Plateau. Everyone has encountered this word, and has or will understand the
challenge of getting past a point where it seems no progress is being made. Now,
sometimes the answer is just time. It seems sometimes the idea is pushed that if you
don’t make progress every day, you are at a plateau and need to scrap your strategy.
You may not even be at a real plateau at all, maybe you’re just running on low sleep or
poor nutrition. The more advanced of an athlete/weightlifter/powerlifter you become, the
more difficult and more time it can take to progress, and that’s okay. If I had a nickel for
every time someone tried to get me to completely scrap my routine because of a
perceived “plateau,” when really all I needed were some minor adjustments. There are
some specific areas you can focus on in your routine; however, that will be very
effective, especially if you have never focused on them before. Here are some tools you
can use to get past those plateaus.
Lifting Tempo
This is the speed at which you lower a weight (eccentric), raise a weight
(concentric), and any pauses that occur through the movement, either in the bottom or
top position. Think about it this way: which person can handle more weight, the one
who can bench press 250 using 2 seconds to lower the weight to their chest, or the one
who can bench 250 using 10 seconds to lower the weight to their chest? Training with
longer eccentric portions during the lift can be very beneficial. It will lead to better
technique by strengthening neurological pathways, and the longer time under tension
can be beneficial for hypertrophy. In terms of strength, it is easier to reverse a car going
5 MPH compared to one going 50. So, the slower you can lower a weight, the less
relative force required to reverse the momentum. This tool is pretty simple to apply. If I
can bench press 225 lb. 7 times with a 2 second count to lower the weight to my chest, I
could either do 205 lb. for 3 sets of 5 reps using a 5 second count to lower the weight,
and gradually increase the weight as I get stronger, or use 225 lb. for 3 sets using a 5
second count to lower the weight, doing as many reps as I can each set, and increase
the total number of reps performed in this manner each week. When you attempt a lift
using a faster tempo again several weeks later you should notice a pretty good strength
increase. The bodybuilder and three time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane greatly preferred
training using longer eccentrics with relatively lighter weights.
Rest Periods
If you have never monitored your rest periods, this can be a great tool for
progression. For example, if I can bench 225 lb. 8 times using 2 minute rest periods,
and can lower the rest time to 1 minute in between sets, I will have become significantly
stronger. Some Olympic lifters will look at the total weight (and I mean total weight,
every lb/kg, every rep) lifted in a set time, and try to increase that total while staying in
the same time frame. Using shorter rest periods can be beneficial for body composition
improvement as well. Another technique involving rest periods is cluster training.
Usually using a weight 85% or more of your 1 rep max, you perform a set number of
reps (two for example) for a certain number of sets (let’s say 10) with a significantly
shorter rest period (say 30 seconds) than you normally would use when handling this
weight. Each week try to increase the weight by 5 lb./ 2.2 kg total. Once you reach a
point where you can’t go any heavier, drop the weight to 10 sets of 2 and keep on
increasing, then 10 sets of 1 rep once you can’t increase any more on the 2 reps. These
are awesome for building strength, and personally I have seen pretty good strength
gains every time I employ this method.
Volume
Yeah over-training, I know. It is possible, but for the most part, I think our society
just doesn’t want to put in any more work than they “have to”, in any endeavor.
Countless greats have used high volume (total number of sets) training throughout the
years and achieved impressive results. There were times where Arnold would put in
over 4 hours per muscle per week easily. “Didn’t he use steroids though?” True,
steroids do enhance the body’s performance and recovery abilities, but one of the
reasons he was the best is he wasn’t afraid to put in the time. (I’m not necessarily
recommending the type of workload he used, but our bodies can handle and benefit
from higher training volumes if introduced gradually). Heck plenty of Olympic
Weightlifting teams squat 5-15 times a week! When I was in high school, and had much
more time, I used a high volume/ frequency routine, and saw excellent results. The point
is, your body can adapt to almost any stimulus when introduced correctly. (Good form,
gradual progression, proper nutrition and sleep). If you can squat 405 for 3 sets of 3, for
example, try throwing in 2 more sets of 405 for maybe 1 or 2 reps. This would give you
between 11-13 reps on 405, verses 9. You’ve increased the stimulus, and your body
will adapt. Strength is a skill, and the more practice you put in, within reason, the better
you will get at it. Don’t go overboard, but it is okay to add a couple extra sets to your
routine. On the flip side of the coin, sometimes a gradual decrease in volume during an
intensification (phase where the focus is maximal strength or power) can help you move
past a plateau, or peak strength levels at the right time.
Intensity
Or in other words, the heaviest weight lifted in a session. A workout where 275
lb. is hoisted once is considered more “intense” than a workout where 225 lb. is lifted 50
times. Another way to look at it is what rep range am I training in this day? If you have
never trained in the 1-5 rep range, I can almost guarantee you will see significant
progress by doing so. Conversely, if you have never used higher reps, I can almost
guarantee you will make significant progress by incorporating them. Every rep range
has its benefits, and not only will using a variety of rep schemes lead to faster progress,
it will also help prevent over-training, since a set of 20 reps is entirely different for the
body than a set of 2. My personal experience has been alternating “heavier” low rep
days and “lighter” high rep days improves both strength and body composition and
allows for better recovery.
Exercise Selection and Order
One thing should be understood, if you want to get good at something, you need
to practice it. Dr. Squat has repeatedly shown that first, that you must train your body in
the way you want it to improve, and second, our body begins to lose its ability to
perform a skill optimally when we stop performing that skill. (7 Laws of Training,
Hatfield) If I want to get good at playing the piano, I don’t practice the tuba and expect to
become a concert pianist. Also, if I stop playing piano for 5 years, I will not be as good
as I was 5 years prior when I was practicing regularly, although it will be easier for me to
progress back to that point than it was the first time, since I have already done it once.
The order you perform your exercises in, what exercises you perform, how you pair the
exercises, and how frequently are all factors you can adjust to meet your goals. I had
been stuck at a 350 lb. bench press for a while. I had no trouble pushing anything
slightly heavier off my chest, but I could not get past the half way point. My triceps were
just too weak. So on my second bench day, I performed all my tricep work first, before
my chest work, doing my flat bench completely last. This is called upside down training.
It was key to keep my form strict on the flat bench, even though I was significantly
weaker. After about 6 weeks, when I switched back to my normal routine, I was able to
press 365 lb! The order you perform your exercises is something you can manipulate to
meet your goals.
...
Exercise is and should be an enjoyable pursuit. Sometimes the answer to
progress is just a little more “stick to it” and time. However, becoming specific in how
you perform your routine by using some or all of these techniques can help you reach
new heights.
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