Do you feel like your progress is stalling despite working out and eating healthy? You’re not alone!

For those of us in lockdown, it can be especially challenging to break through a plateau and continue progressing with your fitness goals. But no need to stress babes, I’m here to help you out!

A fitness plateau is super common to experience. It’s just a sign that your body has adapted to your fitness routine — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What you do with your plateau is what really matters! 

You can use your plateau as extra motivation to switch things up, fine-tune your workouts and nutrition, and challenge your body more to reach a whole new level of progress — even if you are in lockdown!

Are you ready to beat your workout plateau? Here are my top tips on how to get yourself back on the path to success!

Intensify your workouts
A plateau happens when your body gets used to the type of training that you’ve been doing. The best way to overcome this is to intensify your workouts! You need to challenge your muscles in a new way in order to push your body to progress further! 

You can do this by:
• Increasing reps
• Increasing your sets
• Increasing the weight used for resistance exercises

Take rest days
Even though you need to intensify your workouts to beat a plateau, there is no need to workout excessively. In fact, that may make your plateau worse! Make sure you have at least 1 day without exercising each week. You need to give your body time to recover so it can repair and rebuild your muscles, allowing you to workout more efficiently. Remember, rest is just as important as the workouts!

Keep tracking your progress
Even though you think you’re plateauing, you may surprise yourself. Sometimes, it is hard to see the changes in your physique and know just how much you're improving, but trust me, change is happening!

Ensure you still take weekly progress photos, log your weight or body measurements, log the weight you use for resistance exercises, and even track your mood and energy levels. This way, you can really see how you are progressing!

Be consistent with your nutrition
Whilst reducing your food intake may be your first instinct, this really isn’t the most important factor when it comes to your nutrition. What’s more important is being consistent with your nutrition and ensuring you are eating enough to fuel your body! 

Aim to eat three balanced meals and at least two snacks per day to keep your metabolism fired up and to give your body the nutrients it needs to function at its peak. 

Ensure each meal contains a serve of:
• Complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal bread, sweet potatoes
• Protein such as red meats, chicken, seafood, legumes, tofu
• Fats such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds

And of course, don’t forget to drink at least 2 litres (67 oz) of water every day! 

Take time to de-stress
We are all faced with stressors in our lives. For all my #LSFbabes in lockdown like me, it can be extra stressful not knowing when our lives are going to return back to normal. Even if we can’t change the stressors, we can improve how we respond to the stress! Aiming to reduce stress should be an absolute priority to achieve a healthy body and mind. 

High levels of the stress hormone (cortisol), slows down metabolism, increases appetite, decreases muscle mass and contributes to weight gain. 

So how can you beat this? Try these de-stressing activities!
• Take a bath
• Try meditation
• Go for a walk
• Read a book outside
• Listen to music
• Try journalling

So babes, whilst a workout plateau is super common, there ARE ways you can overcome it! By incorporating these tips into your life and having some patience, you will get back to seeing the results you’ve worked so hard for! 

I love being able to coach thousands of #LSFbabes across the globe through LSF programs. With my training methods and meal plans, #LSFbabes prove that it IS possible to transform your mind and body beyond your wildest dreams! 

Not part of the LSF community yet? Join my global girl gang today! 

Loz xx