Fitness and Exercise Plateau

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Fitness and Exercise Plateau
« on: June 29, 2010, 07:32:34 PM »
 Fitness and Exercise Plateau - Problem Solved!
By Tanya Stroh



Are you stuck in an exercise rut, doing the same thing week in and week out, not seeing the results you want? Chances are you have hit an exercise plateau. Don't be discouraged you can get back on track and, in one sense, you should be encouraged, it means you worked hard to get there. Still, you want to avoid plateaus when you can, so here is how they can happen and how you can avoid them. When you start to exercise think of your beginning point as the baseline, when you exercise you are actually putting stress on your body; you may be sore, it can be a struggle and a challenge; however, as your body begins to adapt to the stress of exercise and compensate for it you are going to start to see results. As you continue to exercise and your body continues to adjust and adapt pretty soon you will be passed your original baseline and into what is called the super compensation phase. This is when you are getting stronger, feeling great and seeing results! The plateau problem occurs because your body gets used to the stress of the exercise and stops compensating for it; therefore you stop getting stronger and stop seeing results. The key is to re-stress the body with new, different and more challenging exercises before you hit a new baseline or the exercise plateau. This cycle of stressing the body at your current baseline, your body compensating and then super compensating and then being able to re-stress the body before you hit another baseline is truly the most effective way to get the fitness results you are seeking and it applies to both strength training and cardio.

Now that you know why a plateau happens and the mechanics of how to fix it, let me leave you with a practical solution I use with many of my clients. One way to break through your exercise plateau is by incorporating "Mini Circuit Moves" into your next cardio day. Whether you go to the gym, jog or run inside or out, or exercise in your home these moves are easy and really effective when you do them right. Below you will see a run down and specifics for a cardio day! Always begin with 8 to 10 minutes of easy warm up such as light walking or easy jogging and end with an easy cool down and full body stretch.

Run Down - Cardio Day

    * Mini Circuit Move work up to 15 reps
    * 10 minutes - Cardio Machine - your choice
    * Mini Circuit Move work up to 15 reps
    * 15 minutes - Cardio Machine etc - your choice
    * Mini Circuit Move work up to 15 reps
    * 10 minutes - Cardio Machine - your choice

"Mini Circuit Moves" - Use good form and mix and match!

1. Cardio Lunges

Begin standing in a neutral position, feet hips distance apart, knees soft, abdominals tight and chest lifted. In a continuous motion, ¼ squat down placing hands on knees, quickly standing up while raising arms straight above head, quickly ¼ squat down placing hands on knees again, then simultaneously place hands on floor on the outside of your feet and extend left leg straight back, return to 1/4 squat w/ hands on knees. Continue movement alternating extending legs straight back.

2. Mountain Climbers

Begin in push up position, hands aligned under shoulders, toes on the floor hip distance apart, body in a straight line from top of head to toes, step the left foot in towards the chest, keeping left knee facing forward. Jump up and switch feet in the air, bringing right foot toward the chest and left foot back to starting position. Continue alternating the feet as fast as you can.

3. Jumping Jacks

Begin standing in a neutral position, feet hips distance apart, knees soft, abdominals tight and chest lifted. Simultaneously jump feet out to the sides wider than hips distance while raising both hands out to the sides and over head, jump back to return to starting position.

4. Squat Thrusts

Begin standing in a neutral position, feet hips distance apart, knees soft, abdominals tight and chest lifted. Squat down keeping your knees forward and hips and shoulders square, place hands on the floor outside of your feet. Immediately jump both feet back and land in a standard push up position, keeping abdominals tight and back flat. Immediately jump feet back in between your hands and stand back up to starting position. Continue until all reps are complete.

5. Scissor Jumps

Stand in a stagger step neutral position with left foot forward over a tube, jump rope or straight line with knees soft, abdominals tight and chest lifted. Jump straight up & switch feet in the air so right foot is forward. Land on your toes and absorb the shock of the jump with the balls of your feet and glutes.

6. Plank & Hold

Position body in plank position with elbows on the floor directly under shoulders, arms straight and shoulder distance apart, palms flat on the floor with fingers spread, body in a straight line and balanced on the balls of your feet. Hold position for as long as you can work up to 1:00, making sure body is in a straight line and neck and head are neutral.

Remember when exercising for fitness, being able to re-stress your body in the super compensation exercise phase is key to avoiding an exercise plateau. By incorporating "Mini Cardio Circuits" into your workouts you will not only see fitness results and strength gains but you will easily avoid being stuck in an exercise rut!

For more information, customized fitness and exercises guides and online Personal Training visit http://www.tanyastroh.com Tanya specializes in helping people achieve optimal health with a highly individualized approach to fitness exercise.

Tanya Stroh is a nationally certified personal trainer and founder and creator of Tanya Stroh Training solutions, your online Personal Trainer. With over 500 unique exercises, and counting, our proprietary software, TS Trax, creates a fitness exercise plan specifically for your goals, your level of fitness, at home or at the gym with the equipment you have and like to use. With Tanya Stroh training Solutions you can stop guessing about how to achieve your fitness goals and enjoy faster results with no plateau. Be fit, be healthy, and be happy with http://www.tanyastroh.com.