Break Through Your Weight Training Plateau With These Tips

Every bodybuilder that has continued lifting weight for a long enough period of time has experienced a "plateau" - a point where your gains in strength and size seem to completely stop. This occurs even when following nutrition, supplementation and workout routines perfectly. It is one of the most frustrating things about being a bodybuilder. And there are only two options when reaching a plateau: blast through it or give up.

If this is your first plateau, chances are it's time to increase your training intensity. Just doing three sets of 15 reps isn't going to be enough for your body any more. You've already taken your muscles to one limit, now blast through to the next. There are several methods for increasing the intensity of your weight lifting. We've outlined a few of them below.

Take a Break from the Gym

If you've reached a plateau, the first thing you should do is...rest. Studies have shown that weight lifters do not lose a significant amount of muscular strength or size if they stop working out for up to two weeks. Just avoid the gym for one week. You should stay motivated by reading bodybuilding articles on the internet or in magazines, and planning out your new workout schedule. After a week off, you could find that you have more energy because you allowed all your muscles to completely recover.

Also, sleep is very important to your body for recovery, especially if you lift weights. Make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Just an extra one to two hours a night can make a huge difference in your gains as a weight lifter.

Change your Workout Schedule

If you are currently working out three days per week, increase your trips to the gym to four days per week. If you already go four times, now go five times (if you already go five times, consider going less - maybe you're going too often).

If you're currently exercising different body parts on different days, consider changing the days you do each body part. If you usually do chest and triceps on Monday, try doing them on Tuesday. If you are currently going three days each week, and do different body parts on different days, you will have to reorganize your workouts anyway. Below is an example four day body split routine:

Monday: Back and BicepsTuesday: Chest and tricepsThursday: Thighs and CalvesFriday: Abs and shoulders

Change Each Exercise
First, before adding any more intensity to each exercise, be sure that you are performing each exercise with excellent form. If you are jerking or swinging the weight, simply paying attention to keeping your form strict may be the change you need to start your muscles growing again.

One idea for increasing the intensity is doing what's called a "burn set". Let's use the biceps curl as an example. If you usually use a 50-pound barbell, and you can do 12 reps in each set, as soon as you reach failure on that 12th rep, immediately put that barbell down and grab a 25-pound barbell and crank out as many reps as you can. You'll then see why it's call a "burn set". Throwing this type of crazy pump after a standard set will certainly shock your muscles.

Reaching a bodybuilding plateau can be one of the most frustrating aspects of weight lifting. But you can get through it; you just have to push on through. As long as you don't give up, you won't be disappointed in the results.

"Until the next article "Be Your Best"

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