9 Things to Help Breakthrough a Plateau

9 Things to Help Breakthrough a Plateau
------------------------------------------------------------
1. Sleep
This is by far the most important item on the list. There is not one thing that sleep does not help with. If you want to be better physically and mentally in and outside of the gym you need more sleep, PERIOD.
Please read Why we Sleep (https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316) by Matthew Walker
2. Nutrition
There are few major parts to nutrition for performance - consistency, food quality, macro balance, and meal timing. The higher level of fitness you want to achieve the more dialed in your nutrition needs to be.
3. Stress and Deload
Stress is the exact opposite of sleep, where it affects everything in a negative way. The biggest thing you can do to help prevent stress is to not worry about things you cannot control. It is simple but not easy.
Take time for deload. Deload from the gym, from work, from stress periodically through the year. Let your body and mind relax.
4. Competing
Competition can be good but competing everyday is not. In order to improve on mechanics and skills during a workout you cannot just focus on going as fast as possible everyday.
Training and practice should be the primary focus throughout the week. That does not mean the workouts are easy but each workout should have a goal and an area of focus. Example: sets of 5 on toes to bar no matter what or hit all power cleans instead of muscle cleaning.
5. Intensity
On the opposite end of the spectrum of competing we need to make sure that we are bringing intensity to our workouts. It is very easy to get part way through a workout and cop out of bringing intensity and doing your best. Half-assing a workout is only bringing you half-assed results.
You can still bring intensity while not competing. Work as hard as you can while not degrading form or making sure you are sticking to your plan and focus.
6. Limiting Factors
Spend time with your limiting factors aka weaknesses (or areas of focus). Mobility, strength, skills, and engine are the primary areas where people need to focus.
Find your limiting factors and attack them. Most people find something they need work at and avoid it.
7. Commitment
If your goal is to be able to walk up the stairs without breathing heavy and pick up your kids over your head your training volume will look different to someone trying to go to the CrossFit Games. The kind of workout does not change, just the degree.
Make sure your level of commitment matches your goals.
8. Recovery (Physical)
Training is stress on the body and your body can use some help dealing with that stress.
Foam rolling, lax balls, voodoo bands, ART, massage, scrapping, cupping, stim machines, etc are all forms of recovery that may help you.
9. Get Help
Having another set of eyes on you can help. Getting nutrition coaching, customized supplemental work, and/or one on one coaching for limiting factors are all things that can help drive progress.

Do you need/want help breaking through to that next level? You want to rx your next competition, get off the floor unassisted, link muscle ups, or be able to squat to weed your garden? Shoot us an email.
berek.bryan@equity-sc.com

Interested in giving Equity a try? Check out how to get started.
https://www.equity-sc.com/getting-started-1/

Cheers,
Berek