fbpx

5 Weight Training Variations That Can Help You Break a Strength Plateau

istock_000017911824xsmallWhen you first started weight training, you probably made strength gains rather rapidly. But after 6 months of training, those gains may have come to a grinding halt. A strength training plateau isn’t uncommon if you’ve been doing the same routine for months.

The way out of a strength plateau is to either increase training intensity by using a heavier weight or add more variety to your routine. Changing your strength training workout helps to chase away boredom and re-start the muscle growth process. Here are 5 ways to vary your strength training routine.

Drop Sets

Drop sets are good plateau busters. To do drop sets, lift the weight you would normally lift to failure. Once you reach failure, pick up a lighter weight, and repeat the set until you can do no more. Switch to a lighter weight a third time, if you wish, and repeat. This overloads the muscle fibers more than simply lifting to failure one time. It’s a good way to “wake up” muscles that have become complacent from doing the same routine.

Supersets

This is another way to challenge complacent muscles. Supersets involve doing two strength training exercises consecutively with no rest in between. You can do them by performing two exercises that target opposing muscle groups, for example, a biceps exercise followed by a triceps one in rapid succession, or you can do two exercises that target the same muscle group. Supersets boost the release of anabolic hormones that build strength and lean body mass. They’re a challenging but effective way to vary your weight training routine.

Partial Reps

Partial reps involve doing an exercise through only part of the range of motion. When doing biceps curls using partial reps, you would lift the weights half-way until your arms are at right angles to your body instead of going all the way up. This is a good technique to use when you’ve reached failure using full range of motion. You can usually eke out a few more doing partial reps, which may be the stimulus your muscles need to start making gains again.

Change the Tempo

One simple way to add variety to weight training is to change the tempo at which you lift and lower the weight. Simply slowing down the eccentric movement, the portion of the exercise where you lower the weight, by a second will increase the intensity of a set. This tears more muscle fibers, so count on feeling more sore than usual. The additional stress “slow” training places on your muscles will help to boost muscle growth if you’re stuck in a plateau.

If All Else Fails

If you’ve varied your workout, and nothing seems to be jumpstarting your muscle growth, lighten up on your workout for a week. Instead of lifting heavy, use a weight that’s 60% of your one rep max, and do higher reps. At the end of a week, go back to heavy weights and lower reps again. This can help to jumpstart muscle growth again.

The Bottom Line?

Strength training plateaus are almost inevitable. The key is to challenge your muscles in new ways. Try one of these techniques to wake up muscles that seem to have gone to sleep or easier yet, just try my STS workout series. STS uses all of these techniques and more to always keep your muscles constantly challenged and guessing.

 

References:

Fitness Prescription for Women. February 2011. Pages 106-7.

 

Related Articles By Cathe:

How Often Should You Change Your Strength Training Routine?

Power Up Your Strength Training Gains with Giant Sets

5 Tips for Working with Heavy Weights

Hypertrophy Training: Does Training Too Often Interfere with Muscle Growth?

Which Squat Variations Target the Inner Thighs Best?

What is Deloading and How Does It Apply to Resistance Training?

Ways to Increase the Intensity of a Resistance Training Workout

Weight Training: Is It Better to Do More Sets?

Weight Training: The Benefits of Doing Drop Sets

Full Reps Versus Partial Reps: Should You Do Both?

Are Partial Reps “Cheating” or Can They Help You Gain Strength?

 

Related Cathe Friedrich Workout DVDs

STS Strength 90 Day Workout Program

All of Cathe’s Strength & Toning Workout DVDs

Hi, I'm Cathe

I want to help you get in the best shape of your life and stay healthy with my workout videos, DVDs and Free Weekly Newsletter. Here are several ways you can watch and work out to my exercise videos and purchase my fitness products:

Get Your Free Weekly Cathe Friedrich Newsletter

Get free weekly tips on Fitness, Health, Weight Loss and Nutrition delivered directly to your email inbox. Plus get Special Cathe Product Offers and learn about What’s New at Cathe Dot Com.

Enter your email address below to start receiving my free weekly updates. Don’t worry…I guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will not be shared and you can easily unsubscribe whenever you like. Our Privacy Policy