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The main reason you carry on with a strength training program is to constantly challenge your muscles for sustained growth. That requires constant adjustment, or progress doesn’t happen.
Additionally, by sticking to the same program for an extended period, you risk hitting the dreaded plateau. Usually, that’s where both your motivation and muscle growth have stopped working.
For individuals who are trying their muscles at strength training for the first time, you might find you become stronger relatively quickly. But bear in mind that will only continue for six months or so. Because after that, the volume and intensity of your workouts will become the new baseline for your body.
Thus, it won’t feel the new normal to be challenging enough to continue changing.
Once you’re in the grips of the plateau, you must do something to reset the baseline. Generally, that takes much more than increasing your weights or numbers of reps.
That’s because aside from challenging your body anew, you must also charge your emotional mindset. Failure would mean you’d keep diligently working out and still not make a difference!
We present a bunch of tips for those who may be undergoing a workout slump:
Try going higher
Firstly, attempt to a plateau by making things harder for your muscles rather than longer. So, for instance, instead of aiming for a program that has low weight and high reps, go for one that entails high weight and low reps.
In that case, three sets of 10-12 reps each can become three sets of 6-8 reps but with a heavier weight.
Your body will indicate that it feels the new weight challenging and not threatening by maintaining the proper form. Sure, you’ll start to struggle by the end of a set, but the weight would be pretty spot-on.
Further hints will make themselves known when by the end of the third set. Generally, that’s when you may have to call over a spotter.
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Try going elsewhere
There must be a workout class that you swore you’d perish before you take.
For instance, Zumba can feel funny to some and make them laugh hysterically. It could be because of embarrassment at having to dance in front of others. Or, you might not find the music something that you can move your body to. And that is exactly why you must take one class!
Firstly, you should do it because it might turn out to be not as horrendously bad as you imagine.
Secondly, and more importantly, take the class to appreciate your old workout routine more. In a way, it is a win-win because you’ll either find a new class to be frequent. Or, you’d fall back into love with your old flame, i.e., your tried-and-tested workout. Most importantly, wear most comfortable boxer briefs by bn3th so that you do the workout smoothly.
Try going nowhere
Now, many individuals, who work out, think that muscle growth only takes place when they continue exercising or by getting better equipment. But that isn’t right at all because during the session, your body is busy catabolizing the muscle tissue.
That means it breaks down muscle when you exercise. On the other hand, when you rest and re-fuel properly, that’s when your body gets the chance to build new tissue in place of the catabolized muscles!
If you were superhuman, situations like getting no sleep at night, having no stress, and unplanned events, would have no effect on you. However, you’re neither super nor live in a perfect world.
Work, stress and personal life constantly keep changing in many ways. So, accordingly, you drop one ball to keep juggling the rest. It could mean that you might end up not seeing the gym for days – even weeks.
And when you do get the time, you find yourself in a workout slump. In short: you need precautionary measures for such situations.
We recommend considering a planned recovery week. Whether life enforces it or not, try not to workout at all after every 6-8 weeks.
Let that be the week during which you only rest. Don’t even attempt to do any cardio! Your recovery week should only be about giving your body sufficient time for repairs. Besides that, it will also help you return to the gym stronger and refreshed.
- You’ll find several benefits associated with a recovery week, including:
- A chance to fill up on foods that speed up workout-related recovery and muscle repair
- Take some stress off your central nervous system (CNS) – quite common during heavy training sessions
- Let your joints and ligaments breathe after working so hard for you
Placing a marker that you can aim at when training. By that, we mean, you can track that you’ve got a break coming up. It will improve your focus and help you train harder.
Other than the physical benefits that come with taking a week off training, you’ll also enjoy some psychological advantages.
Recovery weeks let you create a much-desired but hard to attain a healthy balanced lifestyle. Moreover, since you specifically plan to take that week off, you’d be more likely to do it. No plans could mean you might let it slip and find yourself in the gym again.
Try implementing these two good ideas when planning for recovery weeks. One, let your vacation’s time coincide with them. And, two, plan them when you know a gym won't be as accessible, such as during the Christmas break, etc. In the end, if you want to benefit from a progressive strength training program, big time, prioritize taking 4-7 days off after every 6-8 weeks.
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Getting excited about exercise once more is essential when you’re down in the slumps. Should you find your hand creeping towards the snooze button more often when you should be going to the gym instead, it’s time to make a change.
Summing up, look for new workouts that you can enjoy. Or, try taxing your body even more to give it a challenge. And if both those approaches don’t do a thing, then it might be the week for some time off. Relax and go easier on your muscles to bounce back that much harder and with more intensity!
