When it comes to weightlifting, we will all hit a point that the weights don’t just instantly go up. It is extremely frustrating, and it can happen for many reasons. However it can be enjoyable to break that plateau. I will give you nine of the tricks to plateau busting. It real is enjoyable, to overcome sticking points.

You Are Stuck in a Rut

• Lack of proper recovery: Proper rest is crucial to optimizing training.
• Lack of proper nutrition: This goes along with lack of proper rest. You need to fuel the body so you can grow stronger. When we are trying to burn fat and are in a calorie deficit this can become increasingly hard to get pass certain strength hurdles.
• Exercise Placement: Depending on where you put your lift in a workout may be a contributing factor as to why you are breaking pass your plateau. If your plateau is towards the end of the workout it should be at the beginning. You can’t expect to have the energy nor focus at the end of a workout.
• Mental Blockage: You have psyched yourself out of the lift. This number has been beating you for awhile, now you don’t believe you will pass it. There is a saying if you go up to the bar believing you can lift it you might, but if you go up to the bar believing you will not you won’t.
• Lack of focus: Your goals simply aren’t a priority. Accept it so you can change that.

Mind Over Everything

We are going to assume you have proper form and are your plateau has nothing to do with the above. If it is a mental thing some of these techniques may help. The mind is an immensely powerful thing it can be your best friend or worse enemy. When it comes to weightlifting it is all a game a mental game. Nothing is to exist other than you and that barbell in that moment you are trying to break that plateau

Henry Rollins Said A Quote

“The iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told you are a God or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found The Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friend may come and go. But 200lbs is always 200lbs.”

Henry Rollins

What I am trying to drum in your head is that the weights never change, your mind changes. Weightlifting is more mental than physical.

Nine Plateau Busting Tricks

1. Increase the reps: The more reps help you build muscle endurance. I personally feel it has a psychological effect as well to get your mind in the right place. I find myself unable to do 200lbs for more than 5 reps. Yet I fine myself doing 195lbs for 12 rep, this tells me in psychologically in head blocking myself from that 200lbs.
2. Lower the reps. The heavier load will allow your body to become accustom to a heavier weight. This also causes a mental boost when you realize you can handle a heavier weight.
3. Shorten the range of the movement. You can do board presses, seated squats, elevated deadlifts etc. By shortening the range, you allow your body to develop at certain key sticking points. You also acclimate your body to carrying a heavier load.
4. Static burst is a technique in which you allow the weight to fully rest after the decent and you burst up as fast as possible. Obviously, you will do this with a much lighter weight however it works on helping our nerves to fire in unison. The more our body works in unison the more of an advantage we will have with overcoming those nasty plateaus.
5. Do more than just the big three compound movements. Workout with alternative exercises that target the muscle group on the main lift. Let us take deadlifts do pull ups, barbell rows, sumo deadlifts for example.
6. Instead of increasing the weight by 5lbs or 10lbs do it by 1lb or even a half of a lb. Sometimes you are right on the edge of breaking that plateau.
7. Use bands to help topple sticking points within the movement. Bands can make exercises heavier at stronger leverage points of the movement mostly when we are heading towards fuller extension.

Spri Bands Superbands

Below is an affiliate to Spri products. I sort them out, because I use there resistance bands when I’m away on vacation. I also use, heavy duty superbands to break plateaus. If you are interested in getting some bands at a discount for plateau busting click the link below. Search: Superbands on Spri web-site

Resistance Bands While on Vacation

Resistance Band are a great tool to get the muscles moving and blood glowing. If you can’t access a gym or a pull up bar. They are handy for traveling. This what I do when I’m vacation: Vacation Resistance Band Work Out

Back to Plateau Busting

• Chains same as bands except they have the habit of making the lower end of the movement heavier.
• Deficit reps, this is where you go beyond the normal range of the movement. This plateau buster is specifically for Deadlifts. How it works? you stand on plates in turn elevating you. This will cause you to have to do an even greater range of motion with deadlifts from the floor.

Did I Miss Anything?

I’m curious if I missed any plateau busting techniques that you may use. If so, please comment below as I am a teacher to many, I am forever a student seeking to learn more for myself.