Break through a fitness plateau

Break through a fitness plateau. A few tips and tricks to keep training interesting.

I was stuck. Thousands of biceps curls for months on end, and nothing. Not even half an inch. My arms had simply stopped growing.

I took the Taoist approach: I quit trying. Instead of doing direct arm work, like curls, I concentrated on my chest, shoulders, and back, hitting them with heavy-lifting sets of chinups, rows, presses, and dips.

That's when it happened. My arms inflated.

Truth is, I hadn't really stopped working my arms. I was working them harder than ever—by association. The exercises I was using for my chest and back were also enlisting my biceps and triceps, stimulating more muscle fibers in different ways than with the arm isolation exercises.

My realisation:
Changing the training approach is the trigger for blasting through a frustrating fitness plateau, in either muscle or strength.

Weight loss plateaus

Weight-loss plateaus have many causes. Let's assume you've ruled out under eating (which triggers fat storage) and excessive stress (which releases cortisol, inhibiting fat loss). Your metabolism could just need a workout of its own: One intriguing plateau buster comes from a 2004 University of Colorado study, which linked increased "energy flux," or the total amount of calories your body processes in a day, to increased metabolism. Working out harder and eating more — while keeping the overall balance the same — could improve your ability to break down food.

A better way to blast your arms

Ditch the dumbbells and grab a Swiss-ball. Get down on the floor and assume a standard push-up position, with your hands resting on top of the ball. Keeping your hands planted, slowly roll your wrists onto the ball, followed by your forearms; stop when everything up to your elbows is touching. Slowly reverse the movement. Do only three sets of three repetitions in the beginning, and gradually build up to three sets of five. "This blasts your triceps because you have to stabilize the ball along with controlling your downward movement, it'll work the muscles better than any free-weight arm exercise can."