Peak performance coach Collin Messer says these 4 tips will gain you steady progress.
We’ve all been there. You’re going to the gym day in and day out. You’re hitting the same exercises you’ve been always been hitting, but not really seeing the results you used to see. Things have just stalled out and your training just doesn’t seem to work any more.
Your body does one thing really well: adapt. The main benefit of exercising is that you adapt to the training stress by growing stronger. But the good results only last for so long. Eventually you’ll adapt so well that you plateau and stop seeing progress. Here are five ways that you can kick start progress in the gym.
1. Change Up Your Program
If you’ve been following the same program for more than 6-8 weeks then you will likely benefit a lot from a switch up. It doesn’t need to be a drastic change but just enough to make new progress. This can be as simple as switching your hand grip on an exercise or if you’re used to a barbell exercise, try the dumbbell variation instead. You can also try changing the order of your exercises.
If you have really stalled out and haven’t seen results in months then you will need something more dramatic. Try switching to the complete opposite of your normal programming. If you usually do body part splits (e.g. chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, etc…) then try switching to a full body routine three times per week. If you’re used to training with heavy weights then try lighter weights but more volume, or vice versa.
After you reap the benefits of training the opposite way for a few weeks then you can go back to your regular routine and you will be able to break through that plateau and smash your old numbers.
2. Focus On The Big Lifts
Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? For business it says that 80% of the revenue comes from 20% of the customers. This applies just as much to the gym. 80% of your results come from 20% of the exercises. The key is to make sure that the exercises are the best at delivering results.
Big, multi-joint exercises are the kinds of exercises that give 80% of the results. Lifts like back squats, deadlifts, overhead press, and pull-ups fall in this category. They require a lot of energy and use a lot of muscles to do successfully. It’s because of this energy demand that they deliver such great results.
To use the 80/20 rule again, when you go to the gym, 80% of your energy should be spent focusing on these main lifts. If you do that then you’ll set yourself up for the best chance of making continual progress.
3. Train Hard But Recover Harder
If three workouts per week are good, then six workouts will be great, right? Well, yes, if you can recover from them. Or they could derail your progress. The key is to optimize recovery.
A lot of guys don’t have any trouble working out hard, but they might have a problem recovering hard. You have to put in the necessary rest so that you can adapt and come back stronger. Otherwise you’ll end up in the vicious cycle of getting in a rut, working harder, then just digging that rut deeper. There are a lot of cover methods but use the 80/20 rule listed above and you’ll be left with sleep, nutrition, and active recovery.
First, get your sleep in order. Make sure you are getting around 7-8 hours per night. Quality matters as much as quality too. Keeping your bedroom dark and peaceful can help promote greater relaxation and sleepiness.
When it comes to nutrition, high quality foods are extremely important for good recovery. Lean meats, vegetables, and fruits excel here. You have to get the necessary nutrients into your body to repair the muscles and adapt from the stresses of the gym.
Active recovery is the last category here. Doing things like going for a walk, self-myofascial release (foam rolling), and hot baths or showers will all help you recover. They’ll promote better blood flow to deliver more nutrients into the muscles and also stimulate the lymphatic system which will help clear out inflammation.
4. Get A Training Partner
If you are already doing all of the above then this could be the missing piece of the puzzle for you. It can be difficult to continually motivate yourself to make progress in the gym when you’re training all alone. Having a training partner will give you someone that can hold you accountable and push you harder than you might push yourself.
One thing to note is that it helps if your new training partner is at the level of fitness that you want to be at. Also, they need to be as focused and dedicated as you are. Otherwise they could actually hamper your progress even more.
You can try try all of these tips at once to guarantee that you’ll see new progress, but usually only one or two are needed at a time. I would recommend picking your favorite tip or the one that is easiest to start right away, get the most you can from it, then try another one. Both methods to apply the tips will work. The key is to actually apply them.
About the author:
Collin Messer is a Personal Trainer and Fitness Expert working with athletes, weekend warriors, and Average Joe’s alike. He writes about all things life and fitness on his website, collinmesser.com.
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Photo credit: Flickr/Gregor
#1: Change up your program: Very true! I have tried yoga lately (my karate instructor is busy with twins and work and an elderly parent)….and I notice a difference already in how my back feels and how my butt and core look! Plus all the small touches and gentle smiles from the yoga instructor are really uplifting….