HealthyOntario: You held the Canadian Muscle Mania 2001 bodybuilding title so you’re no stranger to the rigors of exercise.  Can you explain what an exercise plateau is?

Javier Preciado: An exercise plateau occurs when your body becomes accustomed to your workout routine—regardless of the intensity.  So whether you’ve been jogging at 3 miles an hour for an hour or seven miles an hour for the same period of time, if you do it long enough your body will adapt to that specific exercise stimulus.  Most people have heard about a dieting plateau. An exercise plateau works by the same principle.  Your body is very wise. If you try to lose weight by simply cutting calories, after a while your body will get accustomed to operating on whatever amount of food you’ve restricted yourself to eating.  When this happens you stop losing weight because your body adapts to your lower calorie intake.  When you hit an exercise plateau, it’s the same thing. Your body stops responding the same way it did when you first started your workout routine by adapting to your physical activity. 

H.O: How does one know they’ve hit an exercise plateau?

J.P:  There are physical and psychological signs that take place and you’ll discover them right away if you take the time to listen to your body.  One of the most common physical reactions to a plateau is fatigue.  When you’re exercising regularly at an intensity that’s appropriate for your fitness level, you feel energized after your workout.  But after you’ve hit a plateau you don’t feel as energetic as you used to—even though you’re doing the same workout. Your resting heart rate raises a little bit and your sleep pattern may be disrupted.  One of the most common psychological responses is lack of motivation.  You don’t look forward to your workout.  You start to look for reasons why you don’t have time or don’t feel like exercising.  If you do push yourself to workout, you find it very difficult to go through your routine and you don’t get that great endorphin rush anymore.

H.O: What’s the best way to push past a plateau?

J.P:  You have to figure out a way to switch up your workout.  If you’ve gotten into a routine that you’ve been following month in and month out—stopping for a short period is a really good way to get over a plateau.  But when you start exercising again, it would be a good idea to alter your routine in some way.  For example, if you always jog on the treadmill at a set speed for a specific amount of time, you can switch things around by increasing the speed and sprinting for one or two minutes.  After you sprint, reduce your speed back to a level that is slower but is still challenging. Try doing this as many times as you can within the time you’ve allotted for your jog.  That’s a great way to shock and challenge your body.  Switching your resistance training around is necessary as well.  If you’ve grown accustomed to only doing three sets with 6-8 repetitions in each set, try increasing your repetitions until your muscle experiences complete exhaustion.  Or you could choose to continue doing 6-8 repetitions but increase the amount of sets you perform.  It’s all about playing around with the type of exercise, the intensity and duration.

HO: How can you avoid hitting another plateau in the future?

J.P: Many people exercise and go through the motions without giving much thought to the signs their bodies give them.  One way of avoiding a plateau is by simply listening to your body.  If you start to experience one or more of the signs I mentioned earlier, rest for a few days and then switch your routine around.  Another way to avoid a plateau is by continually keeping your workout fresh.  One of the biggest mistakes people make is feeling the need to push themselves extra hard if they think they’ve hit a plateau.  You don’t have to do that. A simple change in how you perform your workout is what you should concentrate on.  Pushing yourself beyond what your level of fitness can handle can put you at risk of injury—which will make matters even worse.  If you’re new to the world of exercise, I recommend changing your routine at least once a month.  That way you’re less likely to get bored and reduce your chances of hitting a plateau.  Most people stop working out because of boredom.  If you don’t feel you know enough about working out to switch up your routine on your own, seek the advice of a personal trainer.  He or she will be able to come up with several new routines that can help keep your workout fresh.