It happens to the best of us. Our intentions are good. We want to transform our bodies into these amazing sculptures (OK maybe not to that extent). But for most, the goal is to maybe lose weight, tone and firm, gain muscle and get stronger. Right?
What I have found in most people is that they start off great with a vengeance so to speak to make changes in their appearance. They work and work and work, and see things start to happen they see changes. You continue doing the same exact work out over and over but now nothing is changing, you may have lost some weight and now you see it’s creeping up again.
Why does this happen?
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Almost everyone reaches a weight loss plateau or fitness plateau at some point in his or her fitness lives. And the reason is that your body works hard to keep energy intake and output in balance. In other words, your body does not like to lose weight (not a surprise to you?). 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.
Your body changes in response to your exercise program. A plateau is that frustrating point when your progress comes to a standstill, changing your exercise program regularly challenges your body to break through a plateau.
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Sticking to a workout schedule will help you make progress, when you miss workouts it will set you back. Try keeping a fitness log and record the amount of time you worked out and the intensity this will give you a way to figure out why you are plateauing. Exercise intensity is key to making progress.
As your body becomes accustomed to a specific workout, you hit a plateau. To keep making progress, increase the intensity. For instance, switch from walking to power walking or from low-intensity biking to higher-intensity jogging. Throw in some jump rope, or some more resistance and strength training or perhaps try something completely different. Challenge yourself.
All in all, your effort is there. Don’t give up on it. Your job is to keep pushing forward. This is why we set goals, right? So we can keep reaching for them and when you reach that goal, you worked so hard for… reward yourself by setting another!
You are stronger than you think!
