When Your Workout Stops Working
Fitness progress can stall. Here’s how to get over the hump.
The New York Times
By Connie Chang
Sept. 20, 2023
The first weeks of a new exercise routine can be hard — your muscles tremble, your lungs burn, your heart races. But after a month or two, it gets easier: You’re running faster and longer, or lifting weights with more ease. Then suddenly, progress slows or stalls. You’ve hit a workout plateau.
Such periods, when you stop seeing fitness improvements despite continuing to train, are common, said Chris Perrin, a personal trainer and co-owner of Cut Seven, a gym in Washington, D.C. “I’ve yet to meet a fitness enthusiast who hasn’t hit one.”
Plateaus can happen once the body adapts to a new workout. After just a few training sessions, the brain can become more skilled at telling muscles to move. And, usually over the course of weeks or months, the body itself changes.
For example: “The heart gets stronger and better at pumping blood to the muscles,” said Jeff Horowitz, an exercise physiologist at the University of Michigan.
But plateaus can also be caused by insufficient recovery — skimping on sleep or doing another intense workout too soon. With your tank half-full, you may struggle to push yourself, making it likelier you’ll get stuck in a rut.
For those who are satisfied with an exercise routine that feels similar from one day to the next, a plateau isn’t necessarily a problem. “I’m trying to maintain my fitness as I continue to get older,” Dr. Horowitz said. “So to me, a plateau is a good thing.”
But for those who want to continue improving, the key is to challenge muscles in new ways while ensuring you rest properly. Here are some strategies for moving beyond an unwelcome plateau.
Increase the stress.
Exercising multiple muscles at once saves time, but it’s not the best way to increase strength if your body has adapted to it, said Jeremy Loenneke, an exercise scientist at the University of Mississippi. Pairing a bicep curl with a lunge is great for overall fitness, but it shortchanges your leg muscles, which can bear more weight than your arms.
Focus your workout with leg press machines or heavy squats, said Fiona Judd, a personal trainer in Orem, Utah. Or add a few pulses to every squat — lifting and lowering an inch from the deepest part of the movement.
Another option is to wear a cuff around a muscle during exercise. This practice, known as blood restriction therapy, limits blood flow to mimic the effect lifting weights has on the muscle. “It allows your muscles to work smarter, not harder,” gaining strength while lifting less weight, said Brian Grawe, a sports medicine physician at the University of Cincinnati.
While the tool is safe, Dr. Grawe recommended consulting a personal trainer or doctor before using one.
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