Tips To Break A Plateau
One reason clients come to Thrive 24hr Fitness in Brookhaven, GA, is because they’ve hit a plateau. They’ve tried to shed those last few pounds for quite a while and see no results. It’s tough to break a plateau and can mean you need to change either your eating pattern or workout. Why do plateaus occur? Some plateaus are short lived and may last a week or two. They aren’t signals that you need to make changes, but often that you’re building muscle tissue. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat. Someone with a lot of muscle tissue will look thinner than a person weighing the same with more fat tissue than muscles. Taking measurements can be the real proof of progress in this case. If your measurements are smaller, you’re on the right track.
Plateauing can come from not changing your routine.
If you’re working with a personal trainer, you probably wonder why he or she changes your workout so often. It’s to ensure you work all muscle groups, but also to ensure you don’t hit a plateau. The body is amazing and will become efficient at a movement when you’re doing the same workout repeatedly. That efficiency means you’ll burn fewer calories. Switch your workout frequently, rather than sticking with one for months or years.
You need to adjust your caloric intake for your new weight.
If you’re walking around with twenty extra pounds, it’s like walking around with weights all the time. Of course, you’ll burn more calories than you would without those weights. When you lose weight, you’re not burning as many calories 24 hours a day because you weigh less. It’s often why losing those last few pounds are harder, since you’re not burning as many calories.
Strength training should be top priority, but you also need flexibility and endurance training.
Strength training can set your calorie burning on fire by building more muscle tissue. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn, since muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. However, you need all types of training to stay healthy. Endurance training can give you the extra oomph to get through the tough workouts and flexibility training can protect you from muscle injury.
- Try a simple trick to help you overcome a plateau. Drink more water. Water flushes your system, curbs your appetite, acts like a diuretic and fills you up. Drinking a glass of water a few minutes before eating will help you eat less.
- Maybe your sleep habits are getting in the way of weight loss. If you get too little sleep, it causes an overproduction of the hunger hormone, ghrelin and minimizes the production of leptin, which makes you feel full.
- Could you be eating food without realizing it when you calculate calories. Maybe it’s just licking a spoon or grabbing a few M&Ms as you pass the candy dish. Keep a food diary and record everything you eat.
- Make sure you have a well balanced diet with adequate protein and healthy fat. Both protein and fat are important for weight loss and make you feel fuller. Protein also is important for building muscle tissue.
For more information, contact us today at Thrive Fitness Atlanta