Strength training programs need to be adjusted regularly to keep challenging your muscles, promoting growth, and building endurance. If you stick to the same routine for too long, you’ll eventually hit a plateau, where your progress stalls, and muscle growth slows down. Let’s explore why this happens and how you can push past it.
What Is a Weightlifting Plateau?
If you’re new to strength training, you’ll probably see quick gains at first. But after about six months, your body starts getting used to the intensity and volume of your workouts. In other words, the routine no longer feels challenging, and your body adjusts to it as the new normal.
At this stage, you might hit a weightlifting plateau, where it feels like you’re stuck and not making progress, even when you try lifting heavier weights or doing more reps.
Why Do Weightlifting Plateaus Happen?
Weightlifting plateaus happen because your body has adjusted to your workouts, which is actually a good sign—it means you’ve made progress. But to keep seeing results, you’ll need to make some changes to your routine.
Plateaus usually happen because your muscles aren’t being challenged enough, you’re not using the correct form, or you’re not giving your body enough time to recover between workouts. Another reason could be that you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. It’s important to know the difference between needing to work harder and needing to rest.
A plateau will stick around until you make the changes needed to move past it. How long that takes depends on your fitness level, your training program, as well as your diet and recovery habits.
If you’ve been working hard but not seeing the progress you want, here are 6 proven techniques to help you break through your weightlifting plateau.
1.Increase Your Training Intensity
One of the simplest ways to break through a weightlifting plateau is to make your muscles work harder, not longer. Instead of focusing on lighter weights with high reps, switch to heavier weights with fewer reps.
For example, if you’ve been doing three sets of 10 to 12 reps, try dropping to three sets of 6 to 8 reps with a heavier weight. The key is to choose a weight that challenges you without sacrificing proper form.
A good sign you’ve picked the right weight is if you can keep good form but start to struggle by the end of the set. By the time you hit the third set, you might even need a spotter’s help.
If you’re doing lunges or abs exercises, make it harder by holding weights or adding ankle weights instead of just doing more reps. Let the intensity of the exercise push your muscles, not the number of reps.
Always lift in a slow, controlled way. Avoid bouncing or swinging the weights, as it won’t help build strength and could lead to injury.
2. Vary Your Exercise Routine
You’d be surprised how fast a muscle group can adapt to the same exercise. While increasing intensity can help break a weightlifting plateau, switching up your routine is just as important.
A study from the University of Tampa found that a 12-week program with varied exercises was much better at building muscle than sticking to the same routine. In fact, exercises targeting the quadriceps showed muscle growth of 11.6% to 12.2% with variety, compared to only 9.3% with repetitive exercises.
Mixing up your workout or adding cross-training can challenge your body in new ways. If you usually use machines, try free weights or a stability ball. If you do chest presses on a bench, switch to pushups. Changing things up keeps your routine fresh and activates different muscles.
3. Change the Order of Exercises
Another way to break through a weightlifting plateau is to switch up the order of your exercises. If you always do the same bicep exercises in the same sequence, your muscles will tire the same way each time.
By mixing up the order, you’ll challenge your muscles differently. Sometimes, starting with an easier exercise and ending with a tougher one can make the workout feel harder overall. Most people do the opposite—they start with the hardest exercises and finish with the easier ones. Switching things around can help keep your muscles guessing.
4. Stop Exercises You’ve Outgrown
Some exercises in your routine may no longer be challenging enough, or they might be redundant as your workout has evolved.
For example, if you’ve been doing toe raises to build your calves, there’s only so much weight you can lift with that exercise. To push growth further, try toe presses on a leg press machine, where you can add a lot more weight.
Take a close look at your routine and replace any outdated exercises with ones that match your current fitness level. Also, look for exercises that might be overlapping, like doing chest flies with both cables and a bench, and switch them up to target your muscles in new ways.
It can be helpful to schedule a session with a personal trainer to review your program and suggest changes. Even if you’re experienced, a fresh perspective from a pro can make a big difference in breaking through your weightlifting plateau.
5. Get More Rest
If you train too hard for too long, you’re bound to hit a weightlifting plateau. Rest and recovery are crucial for muscle growth.
If you feel stuck, whether physically or mentally, take a few days off to recharge. Don’t worry about losing muscle or strength—it won’t happen. It’s much better to rest than to push through and risk injury or burnout.
A great way to prevent overtraining is to schedule de-load weeks into your routine. These are planned breaks, usually a week long, where you reduce the volume, intensity, or weight of your workouts.
Training too much can actually decrease your workout performance, make you tire faster, and lead to issues like insomnia, stress, and loss of appetite. Sometimes, slowing down is the best way to keep moving forward.
Overtraining can undo a lot of your progress by putting too much stress on your body without giving it time to recover.
6. Improve Your Nutrition
Good nutrition is key for muscle growth and fueling your workouts. Without the right mix of carbohydrates, protein, fats, and nutrients, you could be undermining all your hard work.
Carbs are your body’s main energy source and are crucial if you want to build muscle. While some people do well on low-carb diets, cutting out too many carbs can leave you feeling drained and reduce your workout performance.
Make sure you’re getting enough protein, as it’s vital for muscle growth, maintenance, and recovery. Aim for up to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day, though many people don’t reach that target.
If you’re struggling to find the energy for your workouts, consider talking to your doctor or a nutritionist. Sometimes, adjusting your diet can make a big difference in overcoming a weightlifting plateau.