So you’ve reached a fitness flat spot.
You’ve been consistently strength training, and you’re noticing that your usual routine has become way easier. That’s great! That means that your consistency has paid off, and your muscles are getting stronger. However, It’s also a sign that it may be time to switch things up, so that your mind stays excited, and your skills continue to improve.
First, let’s talk about muscle confusion. This may be a term you’ve read or heard before, however, it’s often explained incorrectly. Muscle confusion is not a literal confusion of the muscles. As you obviously know, our muscles do not have little brains, so they cannot become tricked into growth! However, varying the movements we do does ensure that our muscles are worked from every angle, which will boost our body’s ability to handle different types of physical stress, and in turn contribute to the growth of healthy, balanced muscles. Additionally, varying our movements ensures that we don’t get sick of our movement routines. Our muscles don’t get bored, but our brains do! After all, an exciting routine is one that we want to stick to, and we all know that consistency is key when it comes to reaching our movement goals.
Next, let’s talk about progressive overload training. Simply put, progressive overload training is the act of slowly and steadily increasing the difficulty of your workouts. The variable that is increased can include factors like reps, intensity, or the amount of weight. This increase should be kept at or below 10% each week. This subtle increase ensures that your muscles and their strength continue to grow, but is still gradual enough to protect them from injury and over-exercise. The rate at which a progressive overload is applied is going to be different for everybody and is a great area to work on with a coach.
If you’re still not sure how to vary your movements, or how to apply a progressive overload, you may benefit from a one-on-one session with me!
You can book a free discovery call here.