Our bodies are much more intricate than we think they are. When building muscle, every body is bound to hit a certain wall in their journey which calls for away-from-the-normal measures, which in a sense can be equated to saying “desperate times call for desperate measures”.
Think about a situation where you’ve just started hitting the gym and are very happy about the little gains you’re making. You’re posing in the mirror taking photos every day, but after a while, you are not progressing at all! Does that mean you’re doing something wrong? Not necessarily, but maybe doing something LESS. Our bodies are bound to get used to what we do and in order to change it, we need to alter our routines.
Here are some tips to break your muscle gain plateau:-
1. Do One More Set
We all have predecided routines we’re going to follow on a particular gym day. This also incorporates how many exercises you’ll be doing along with the number of sets. Adding just one extra set to your routine can be immensely beneficial for you and if the aim is muscle gain, look no further. Once you add one rep to your routine, after a week or two your body will start taking that number as the new normal. Keep adding more sets and see your muscle & strength progress.
2. Eat An Extra Meal
Muscle gain is all about eating more calories to allow your muscles enough energy to not only lift more & do more sets but also to feed them. The relationship one has with muscles is like a barter system. The amount of food, energy & nutrition you’ll provide to your muscle is the same amount it’ll reciprocate in the form of externally visible muscles.
3. Do One More Rep
If adding a set is not within your strength level at the moment, just adding one extra rep can do wonders. All our muscles have a point after which they get tired, but your mind indicates you’re tired when you’re only 40% there. In conclusion, disregard what your brain is telling you, take a breather and crush the last rep. In actuality, it’s the last rep that matters the most, as the ones before it are just prepping your body for the finisher!
4. Add One Extra Exercise
Working the same muscle groups will not give you the overall muscular built people desire. As important as having a routine is, scrolling through social media and getting information about a new exercise can be very enticing, and trying it out the next day might make you feel like you worked a muscle group never worked before.
5. Get More Sleep
No matter how much pre-workout one takes, you won’t hit a PR if you’re still doozy. Not only will lack sleep make you more lethargic, lazy but also decrease your usual strength levels. A normal gym deadlift of 70 Kgs might feel like a 100.
Hitting a plateau demands a new outlook. Educating yourself by watching informative videos on the web and/or talking to professionals can help you overcome the pause point & play start again!
