Fitness

Fitness Plateaus For Women, How To Break Free!

Can we talk for a minute about one of the most frustrating things each of us faces when it comes to our fitness goals? No, it’s not how addicted to donuts we are (although, let’s be honest.. They’re delicious!)

The biggest roadblock we all come across with our workouts is fitness plateaus for women! A plateau is a point you reach when you feel like you are no longer making any progress, and you feel stuck in place. And what’s more irritating than that?!

First of all, women’s bodies are all crazy unique; we come in all different shapes and sizes, and we’re all different from every muscle fiber to fat cell, to the fluctuating hormone levels that keep us ticking.

So because each of us is so different, we each need to set different fitness goals to reach and have to do so in the best way for us. But sometimes we are discouraged when the numbers don’t move and the inches don’t shrink, because suddenly we’ve found ourselves staring down the flat and seemingly endless fitness plateau.

Fear not, it happens to the best of us. Even the most seasoned of fitness experts will tell you that they occasionally get thrown a curveball with their progress.

Sometimes bodies are stubborn and those plateaus can frustratingly feel like they last F.O.R.E.V.E.R., so what do you do?

I’ve got a few good ideas, so let’s go through them now and fight back against fitness plateaus for women!

HOW TO FIGHT THROUGH THE PLATEAU

First of all, let’s recognize that it’s completely normal for progress to eventually slow down and even stall out at times. You might have noticed significant changes happening at an accelerated rate at the beginning of your fitness journey, which is great because… GAINS!

But as your body adjusts and you have less and less fat to lose, it naturally becomes more difficult.

It sounds crazy but when this happens you should actually fight the urge to feel frustrated and mad, and instead look at the positive and how far you’ve come! Those fat cells are literally doing all they can to hang on and have now resorted to desperate measures to avoid total annihilation. You’ve got your fat on the run, so time to seek and destroy!

The truth is that plateaus are tricky and often it’s not really a plateau but rather a result of the fact that you’ve gotten a little lax somewhere instead, so let’s start there.

YOU TRACK, I TRACK, WE ALL TRACK OUR FOOD STACK!

That’s right. It’s time to start tracking your food intake again. By now you know what it takes to pay attention and you might find that you’ve been a little less diligent than you otherwise thought:

That extra treat you snuck in before bed?

That handful of goldfish crackers you tossed back before giving your kids a snack?

Yeah… that’s what we’re talking about here.

Eating can often be a mindless exercise. We don’t realize what we’ve put in our mouths until it’s already swallowed and gone. You’ll find that the more diligent you are about tracking your diet, the easier it is to stay true to your plan, and the less likely you are to sneak in those pesky little bites, licks, and tastes (BLT’s) that sometimes happen without thinking.

Tracking your food forces you to plan ahead and to stay on plan. Bust out a food tracking app on your phone, or even a good old fashioned notebook will do, and start writing it all down. It’s the only way to be 100% accountable to yourself.

MIX IT UP!

A wise trainer once told me, the more you do something the better you get at it and the easier it becomes, which is why it’s important to switch things up on the regular. The major culprit causing fitness plateaus for women is that your workout is potentially becoming too much of a routine.

During a workout you’re putting your body under stress, and during your post-workout recovery, your body is figuring out and improving its’ ability to manage that stress. You’re literally getting stronger and more capable and this is a good thing… except it means that you simply must workout smarter to continue seeing results.

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*via giphy

 The reps still count, but over time you’ll find you have to do more of them or add more weight to get the same benefits. Time to try out that new group fitness class you’ve been interested in, or take up hiking, or add in an extra round of HIIT before or after your workout.

If you’re used to running at a steady pace, try adding in some sprints or hill climbs to bump up that heart rate and root out that extra fat. Switch up your lifting routines by adding in a leg band, change out your squat-bar weight, or even do a body-weight only routine!

Whatever you throw in there, change is good! Nobody likes to get bored with their fitness routine. Bored = Bad. Nothing good ever came from boredom!

Keep those workouts varied, keep them fresh, and keep them challenging. Push right through and fight back against that fitness plateau!

READJUST YOUR SIGHTS

Sure, we all work out for the benefit of our health, but having specific goals is what helps to motivate and push us through when stuff gets real. And by real, I mean real hard.

There are times when it becomes necessary to adjust or change your goals accordingly. Some short-term goals turn into long-term goals. And sometimes it becomes important to master a specific skill before moving onto something more complicated. Baby steps!

Part of busting through a fitness plateau may simply be breaking that plateau down into more manageable bits. Maybe those pounds and inches aren’t coming off the way they used to. So, now it’s time to start thinking about focusing your efforts on building your strength or setting a specific fitness goal instead.

You might find that shifting your focus to another area can help relieve the pressure you might have placed on yourself in the first place and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Having goals gives us purpose, so make sure to reevaluate yours and update them accordingly! Sometimes our initial goals might include a certain amount of pounds or inches lost. And then you might find those goals naturally morph into more strength and fitness related ones instead. Priorities change when you’ve got less fat to burn.

Fitness Plateaus for Women? Just Say No…

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix magic pill to solve fitness plateaus for women.

But… the closest thing to it is IdealLean Fat Burner! These supplements will help you reach your goals with energy, appetite, and fat burning ingredients to help you burn fat faster, feel more energized, and get lean and toned.

By adding in IdealLean Burner, you can take your fitness goals to the next level, and say goodbye to that plateau you’ve been stuck on!

Change up your routine, add in some new routines, and think about supplementing IdealLean Burner into your diet. For more info click here!



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