3 Workout Tricks to Break Weight Loss Plateaus
Have you changed up your workout routine in the last 2 months? If the answer to that question is no, that may be why your fat loss and weight loss progress has stalled. No one wants the dreaded weight loss plateau.
Some people have been doing the same workout since January. Although that's better than not working out at all, changes need to be made. Worst still, some people will only do cardio for exercise. Again, that's better than nothing, but the body won't lean and tone without regular strength training.
3 Workout Tricks to Prevent Weight Loss Plateaus:
1. If you have your name on certain weightlifting machines, you need to change up your workout. Your body adapted to your routine long ago and you're stuck in neutral.
One of the best ways to jumpstart your fat loss and weight loss progress is to ramp up the intensity of your workouts. This will help you to burn more calories, more fat and lose more weight. Even so, don't do the same type of intense workout forever.
Keep your body guessing by changing up your workouts. Some ways include (but not limited to):
a. Alternate lifting light weights and heavy weights.
b. Adjust the number of repetitions and sets.
c. Do different exercises for the same muscle groups.
d. Alternate routines such as circuit training, superset training and complex training.
e. Change the speed of your sets such as using slow, moderate and full speed repetitions.
f. Use bodyweight, kettlebell, barbell, tubes, etc. to change up the modes of exercise.
You could also use combinations of all the above to break through weight loss plateaus.
2. Cardio exercise is a naturally monotonous exercise that can bore you to tears, unless you change it up and keep it short. This is where interval training comes in. Interval cardio gives superior calorie-burn, fat-burn and heart-heart when compared to long, steady-state cardio sessions.
How do you do regular interval cardio? Here's an example:
a. Sprint for 50 yards
b. Walk back to start line
c. Sprint for 50 yards
d. Repeat this rotation for 20 minutes
3. Do interval cardio cross training. Just mix up the exercise modes to get even more fat-burning benefits. Here is an example of an interval cardio cross training workout:
a. Step Ups, 10 repetitions each leg
b. Walk 1 minute
c. Jumping Jacks, fast, 1 minute
d. Walk 1 minute
e. Sprint Intervals for 6 minutes (run 1 minute, walk 1 minute)
f. Mountain Climbers, fast, 1 minute
g. Repeat this circuit 1 more time
You can use any exercises you like. I like to mix in at least one strength exercise. You could do squat jumps instead of jumping jacks. Or, you could do bodyweight squats instead of step ups.
One-legged exercises (unilateral) are more intense than that two-legged (bilateral) exercises. If you don't want to run on a particular day, just do all bodyweight strength exercises.
Cross training will make you less prone to repetitive stress injuries. Cross training will also tone more muscle groups, especially if you include strength exercises.
To get better fat-burning results with no weight loss plateaus, change up your routine at least every 2-3 weeks.
If you need bodyweight workouts that you can start at your own level, check out the Free download below (it has beginner, intermediate and advanced levels):
Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts. Start shaping your body faster! There are 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Start at the level you are ready for.
Some people have been doing the same workout since January. Although that's better than not working out at all, changes need to be made. Worst still, some people will only do cardio for exercise. Again, that's better than nothing, but the body won't lean and tone without regular strength training.
3 Workout Tricks to Prevent Weight Loss Plateaus:
1. If you have your name on certain weightlifting machines, you need to change up your workout. Your body adapted to your routine long ago and you're stuck in neutral.
One of the best ways to jumpstart your fat loss and weight loss progress is to ramp up the intensity of your workouts. This will help you to burn more calories, more fat and lose more weight. Even so, don't do the same type of intense workout forever.
Keep your body guessing by changing up your workouts. Some ways include (but not limited to):
a. Alternate lifting light weights and heavy weights.
b. Adjust the number of repetitions and sets.
c. Do different exercises for the same muscle groups.
d. Alternate routines such as circuit training, superset training and complex training.
e. Change the speed of your sets such as using slow, moderate and full speed repetitions.
f. Use bodyweight, kettlebell, barbell, tubes, etc. to change up the modes of exercise.
You could also use combinations of all the above to break through weight loss plateaus.
2. Cardio exercise is a naturally monotonous exercise that can bore you to tears, unless you change it up and keep it short. This is where interval training comes in. Interval cardio gives superior calorie-burn, fat-burn and heart-heart when compared to long, steady-state cardio sessions.
How do you do regular interval cardio? Here's an example:
a. Sprint for 50 yards
b. Walk back to start line
c. Sprint for 50 yards
d. Repeat this rotation for 20 minutes
3. Do interval cardio cross training. Just mix up the exercise modes to get even more fat-burning benefits. Here is an example of an interval cardio cross training workout:
a. Step Ups, 10 repetitions each leg
b. Walk 1 minute
c. Jumping Jacks, fast, 1 minute
d. Walk 1 minute
e. Sprint Intervals for 6 minutes (run 1 minute, walk 1 minute)
f. Mountain Climbers, fast, 1 minute
g. Repeat this circuit 1 more time
You can use any exercises you like. I like to mix in at least one strength exercise. You could do squat jumps instead of jumping jacks. Or, you could do bodyweight squats instead of step ups.
One-legged exercises (unilateral) are more intense than that two-legged (bilateral) exercises. If you don't want to run on a particular day, just do all bodyweight strength exercises.
Cross training will make you less prone to repetitive stress injuries. Cross training will also tone more muscle groups, especially if you include strength exercises.
To get better fat-burning results with no weight loss plateaus, change up your routine at least every 2-3 weeks.
If you need bodyweight workouts that you can start at your own level, check out the Free download below (it has beginner, intermediate and advanced levels):
Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts. Start shaping your body faster! There are 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Start at the level you are ready for.
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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