2 Ways To Break Through Your Plateau And Feel Sore

So you’re stuck in a plateau?

You feel like you’re working hard, putting in the effort, and sticking to your diet, but nothing’s happening?

Well, that’s actually very common.

In fact, it’s the main reason why so many people get results in the beginning, and feel motivated, invigorated and pumped up, yet gradually become disheartened and fall back into old habits.

We all get stuck in plateaus – heck, I plateaued for about a decade!

But that was before I found out about the 2 tricks that guarantee you can break through any plateau.

Read on to find out what these are, how you can implement them into your training, and get back on track with blasting stubborn fat, building lean muscle and getting the body of your dreams.

“Man, I’m so Sore”

Are you sore after your workouts?

You should be.

I’m not talking “not able to walk up the stairs” kind of sore, but your muscles should be fatigued and tired the day of (or the day after) your sessions.

Soreness is a sign that you’ve worked hard, pushed yourself and had an effective workout. So if you’re not feeling at least a little sore, chances are you’re in one of these plateaus we’re talking about.

I explain a little more in the video.

Now, there are 2 ways you can step up your training to get this soreness back, and start progressing again.

#1 – Turn Up the Volume

Volume is perhaps the most crucial factor in any training plan, whether your goal is to burn fat, build muscle, or both!

Volume simply refers to how much work you do.

While I firmly believe that a tough 20 or 30 minute workout will always beat an easy, steady, hour-long workout, and that it is possible to get a highly-effective workout done in a short space of time, sometimes, you do need to train for longer.

A longer workout, provided you still train with intensity and effort, will amp up your calorie burn, create more overload and stress on your muscles and cardiovascular system, and ultimately get you results faster.

To increase volume, try –

• Extending your workout time
• Doing more sets on each exercise
• Adding extra exercises

#2 – Getting Dense

Density is the amount of work you do in a given time.

Say, for instance, you’re currently in the gym for 45 minutes per workout.

In that time, you might do 6 different exercises, each for 4 sets, and taking a minute of rest between everything.

Well, to get a higher density workout, you’d still do your 6 exercises for 4 sets, but instead of giving yourself 60 seconds rest, you’d reduce this to 30 or 45 seconds, or even pair exercises back to back, so that you get the same workout done, but in less time.

This is a sure-fire way to give yourself a huge challenge, improve aerobic capacity and muscular endurance and reignite that soreness.

#3 – A Killer Combo

Here’s a bonus for you.

Instead of increasing volume OR density, why not try both simultaneously?

There’s no way on earth that any stubborn fat loss plateau would have the nerve to stick around were you to do this.

The first step here, is taking your current workout, and condensing it into a shorter time period, so that you’re boosting workout density.

So you might go from a 40 minute workout to a 30 minute one.

Then, take that 10 minutes you’ve saved, and add extra exercises.

Here’s a practical example for you –

Original workout –

• Jump lunges – 4 sets of 15 reps
• Dumbbell Clean and presses – 4 sets of 8 reps
• Pull-ups (bodyweight or assisted) – 5 sets of 5 reps
• Mountain Climbers – 5 sets of 40 seconds
• Plank – 3 maximum holds

Total time – 40 minutes

Revamped workout –

• Jump lunges super-set with dumbbell clean and presses – 4 sets of 15 and 8 reps respectively
• Circuit of 5 pull-ups, 40 seconds of mountain climbers and a maximum plank for 5 rounds.
• KettleBell swings super-set with V-ups for 3 sets of 20 reps each
• Tri-set of barbell curls, close-grip pushups and lateral raises, each for 2 sets until failure.

Total time – 40 minutes

That first workout?

It’d be relatively tough for a newbie, but after a couple of weeks, your body would adapt very easily.

The second though?

Holy smokes – that’d be enough to make anyone sweaty, sore and breathing heavily!

So try it – how can you revamp your workout to bust through a stubborn plateau?

The Take Home

Above all, the message here is –

“If you train the same, you stay the same.”

Remember, to keep progressing, keep losing fat, and keep building lean muscle mass, you have to constantly push yourself, and make things challenging.

The 2 best ways to do that are by adding volume and increasing density.

Watch the video for more tips –