You may have heard of a fitness plateau. Fitness plateau is when your body stops responding to whatever exercise or diet you may be doing. It doesn't mean that your body is done. It just means that you may need to adjust a few things to kick it back into gear. A fitness plateau can be a frustrating part of a journey. Don't get frustrated and give up! Instead, follow these five ways to get over a fitness plateau.

Take a Planned Rest Period- It might surprise you to know that while you're working out, your body is not getting fitter. In fact, your body is almost being destroyed. This is because many of our fitness routine such as strength training or cardio, cause damage and stress to our muscles, heart, and so on. Your “fitness” comes from when your body is doing the repair on this damage. This is what makes your heart stronger, your muscles build, and your stamina increase. A planned rest period during a fitness journey can be helpful when you hit a plateau because you will be allowing your body more recovery time between workouts, thus allowing for a fuller recovery so when you get back at it you are ready to do even more. A planned rest period should not be more than a week and you should only do it occasionally when you hit a plateau. Make sure you incorporate very light exercise such as yoga, stretching or going for walks, though. This will make the transition back into full workouts easier and keep you limber.

Try some new equipment at the gym or a new cardio style- One time I hit a plateau where I didn’t feel like I was being challenged enough on the elliptical and I also felt like I hadn’t made much progress in terms of stamina in a couple of weeks. I switched to the treadmill and I was amazed at how long I could run! The treadmill became my new challenge and I could create new goals and smash them. This also helped me develop a deeper love for running. My fitness plateau will simply me feeling bored so this helped renew my confidence in my journey.

Adjust your Nutrition- If you are finding that your stamina or muscle building are not happening as much as they used to check your nutrition. Are you consuming enough protein? Are you skipping certain vitamins and minerals that might be necessary? Meet with a fitness nutritionist that can help point you in the way of your goals and adjust your nutrition safely and correctly.

Shift your Focus- Many times our fitness plateaus are simply ourselves getting bored with what we are doing and so we don’t push ourselves as hard as we once did. Consider shifting your focus to get a sense of renewal. For instance, if you've been working on building muscle, shift it to building endurance. This isn't to say that you will give up on your original goal but you will add in a second one to obtain more.

Check Your Form when Exercising or Weight training- A lot of times, we can achieve part of our goal when we start from zero. After a while, you may notice that you're not gaining any endurance, speed, or muscle tone. If this is the case, try examining your form while you do cardio or weight training. Both exercises require proper form to avoid injury, however, they also require proper form to maximize the time you spend doing them. Proper form can lead you to building more muscle in an area that you're focusing. When it comes to cardio, it can really build your endurance, especially if doing so allows you to do it longer because you aren't wearing yourself out doing it improperly.

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