You’ve been working out, eating right and have been making gains towards your fitness goals! Then all of the sudden, it stops. You’re weight loss has gone stagnant and you have no idea how to get the pounds dropping again.
You’re experiencing a plateau, a part in your fitness journey where you can’t seem to lose any more weight or build any more muscle tone. A plateau comes about when your body has gotten used to the workouts and foods you’ve been eating and doesn’t have to work as hard to burn off those calories. You may be eating the same oatmeal and banana for breakfast every morning or putting your body on autopilot when you jump on the elliptical and your body has gotten bored.
To give your body a jump start, check out these four ways you can bust through your plateau and reach your ultimate goals!
1. HIIT It!- With high intensity interval training, a type of cardio that makes you work out very intensely for a short amount of time followed by a quick break,  you’ll raise your at rest metabolic rate and your caloric burn will be even greater! If you’ve gotten into the same cardio habits, try this: sprint as fast as you can for 3 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, or stairmill followed by 2 minutes of a cool down. Repeat 5 times!
2. Switch it Up- Don’t let your body get bored with the same yoga or aerobics class. Try taking a new class like Barre Method or Pilates to work muscles groups you didn’t even know you had. If you like to run on a treadmill, give your joints a break and try swimming or biking.
3. Cheat a Little- If you’ve been consistently eating clean, it’s okay to have occasional indulgence every once in a a while. Sometimes our bodies get in the habit of digesting certain types of food so a slice of pizza or an ice cream cone on occasion will keep it guessing. Remember to make it a cheat meal and not a cheat day!
4. Keep the Faith- Don’t get discouraged! This plateau means you are so close to reaching your fitness and weight loss goals. If you stick with your clean eating, water drinking, and workouts through this transition period you’ll end up with the body and health you always dreamed.
