau.

Most beginners think a plateau is a green flat plane. Well it’s not. It’s a bodybuilder’s worse enemy. It’s the reason beginners stop seeing gains and start losing motivation. It’s the major cause why almost everyone quits after 2 months of working out.

Plateaus not only affect beginners, they even hit the stars of bodybuilding. No one wants to hear the P word. Winning the battle against plateaus is what makes your gains keep on coming. In this article I’m going to advice you on the best ways to tackle this evil.

To begin with, take a look at your bodybuilding lifestyle. Is there something wrong with it? Do you have your diet in check? Are you giving your body time to rest? Are you overtraining?

Eating Habits

This is without a doubt the most significant part of your training. It could also leave you on one side of the wall or get you over it. If you’re not already doing so, you should have a clean diet. You need to plan what you’re going to eat the whole day and stick to it. You want to get at least 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. Eating 5-6 meals a day and every 2-3 hours so you won’t go into a catabolic state. Also you want to keep your muscle cells well hydrated so they are able to grow. The recommended water intake is 1 ounce for every kilogram you weigh.

A celebrated way to go over strength/mass plateaus is to go on a bulking diet. When you go on a bulking diet you want to keep fat gain to minimal. You want to keep your diet as clean as possible while maximizing your calories. The amount of calories you should consume is your body weight multiplied by 20. This is a great way to put on mass and get over the hump.

Overtraining

Are you one of those guys that can’t get out of the gym? One of those guys they call a “gym rat”? Do you consider taking time off a sin? Well you couldn’t be further from the truth. Taking a week off every 2-3 months works wonders. It will only do you good, and you will be pleasantly surprised. If you’ve been working out consecutively for that long, take a week off, you deserve it. Not only from weight training but any physical activity including cardio!

Furthermore you want to keep all your workouts under an hour so you won’t overtrain. Staying hydrated during your workout is also vital, so make sure to take a water bottle with you. After your workout, I recommend to take a warm shower to loosen your muscles and speed up the healing process. You also want to give each body part at least 48 hours of rest. Most bodybuilders like to give each body part a week off to completely heal. Some body parts get worked out indirectly on other exercises not intended for it. For example your triceps and shoulders are worked when bench pressing.

One thing everyone should be aware of is that you don’t grow while your working out. So stop staring in the mirror, you’re not any bigger. So when do you grow? When you sleep! This is why you should get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Also your bedtime meal should consist of a casein protein. You want to have a casein protein before going to sleep because it’s slowly digested and best for nighttime.

Shocking Your Muscles

In real life there are changes. Seasons change. Your personal life changes. Your underwear changes (At least I hope it does). So why shouldn’t your routine change? The last thing you want to do is let your muscles adapt to your routine. As soon as they adapt to your routine, you stop growing. Simple as that. Muscles don’t want to grow. They rather stay undersized and puny. That’s why it’s your mission to teach them who is boss.

After a while your muscles get use to your routine and they are not worked as hard. They learn how to cope with the exercise you do, and even figure out your rep and set range. They have a brain of their own! So that’s why you want to keep your muscles guessing. By doing so, you’re shocking them. To shock your body, you should adjust your routine every 4-6 weeks.

Simple Shocking Methods

-One way to shock your muscles is by changing the order of exercises. Ex. Do incline bench press before flat bench press on chest days.

-Another approach is to change the amount of sets and reps for your routine. Ex. Say you do 8-10 reps you would switch to 4-6 for more strength/mass or 12-15 for more muscle endurance/definition.

-Try different exercises. Ex. Do hammer curls in place of regular curls. Check out the exercise database for various exercises. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

-Switch the amount of rest in between each set. Ex. Rest 30 seconds instead of 60 seconds.

-Change the speed and tempo of your lift. Ex. Try to go faster or slower than usual when performing certain lifts.

-Focus on lagging body parts. Ex. If your chest is noticeably bigger than your back, you should do more back work, so you won’t have muscle imbalance.

-Change the grip of an exercise. Ex. Go wider or closer on exercises like bench press and barbell curl to work the muscle from different angles.

-Alternate between barbells and dumbbells. Ex. Use dumbbells to bench press rather than a barbell for more range of motion.

*Utilize all of these methods and change your entire routine.

Experiment With Something New

Tired of the same ancient workout, with the same old exercises, while still receiving no results? Well don’t be scared to try something new. Change is useful in bodybuilding. What you want to do is explore all the different programs that are out there. Different programs work for different people. So you got to find out which is best for you.

Supersets

Supersets are a magnificent way to astound your muscles with something different. If you’ve never tried doing supersets before, expect to wake up sore the next morning. The best type of superset is when you use opposite muscle groups. So while one muscle is lifting the other one is resting. For example you could bench press then immediately after do lat pulldown. Not only are supersets going to shock your muscles but it's also going to save you time. Your endurance will be tested the first couple of weeks you’re on it, so beware. But you won’t be disappointed with the results.

Dropsets

Dropsets are beneficial for increasing intensity and muscle size. The way to do them is by setting up the weight from smallest to largest (smallest on the inside). You then have 2 of your friends on each side to strip the weight when you reach failure. For example on the bench press you would pick a weight you can do about 10 times and then little by little have the weight stripped off until only the bar is left. Hopefully no one will be looking when you’re struggling with the bar.

Forced Reps

Forced reps are exactly what they sound like. Say you can do a certain amount of weight for 8 reps and then reach failure. When you reach failure your spotter will then help you crank up 3 or 4 more reps. This helps you push the limit of failure and once again shocks your muscles into new growth!

Overloading

If you don’t apply more pressure on your muscles, they won’t grow. If you stay with the same weight, your muscles will adapt to it and not get any larger or stronger. For your muscles to get bigger, you have to follow the principle of overloading and demand more of your muscles. By demanding more of your muscles, you have to lift more often and heavier. So you have to increase resistance, sets, and repetitions.

Plyometrics

There’s no other manner of training that will shock your muscles more than plyometrics. Shocking is the foundation of plyometrics. The main objective it serves is to transform your slow twitch fibers into fast twitch fibers. Athletes use it to get faster and quicker but you can also use it for strength plateaus. One exercise on the bench press is to let the weight drop from the lockout position then catch it. This won’t only make you stronger, but you will be able to lift the weight even faster. There are many plyometric exercises you can implement into your routine. The dreadful issue about plyometrics is the high risk of injury, so train smartly.

Distinguished Programs To Follow

HST- Intensely packs on size.
Max-OT- Great on size and strength.
HIT Training- Excellent 3 day split.
3x3- Perform “the big 3”, 3 times a week. Mostly for powerlifters.
GVT- 10x10 is very demanding and will certainly stun your muscles.
Westside Training- Great for athletes, especially football players.

Continued...

[doggiejoe]

Additional Aspects Of Conquering Plateaus

Intensity

Are you pumped up to lift or do you just go about it as if you were reading a book? Intensity in the weight room leads to energy. Energy then leads to strength. Strength then helps you lift the weight. An excellent way to get pumped is by listening to your favorite hardcore song. This will get the juices going and there will be no stopping you.

Your Body

You already know how to properly feed your body. But please don’t turn that around and take some illegal drug and cause damage to your body. You should also kick the habit of smoking, which only hurts your gains. Excessive alcohol drinking is also damaging for you and your diet. If you’re going to drink, drink your protein shake. Treat your body like a holy temple so it’s ready to go when it’s crunch time.

Mental Barriers

Is the reason your facing a plateau, have to do something with your mind? It might be. You have to have confidence in yourself that you’re going to be triumphant. You might be trapped at 220 but just can’t get 225. Why you ask? Not because you’re not strong enough physically but because you’re not strong enough mentally. Maybe the big plates intimidate you. You really have to bear down and dig deep down inside of you and be able to control your mind. When you gain control of your mind, you’re easily going to be able to gain control over plateaus.

Record Keeping

I recommend keeping a workout log for everyone that bodybuilds. Not only should you keep logs of your workout but also of what you eat. The greatest benefit of keeping a log is that you’re able to track your progress. It also allows you to go back to the past and see what worked and what didn’t. You should also plan ahead. By planning ahead, I mean for you to construct a routine for the future. This way you’re ready to change your routine every 4-6 weeks and know what you’re going to do.

Proper Form

You’ve come this far, so why would you want to risk it all with bad form? Throw it all out the window with an injury. I understand you want to get over a plateau but using bad form is unacceptable. You won’t get any stronger or any bigger because you’re lifting improperly. The only thing you will get is a trip to the hospital. So always remember to stress proper form when lifting. I know you don’t want to start from scratch all over again.

Supplements

Supplements are the last factor to get you over a plateau. This should be the final item on your list. Make sure you have everything else in order foremost. When it comes to supplements make sure you have the 2 fundamental supplements in whey protein and a multi vitamin. If it’s a strength plateau you’re facing, the finest supplement to fight this is creatine. The best creatine being Creatine Ethyl Ester, commonly known as CEE. CEE will amaze you and put you over any strength plateau. If you want to grow then your focal point should be on nighttime supplements. ZMA is a cheap effective supplement that will give you deeper sleep and may raise your testosterone levels. The other nighttime supplement is a casein protein. Casein proteins are essential for nighttime because it’s slowly digested and provides an anti-catabolic effect. Remember the better the sleep, the better the gains.

Final Words

I know everyone here hates plateaus, but you have to confront them like a man. Everything here should help you combat and defeat the evil we know as plateaus. Remember VARIATION is the key to success. So keep things fresh and never stop growing. Now go out there and shock those muscles. Most importantly lift hard, and keep the gains coming!

[bubba g]

Plateau Busting!

The dreaded plateau. Anyone who has trained for any length of time knows what it's like. Everything is going great in your training, Every week you are either adding weight or reps on all of your exercises. you're packing on muscle so fast you can see the difference from week to week. And just when things couldn't be going any better out of no where BLAM!!!. You hit a wall. You can't add weight to any of your exercises. you chalk it up as a bad week, and tell yourself next week you will be back on track. The next week comes and again you can't add more weight or get one more rep on anything. It is like a bad dream only you can't wake up. Thankfully there are several things you can do to bust through your plateau. In this article I will discuss the many ways you can get back on track.

Diagnosing The Problem

There are plenty of reasons why you might be experiencing a plateau. The first step to smashing through it is to diagnose what is causing it. so lets go over some of the common causes and their solutions.

Diet

When a plateau is reached often the diet is overlooked as the possible cause. The best way to remedy this is to recalculate everything to make sure that you're taking in enough of the three macronutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fats. One mistake I see made all the time is lets say for example someone calculates their diet when they weigh 180lbs then they get up to 200lbs and never make adjustments for this extra 20 pounds. That 20lbs difference increases your caloric needs by 300 calories. Make sure you are getting your calories from good healthy foods. Avoid junk foods, or fast foods that are loaded with saturated, and trans fats. it is also a good idea to avoid sugars with the exception of your post workout shake. So forget about McDonalds or Burger King. Also I can't stress enough the importance of drinking lots of water. it helps your body utilize the food you eat and the vitamins and minerals you take. You should be drinking at least a gallon a day. it is free so drink up.

A 40/40/20 ratio of macronutrients is what I follow. I will do a sample breakdown for a 200lb man here. The first thing you want to do is multiply your body weight by 15 so for this example 15 X 200 = 3000 that is how many calories you will consume per day. to find out how much protein you will need to figure out what 40% of 3000 is. You do this by multiplying .4 X 3000 = 1200 calories from protein. carbs will also be 1200 calories for a total of 2400 which means the remaining 600 calories will be from fats. proteins and carbs are both 4 calories per gram, and fat is 9 calories per gram. so to break it down to how many grams of each are needed you simply divide the proteins and carbs by 4 and the fats by 9

Proteins 1200 / 4 = 300grams
Carbs 1200 / 4 = 300grams
Fats 600 / 9 = 67grams

There you have it. It's as easy as that. that is an example of the caloric needs during a bulking diet. One piece of equipment you can not do without weather you're bulking, or cutting is a Food Scale You can get one at the Bodybuilding.com store Special Note: If you are following a cutting diet, and you are in a caloric deficit you can expect to not only halt progress in strength and mass gains. it is likely that you will lose some of each. this is normal and not a plateau so don't panic. just do your best to lift as heavy as you can during this time.

Same Old Routine

Another common cause of a plateau is staying with the same routine for long periods of time. All to often I see this. People find their favorite exercises and they refuse to do anything else. This is the worst thing you can do. One of the best ways to avoid hitting a plateau is to change your routine often. every 6 to 8 weeks is optimal. Here are a few of the many ways you can change your routine.

- Change your rep range That's right. Changing the number of reps per set is a good way to add variety to your routine. this can be done by using 12 reps per set for 1 week 10 reps per set the next week 8 the following week and finally 6 reps per set on the 4th week, at this point you can either climb back up the ladder and go back to 8 reps the next week, or you can jump back up to 12 reps a set and work your way back down. Another way of doing it is to can change your rep range from workout to workout. below is an example of a Mon Wed Fri routine

Monday 12 rps (reps per set)
Wednesday 10 rps
Friday 8 rps

Monday 6 rps
Wednesday 8 rps
Friday 10 rps

- Switch exercise order Another simple but effective technique to ward off the evil plateau is to Change the order in which you perform your exercises. This can greatly decrease the chance of getting stuck. again this can be done week to week or changed once every 6 to 8 weeks. If you do chest and shoulders on Monday do chest first one week and shoulders first the next week. If you do bench press first in your chest routine one week do it last the next week. keep your body guessing. A lot of people are hesitant to do this because when they move their bench press to the last exercise in the routine they can not lift as much. But in the long run it is much better because you will constantly improve, as opposed to hitting plateau after plateau.

- Change time between sets Changing the time between your sets is one of the easiest things you can do to keep things from getting stale. The time between sets can vary from 30 seconds to 3 minutes for most movements. And up to 5 minutes for heavy compound exercises that are taxing on your CNS (central nervous system) like Squats, and Deadlifts.

- Change rep tempo Another easy and effective way to add variety to your routine, and to keep your muscles guessing is to change the tempo at which you perform your reps. This changes the time under tension. which refers to how long your muscles are bearing a load for. reps are broken down into 3 parts the negative or (eccentric) phase of the lift. The pause at the bottom portion of the lift is represented by the middle number and finally the positive or the (concentric) portion of the movement. For hypertrophy it is best to have a time under tension of between 30 seconds and a minute. so rep range should be taken into consideration when determining tempo. for example you are training in the 10 rep range you want your time under tension at 60 seconds you know you must spend 6 seconds total per rep. some examples are 4-0-2 3-2-1 4-1-1 2-2-2 3-1-2. the lower the number of reps in your sets the longer you are going to want to spend on each rep so you are sure to fall into the effective time under tension. When you get down to 6 rep sets you will have to take 10 seconds per rep to have a time under tension of 60 seconds these sets are very grueling and I guarantee you will not use nearly as much weight as you are used to, but it is very effective at causing muscle hypertrophy.

- Change all of your exercises This one should be obvious. change all of the exercises you do for each body part. This not only prevents you from getting bored with your routine, it prevents you from hitting a plateau. Most people don't like to stop doing their favorite movements especially after they have built up to using a good amount of weight on a particular one, but what they don't realize is that when they return to it they will almost certainly be much stronger on the movement.

- Change your Split If you are working out 3 days a week, switch to 4 days a week or 5. If you are doing chest and triceps on the same day now do them on separate days. the possibilities are endless. use Bodybuilding.coms workout database to find a routine that is right for you workout database

Continued

[bubba g]

Over training

Overtraining is one sure fire way to stop making gains, in fact if left unchecked it can actually decrease the size of your muscles and your strength. For many beginners overtraining is a vicious circle. Their strength and mass gains come to a standstill, so what do they do? You guessed it they increase their workload assuming that more work is needed to remedy the problem. which couldn't be further from the truth. Overtraining occurs when you do not allow yourself enough time to heal in-between workouts. The time required between workouts to recover can vary depending on a few factors. genetics, nutrition, and sleep. Here are a few symptoms that will help you diagnose weather or not you are overtrained.

• No energy
• Inability to sleep
• Joints Ache
• Loss of appetite
• Getting a lot of colds

If you are experiencing two or more of these symptoms and are not making gains, then it is fairly safe to say that you are in an overtrained state. Now that the problem has been diagnosed the best thing to do is take two weeks off from all training. I know I know it sucks but in the long run you will be so much better off, it's well worth it. Often you will be stronger upon returning to the gym after the two weeks are up, and you will be extremely motivated because you will be dying to get back in the gym. while you are taking that time off you can figure out how you got into an overtrained state by looking at your diet, and your routine and make adjustments accordingly. Make sure you are eating enough healthy foods, Only train each body part once a week, lower the volume of your training to 3 exercises per body part at 3 sets per. and you should be well on your way to making progress once again.

Not Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep alone can cause you to plateau. Your body recovers when you are sleeping. So poor sleep = poor recovery and if you don't recover between workouts you will overtrain. Simple as that. So try to get at least 8 hours of solid sleep. 9 is even better. If you need to use an alarm clock to wake up, odds are that you are not getting enough, also if you are not sleeping through the night you are probably not getting enough REM or (stage 4 sleep). it is when you are in this deep sleep that most of your recovery occurs. so if sleeping through the night is a problem then you might want to consider trying Melatonin, or Valarian root to help you.

Increase Intensity

If you're not using enough intesity in your workout then you might as well pick up your skirt and sprinkle some fairy dust around the gym. Sometimes the reason for a plateau is from not working out with enough intensity. In that case what you need to shock your body back into growing. There are plenty of effective ways of doing this. I will list a few with brief descriptions of each here.

-Partial reps Partials are completed by moving the weight in a limited range of motion. Usually the strongest part of the lift is used, for example the top six inches of the bench press, or the top twelve inches of the squat, rack pulls are a partial deadlift where you set the pins on a power rack so the bar is just below your knee caps when you begin the lift. All are great for adding intensity to your workout. partials can also be done in your weakest part of the movement. this means squating from the bottom position to half way up then back down again. Bench press would be from your chest to half way to top of movement then back to your chest again. I would not recommend doing deadlifts in the weak range of motion which is from the floor. stick to doing the rack pulls.

-NegativesNegatives are performed by first loading up the bar with more weight than you can lift on your own, then having your training partner, or spotter help you lift the weight for the concentric part of the lift. the eccentric portion is done by you alone. aim for 6 to 10 seconds per rep.

-Strip setsStrip sets are done by loading up the bar with a heavy weight (after warm up) after you complete 8 reps or so and can not get one more rep at that weight you have people on either side of the bar strip off some weight, you get as many reps as you can at that weight and again weight is stripped. do this till you are down to the bar. you might want to keep a bucket close by for this one. this can also be done with dumbbells.

-SupersetsSupersets are done by completing two exercises usually for opposing muscle groups. for example you could do a set of skull crushers and as soon as you put down the bar pick up a barbell and begin doing biceps curls. you can do bent rows immediately followed by a set of bench press. etc.

-GiantsetsGiant sets are almost the same as supersets except you use three exercises.

-100 Rep sets These are not for the weak. Pain is definitely going to be involved here, and if you didn't know what lactic acid was before I promise you will after completing a 100 rep set. These are done by putting a much lower weight on the bar than you are used to (a weight you can get 50 reps with without stopping) and then cranking out 100 reps with that weight. once you fail, or succumb to the pain stop and take a few deep breaths (try to keep it to 5 deep breaths) and don't put the weight down while you take them. and then keep going till you hit 100 reps stopping and taking the breaths as needed one you get close to 100 you will probably be taking 5 breaths between every 3 reps... enjoy

-Rest pause Rest pause is simply where you take a weight that you can get say 10 reps with, and you do those 10 reps. rack the weight and take 15 deep breaths and then pick the bar up and do as many more as you can. rack the weight 15 more breaths then do as many more reps as you can.

Work Your Legs

This sounds obvious but it is surprising how many people I still see at the gym who don't do legs. Your body grows as a whole so if your upper body is not growing, and you are not doing legs. Start! Squats are your friend. Doing squats strengthens your core, releases growth hormone and testosterone into your system, and will help you build am impressive set of wheels. Nothing looks funnier than a guy that has a big upper body with pinner legs.

Supplements

-Supplements are very important. When pushing our body to their limits workout after workout. We need all the help we can get. here I will list the Supplements that I believe are not only crucial in helping avoid a plateau, but are very important for overall health.

-Multivitamin Multivitamins are one of the most basic yet important supplements you can take. Hard training drains your body of vitamins and minerals. taking a good multivitamin is a good insurance policy to make sure the body is getting what it needs.

-Protein Powders It is tough to get in all the protein required by our diets in solid foods. either you don't have the time or you just get sick of eating. That is where Protein Powders and Protein bars come in to play. Whey Protein is the best for post workout when rapid absorption is important. And Micellar casein is a great slow digesting protein that can take up to 7 hours to be absorbed. It is perfect for taking before going to bed. Remember this is the time when your body when it is repairing your muscles. you want to feed it at this time.

-BCAAs Branched Chain Amino Acids play an important role in many functions. recovery is one of them so I think they are one of the most important supplements you can take.

-Glutamine Glutamine is another supplement that has proven to be great at shortening the time required to recover from workouts, and is a great addition to any supplement regimen. Especially when you are cutting and trying to maintain your hard earned muscle mass.

-Vitamin C I think a lot of people really underestimate how effective Vitamin C is at aiding in recovery. 1 gram 3 times a day not only makes a huge difference in recovery time it also boosts your imune system. You can't make gains when your sick in bed. For that reason alone it is well worth making it a part of your daily supplement intake.

-Creatine Creatine Monohydrate Creatine Ethyl Ester Tri-creatine malate Kre-Alkalyn are all different forms of Creatine. Creatine Ethyl Ester and Kre-Alkalyn are the most effective due to the fact that they have a much higher absorption rate than regular creatine monohydrate. up to 30 times higher. They are very effective and have gotten me through plateaus on their own. No other supplement on the market is as safe and effective as Creatine.

Continued

[bubba g]

-EFAs EFAs are a very important part of your diet because they can not be manufactred by your body. EFAs (essential Fatty Acids) help with everything from energy production to helping with arthritis, to reducing water retention. They also lubricate your joints, and are a natural anti- inflamatory. So make sure you are getting enough either through your diet, or by supplementing with them.

Ok that's it. You are now armed with all the information and tools you'll need to not only break through plateaus, but hopefully avoid them all together.

[Backa53]

What is the best way to overcome a plateau?

Shake things up

Webster's dictionary defines plateau a peiod that is relatively stable or during which there is little change... a period when there is an absence of progress.

The stability of results can only point to one thing: too much stability in training methods. They say variety is the spice of life, so let's add a little spice to your workout. Body building and resistance training in general is the only walk of life where you're constantly fighting muscle memory. Your brain is always wanting to make things easier for your body by remembering the movements and making them easier to repeat. In body building you can't let your body get used to anything. The more it gets used to something, the less it has to work, and the less it will improve

Chances are your motivation has decreased since hitting your plateau and a change in your routine will not only improve your gains but make your work out more enjoyable, thus rejuvinating your fire.

Adding a strength training routine is definately someting to consider. When doing max effort workouts with a rep range of 3 to 5 you'll recruit more fast twitch muscle fibers thus increasing your strength. How will this help break through a body building plateau you ask? This type of routine won't immediately help you put on mass, but when you return to your body building routine you'll be able to move more weight, increasing your gains.

Try this six week routine. We have two days when you will work your legs. Working your legs releases a substancial amount of growth hormone, which will help you gain muscle throughout.

Give yourself a significant amount of time between sets. At least 90 seconds and up to five minutes. To train strength, you must give your body rest to give a maximal effort.

This is simply an example of a strength training routine. There are many popular ones. If you don't feel you are daring enough to drop hypertrophy training for a month and a half, there are routines with both strength and hypertrophy. However if you have truly reached plateau, you may want to consider this more drastic change.

Six week strength routine

Week one

Monday (Pull day)
Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Bent over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Weighted pull ups 8 - 10 reps
Curls 3 sets of 8 -10 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
Bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
incline DB press 3 sets of 5-7 70% - 80%
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight
Cable flies 3 sets of 5-7 60% - 70%

Friday (Leg day)
Back Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Front Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
Glute Ham Raise 3 sets of 6-8 bodyweight
DB walking lunges 10 yards

Week two

Monday (Pull day)
SL Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Weighted Pull ups 8 - 10 reps
upright over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Reverse Curls 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
Incline benchpress 3 sets of 5-7 80% - 90%
Bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 70%-80% effort
Cable flies 3 sets of 5-7 60% - 70%
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight


Friday (Leg day)
Box Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Leg Curls 3 sets of 6-8
Front Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
DB walking lunges 10 yards

Week three

Monday (Pull day)
Trap bar Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Upright over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Bodyweight Pull ups 8 - 10 reps
Reverse Curls 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
Bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
decline benchpress 3 sets of 5-7 70% - 80%
isometric bench hold at lockout
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight


Friday (Leg day)
Box Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Leg Curls 3 sets of 6-8
Back Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
Leg Press 60% - 70%

Week four

Monday (Pull day)
Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Bent over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Weighted pull ups 8 - 10 reps
Curls 3 sets of 8 -10 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
Close grip bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Incline DB press 3 sets of 5-7 70% - 80%
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight
Cable flies 3 sets of 5-7 60% - 70%

Friday (Leg day)
Back Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Front Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
Glute Ham Raise 3 sets of 6-8 bodyweight
DB walking lunges 10 yards


Week five

Monday (Pull day)
SL Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Weighted Pull ups 8 - 10 reps
upright over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Reverse Curls 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
decline benchpress 3 sets of 5-7 80% - 90%
Bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 70%-80% effort
Cable flies 3 sets of 5-7 60% - 70%
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight


Friday (Leg day)
Box Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Leg Curls 3 sets of 6-8
Front Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
DB walking lunges 10 yards

Week six

Monday (Pull day)
Trap bar Deadlift 5 sets of 3-5 80%-90% effort
Upright over rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps 70% - 80% effort
Bodyweight Pull ups 8 - 10 reps
Reverse Curls 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps 60% - 70% effort

Wednesday (Push day)
Incline benchpress 3 sets of 5-7 80% - 90%
Bench Press 5 sets of 3-5 70%-80% effort
DB flies 3 sets of 5-7 60% - 70%
Dips 3 sets of 8-10 bodyweight


Friday (Leg day)
front Squats 5 sets of 3-5 80% - 90% effort
Leg Curls 3 sets of 6-8
Back Squats 5 sets of 4-6 70% - 80%
Leg Press 60% - 70%


Once the six weeks in strength training have come to an end, you may return to your bodybuilding routine if you like. You will hopefully have gained an ample amount of strength, and gaining a good amount of size should come a bit easier now. Remember to continue to mix things up

Nutrition

Nutrition is an extremely important aspect of bodybuilding. Some say that bodybuilding is 80% nutrition and 20% training. This is absolutely false. Bodybuilding is 100% nutrition. As it is also 100% training. We can get into the mathematics on another day, but the point is that both are equally essential. They both must be done to the highest degree of quality in order to achieve great results.

On top of changing your workout routine to reach your bodybuilding goals you need to adjust your caloric intake. In this case you'd want to increase your caloric intake. You can't increase your body mass if you don't increase the fuel it takes to run it. You aren't expecting to get thirty miles to the gallon out of a tractor-tailor are you?

Mark Clayton, a wide receiver out of Oklahoma, who was recently drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round, while checking in with a solid frame of 5'10", 195 pounds. Not gigantic by any means, but you should have seen him four years ago, as a freshman at Oklahoma. He weighed 160 pounds and tore his pectoral muscle struggling to lift little more than 100 pounds. His coaching staff put him on a diet that was tough, but when seeing him today, you can really tell it worked. It consisted of "eating until he got sick, and then eating a little bit more."

You may want to take a more precise approach if you want to gain some good muscle, but Clayton's method was definitely better than eating a couple meals a day and hoping to reach his goals.
Your muscles grow during recovery. You can't hit the gym and neglect your diet and still see gains, especially if you have reached a plateau, which I'm guessing you have if you've read this far.

Protein repairs muscle and it is crucial to get a good protein source as soon after your workout as you can. You body just wants to absorb all it can get. You should ingest about 1.5-2 grams per pound of lean body mass throughout the day. But like anything, too much can be a bad thing.
Carbohydrates is energy. Plain and simple. When trying to put on mass, there is no reason you should be trying to cut your carbs. Without carbohydrates, you will feel lethargic at the gym and throughout the day. And you will not be able to brake that plateau.
Fats are very essential. They keep you mentally focused and are key to hormone production. They must be good fats though. There is a huge difference between good and bad fats. It's a lot easier to find bad fats than good fats so watch out. Fish and flax oil are great sources.

[Backa53]

Supplements
Whey powder is protein. It can help you reach your daily needs in protein and is a convinient way to get your post workout regeneration.

Multivitamin capsules will help your gains and overall health. It is almost impossible to receive the optimal supply of nutrients to your diet. A multi will help anyone.

creatine is a substance that is created by the body and is available in red meat and fish. The problem is that you'll need about 10 pounds a day to get a quality serving you can get from the powder. Creatine will add water to your muscles, giving instant pumps and weight. Be it water or lean mass, it looks the same when it counts. It can help you gain muscle also.

You may be a creatine non responder if you don't feel creatine has helped you blast your plateau. In this case, you may want to try Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE). It is a bit more expensive, but some people swear by it.

While on creatine you must keep very hydrated, or else you may get cramps, and whether or not you take it, you must keep hydrated at all times because your muscles absorb water and need it to function.

Upon reading this article, you may want to consider getting away from the weightroom for a week or two and enjoy it. During this break, hopefully you will regain some of the desire you lost and when you get back, you will attack those weights with a purpose. You may have simply been going through the motions in the past. And remember shake everything up. If in the past you listened to heavy metal to get you pumped for lifts, maybe some ragae will do you some good.

Peace