So, you’ve hit a muscle building plateau. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. These 5 tips to break through a muscle building plateau will help get you back on track to keep building more muscle.
We all at some point in our gym careers hit a muscle building plateau of some sort. We can hit this muscle plateau either mentally, emotionally or physically. There are certain reasons why we hit a plateau or “wall”, first off, our bodies are an extremely smart and complex organism and can adapt to almost everything we do. In turn we subconsciously make what we routinely do, easier for ourselves. The same applies when lifting weights at the gym.
Below, expert trainer Josh Blottin gives you 5 ways to break through muscle plateaus, to stay on track and more importantly, continue to make lean muscle gains.
Break through your Muscle Building Plateau
Muscle Building Plateau Tip 1: Change up your routine each fortnight.
As you know there are hundreds of different exercises to work each muscle group. While it may take a little time to plan, to break through muscle building plateaus, try mapping out your workout with 4 to 5 different exercises for each muscle group before you head to the gym each day. To overcome muscle building plateaus it is best to perform different exercises than the previous fortnight and keep this in a constant fortnightly rotation.
Muscle Building Plateau Tip 2: Change up the Volume and Frequency of your workouts.
Push through muscle building plateaus by keeping your muscles guessing and add a drop set to the third and fourth set of each exercise to exhaust the muscles and pump maximum blood flow into the area. Another great way to blast through a frustrating muscle building plateau is super sets e.g. on Chest Day, superset Flat chest Press with Incline Dumbbell Flies. Again, breaking through muscle building plateaus is about training beyond your comfort zone and keeping your body guessing.
Muscle Building Plateau Tip 3: Eat to Grow
If you are struggling to break through a muscle plateau it may be that you are not eating enough or you are not eating the right foods. Protein is the key nutrient for building muscle and should be included in every meal. Try eating every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day and use a quality whey protein powder like Vitalstrength Whey Protein, post-workout and in between main meals. Vitalstrength Whey is naturally rich in BCAAs, low in carbohydrates and low in fat making it the ideal protein for muscle growth and to help you overcome muscle building plateaus.
Muscle Building Plateau Tip 4: Change up the time of day in which you train.
While a good routine works well for a lot of people, when you hit a muscle plateau then things must change to get bigger muscle results. To train through a muscle building plateau instead of working out in the evening, wake up earlier and train before work. Prep your meals the night before and have a shower at your gym before heading to work. And vice versa if you predominantly train in the mornings, sleep in some mornings and train in the evening, just to shock your body and break through the muscle building plateau.
Muscle Building Plateau Tip 5: Visit a different Gym
Because muscle building plateau’s are often caused by a lack of change you need to stop yourself from becoming complaisant, Josh’s final tip for breaking through your muscle building plateau is to visit a different gym from time to time. “A gym where I don’t know anyone and have nothing to prove. There is a real fresh feel about a different environment that helps me hit new goals that I sometimes find it hard to in familiar surroundings.”
Training plateaus can be extremely frustrating and mentally draining but by constantly mixing up your routine and shocking your body you can limit the likelihood of hitting a muscle building plateau. Keep pushing hard to reach your goals!
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