Plateaus
For the most part, plateaus suck. We set the goal, we work our asses off to accomplish it and then somewhere, somehow plateaus will come out of nowhere to make us second guess all our hard work. They don’t really happen quiet like that, but they always seem to come when we are hungry for more and stop us in our tracks. It’s almost a test to make sure we want it bad enough, or give us an excuse to take a step backwards.
I have thrown many tantrums over periods of plateaus. I have set goals in strength, realistic goals with progressions that would lead me right into my PR, only to find that about ten pounds shy, I just stop. No matter how hard I want it, no matter how hard I pull that bar, no matter how much intensity I bring, I just can’t get the bar off the ground. And it can literally happen where one day the bar flies off the ground with ease and the next day it just won’t budge. These times have snuck up on me and left me swearing, sometimes on the verge of tears. I hate plateaus. I hate how they show up when I least expect them. I hate how there is no warning or no preparation, it just leaves me stopped in my tracks.
The same thing happens with weight loss. Someone will finally get the motivation to make some solid changes in their nutrition. At first they usually see changes in how they feel and how they look. Their pants will be fitting better and they will catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirror and take a quick second glance. And then one day, it just stops. The scale might not budge or the pants fit the same for a few weeks, maybe they even feel a little tighter. Yet everything that person is doing stays the same. They are putting the same amount of effort, they are cutting out the same foods.
So why do we get hit with plateaus? If I knew, I would probably be better prepared and have a training method that works around them. But I don’t have an answer. I just have my thoughts on how to help get through them.
I am not an expert on plateaus, actually I am not an expert on anything, but I have a lot of opinions based off of observations. Here are two observations I have made about plateaus. Number one, they make you slow down and take the time needed to really get to your goal. If goals were easy to attain, we wouldn’t spend so much time setting New Years Resolutions or falling for crash diets or following some extreme training plan. If a goal could be accomplished with minimal effort, I probably wouldn’t have a job. But goals are hard. They are hard to set realistic goals, they are hard to put in the effort, prioritizing them and pushing yourself when it would be easier to stay in bed or just eat that pint of Ben and Jerry’s. On the road to smashing the goal, there is going to be ups and downs, there is going to be times of in-betweens. The body can only work so hard before it needs rest. Sometimes when we are working hard we forget to take that time and if we don’t take it the body will demand it from us. Other times we might be reaching up for the one-rep-max but we aren’t working some of the accessory work needed, maybe we are spending too much time working close to max effort and our body needs some time to build the strength in some of the lower numbers. Because lets be honest, there is something pretty fucking amazing about lifting 370lbs off the ground and the Glute/Ham raises just don’t have that same adrenaline.
Number two, make sure your goals are realistic. My max bench press is 202.5lbs and I have spent about 8 months getting that 2.5lbs. It would be unrealistic to set a goal for 225lbs, now 205bs or even 210lbs that would be realistic. It will take a lot of work and it won’t be easy, but it is realistic. And the same is true for weight loss, if you haven’t seen a scale weight in more than 10 years, it might be unrealistic. It doesn’t mean you can’t get there eventually, but it might take a really long time with a lot of plateaus in the process.
If you hit a plateau, first check and make sure that your goal is realistic. Second, take a deload week, see if your body just needs a little recovery. But if you want to find success, don’t use it as a way to give up. It is that moment when you start to second guess all the hard work and self discipline, it is that moment when the scale just won’t budge or the PR is just not there. It is those times when the frustration builds, the tantrums are there and the tears are filling up. The body needs time to build strength or lose weight. Plateaus are hard but getting through a few of them will get you a lot stronger in the long run.