By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide
Plateaus suck, don’t they? And they happen to the best of us. Your body will adjust to any exercise program over time, so you need to fool your body into continuing to progress by changing your program every six weeks or so. Not only should you change your cardio workouts, you should also change your strength training routines as well. This will keep your muscles confused so that they’re constantly challenged. There are many ways to change your routines including:
- Changing the frequency (adding a day or subtracting a day of workouts)
- Changing the intensity (adding more or less weight to your exercises, or working harder or easier on your cardio)
- Changing the amount of time your exercising (if you usually walk for 20 minutes, try walking for 25 or 30 minutes)
- Changing the type of activity (for strength training, changing the exercises, for cardio trying something completely new)
Keeping track of your workouts can help you determine when you need to change them. Use a calendar or a workout log and write down your workouts for six weeks. At the end of that time, sit down with your log and create a new routine by changing the elements mentioned above.
Almost everyone reaches a weight loss plateau at some point in their fitness lives. The reason is that the human body works hard to keep energy intake and output in balance. In other words, your body does not like to lose weight (not a revelation, huh?). After your initial weight loss, your progress will slow down and eventually stop even though your exercise and food intake is consistent. The bottom line is that the very efforts you make to burn more calories may eventually slow it down. Problem 1. Lowering your calories too much
Fact: It takes calories to burn calories. When you decrease your food intake, your body simply lowers its metabolic rate in response. This still allows the body to function properly, but ultimately your body requires fewer calories which creates hunger and prevents you from losing fat.
Solution:
Keep your calories slightly below your maintenance calories so that your energy and metabolism remain high. A deficit greater than 500-700 calories makes it much more difficult to maintain your lean body mass.
Problem 2. Loss of lean body mass
Fact: Muscle burns fat and losing muscle means burning fewer calories. Lean body mass uses five times the calories as fat mass so, if you lose it, your metabolism drops and your weight loss stops.Solution:
Make sure your exercise program is combined with a fully nourished body. You can accomplish this with a diet that creates a safe calorie deficit along with some type of multivitamin to help with any nutrient deficiencies.
Problem 3. Weight loss
What? But you thought that’s what you wanted! However, what you may have forgotten is that when you weigh less, it takes less calories to move your body. A loss of any amount of weight will lead to a reduced energy requirement.
Solution:
Make sure you start (or continue) a weight training program to help increase lean body mass, which can help compensate for the loss of calories.
Problem 4. The ‘Adaptation’ Phase Ends
When you start a new exercise program, your body responds because it is required to make numerous changes to adjust to different workloads. So, your muscles are rebuilding themselves and this consumes all kinds of calories. But, at some point your body will stop adapting to the new workload and, as a result, you burn less calories for the same activities.
Solution:
Don’t let your body get used to the exercise. Maintain your body’s adaptation period by changing the intensity, duration, frequency and/or the mode of exercise and include interval training if necessary.
Problem 5: Exercise Efficiency
The more you do something, the better you get at it. As your body becomes better at performing your exercises, it can actually use fewer calories during the exercise. Think of it this way: trained athletes often use fewer calories than untrained athletes with similar body types and workouts. So, if this describes where you are, consider yourself a trained athlete and read on!
Solution:
The solution to this is the same as for Problem 4; don’t get used to the exercise. Concentrate on more dramatic changes such as trying brand new activities. For example, if you use the treadmill for two weeks, switch to something different like the rowing machine or the bike. Don’t forget to make changes in your weight training routine as well!
Problem 6: Over-training
Just like not eating enough can lower the amount calories you burn, so can over-training. When you exercise too much, there is a point of diminishing returns when an increase in exercise energy expenditure is negated by an equal decrease in non-exercise energy expenditure. In other words, when you increase your exercise intensity, your body responds by decreasing the amount of calories you burn during the rest of your day.
Solution:
Take time to recover. If you reach exercise burnout, this is a great time to take a break for a few days, or try something gentle like yoga or a stretching routine. After you’ve rested, get back to exercise but lighten up your original routine and increase your intensity only as necessary.
7. Enhanced Physical Condition
As you get into better shape, your body is more efficient and it costs fewer calories to operate. Improved health means a lower resting metabolic rate and fewer calories are burned during normal daily activities. Part of this is because your cardio-pulmonary system is more efficient now and you have a lower resting heart rate.
Solution:
Congratulations! You’re officially in shape and healthy. Focus on that and feel good about yourself. Concentrate on changing your routine as described in Solution 5.
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