Strength Training Plateaus – I’m sure we’ve all had those moments where we feel like we’re not making progress, not hitting our goals, and are stuck at a certain working weight or even having to drop the weight. Plateaus in your lifting progress can be demotivating, and we have some great ways to help you move past them and continue progressing in your weightlifting journey!
What is a Strength Training Plateau?
After a couple months of following an exercise routine, your body will gradually adapt to the volume and intensity of the workout, meaning you’re no longer being as challenged and therefore may feel like you’re unable to progress further. To continue seeing progress and to move past a training plateau, you may need to adjust or change up your workout routine, deload for a bit, or change the weights, reps, or sets.
Ways to Move Past Training Plateaus
1. Incorporating Unilateral Movements
One reason why you may be plateauing is that there is a muscle imbalance on one side or the other, or alternatively you’re not utilizing the full range of motion for the bilateral movements. By incorporating unilateral movements, you can correct that muscle imbalance, and also strengthen the target muscle group through a wider range of motion as well as the extra core stabilization needed for the unilateral movement.
2. Drop Sets
Drop sets are another great way to improve strength and muscle growth, and is done by extending your last set by lowering the working weight and repping until failure. This way you are burning out your muscles at a lower weight, which can help to target weak points overtime.
3. Deloading
As discussed in our article about the importance of doing a deload week, it is a fantastic way to surpass plateaus. Deloading allows you to reduce the stress and fatigue that has accumulated over the past few weeks of heavy training and assist your body in adapting to the stressors to better deal with weights in the future.
4. Paused Reps
Pausing during the sticking point of compounds like bench, squat, and deadlift is a great way to improve your ability to get out of “the hole” and promote progress in working weight. In the bench press, this would be the lowest point in the exercise in which the barbell rests just above the sternum. For squat, it would be the bottom of the movement, and for deadlifts it is the midpoint between the floor and the top of the movement.
5. Supersets
Supersets are a great method to build muscle and improve cardiovascular levels. Supersets are when you take two exercises and do them back to back without resting between the two sets. This can be done with two exercises that work the same muscle group or opposing muscle groups such as a push and pull movement. This is also a great way to improve endurance, which can eventually help you to push past a training plateau for that muscle group.
6. Changing Up Your Strength Training Routine
If the above methods don’t help or you want a refresh, changing up your entire workout routine can help to move past training plateaus. Try switching up your training split or change when you train each muscle, so that your muscles have to readapt to the routine.
To learn more, visit Train Fitness.