Whether regular exercise is your long-term goal for 2025 or an engrained part of your lifestyle, you’re probably familiar with the dreaded ‘plateau’: a period when you stop seeing results from your hard work despite not changing your routine.
This roadblock can be extremely challenging—after all, it’s the gains and positive changes that motivate us the most. When we stop seeing improvements for weeks or months at a time, it can be incredibly discouraging. For some, a plateau can be enough to lose momentum entirely, leading to people getting out of their healthy habits, dropping their routines, and even giving up on their fitness journey entirely.
In this guide, I’ll demystify the idea of fitness plateaus. You will learn what they are exactly, why they happen, and most importantly, receive tips on how to avoid them. By putting this knowledge into practice, you can overcome the hurdles of fitness plateaus, helping to keep your motivation and continue to strive towards your goals.
What is a Fitness Plateau?
When we do any kind of physical training, we expect to see results. Of course, these don’t happen instantly, but with dedicated exercise over time, you should begin to see the changes that motivated you to begin your fitness journey in the first place. If you’ve been running a few times a week over the past few months, you would expect to notice increased stamina and some weight loss. If you’ve been strength training in the gym, you expect to gradually be able to lift heavier plates with time. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a linear process—sometimes, you get stuck on a plateau.
A fitness plateau essentially means you stop seeing results from your training despite doing everything the same. Perhaps no matter what you do, you can’t seem to beat your personal best on the squat rack. Or maybe you’re unable to beat your time for a 5-kilometre run. Whatever the case may be, these plateaus can be very frustrating—after all, you’re putting the work in, so why have your gains suddenly tapered off? There are a few potential reasons:
- Your body adapts to the stress of your usual workout routine, meaning it doesn’t have to strengthen to complete the movements
- You’re neglecting the FITT (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type) principle, meaning your body isn’t getting the challenge and stimulation it needs to make new gains
- Stress, illness, or time restrictions are preventing you from making new progress on your fitness journey
You might be dealing with one, two, or all three of these potential plateau problems, meaning you stop seeing results from the hard work you put into your fitness.
Now that you understand the causes of the plateau, let’s take a look at some tips on how to break through and start seeing positive gains again—or to avoid the plateau entirely.
Tip 1: Switch It Up
Our bodies are remarkably good at adapting to stress. Ever wondered how laborers manage to do back-breaking work day in and day out? Or how professional athletes can seemingly run forever without a break? It’s because their bodies have had the chance to get accustomed to the strains of their physical routine, allowing them to complete difficult motions much more easily. While this ability to adapt can be great in some cases, it also has its downsides. Namely, it can lead to a fitness plateau.
If you’ve been doing the same exercises for a long time, and are starting to notice your progress has slowed or stopped, it might be time to switch it up. Odds are, your body is becoming used to the stress of these routine exercises, meaning it doesn’t need to get stronger to do them.
The solution is to incorporate new exercises into your daily routine. Try to find strength training routines that target different muscle groups, or take on a sport that physically challenges you in a new way. Variety is the best way to overcome a fitness plateau and will help you get back on track as you work towards your goals.
Tip 2: Treat Yourself
Seeing the results of your fitness journey is a huge motivation—for some people, it’s the only reason to continue. While it’s great to let physical gains drive you toward your goal, it also means you can face serious motivation challenges when those gains slow down. To counteract this and ensure you remain motivated, think about treating yourself to other rewards. Set goals along the path to your final fitness goal, making sure to note even the smaller milestones. When you have your journey broken down into a roadmap of bite-sized goals, assign rewards to each one.
For example, let’s say your overall goal is to run 5 kilometres in 25 minutes, and your current time is about 30 minutes. Of course, you deserve to celebrate once you hit that 25-minute mark, but why not add some milestones to help get you there? Consider rewarding yourself for every minute you shave off your time. This not only means you reach goals more often, but it also means you only have to focus on shaving off 60 seconds at a time—a much more manageable goal. As for the reward, make it something you’ll naturally want to work towards. Maybe it’s a massage, or a little something special from your favourite store. By picking the right rewards and milestones, you’ll be able to stay motivated as you work towards your goals, even if your physical gains have slowed down.
Tip 3: Fuel Your Body
One of the best ways to avoid a fitness plateau entirely is to make sure your body has everything it needs to keep getting stronger. Without proper rest and nutrition, you’ll see limited results from your training, which can be extremely discouraging. Make sure you’re getting around 7 to 8 hours of sleep and give your body the chance to regenerate and recover from your daily exercise.
It’s also vital that you’re fueling your body with the nutrition and energy it needs—meal planning is one great way to keep on track with a healthy diet without spending hours upon hours cooking each week. Incorporate lots of whole foods, avoid processed foods as much as possible, and make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. Following these nutrition tips will give your body everything it needs to get stronger, which means more consistent results during your fitness journey.
Tip 4: Cross Train
No matter your fitness goals, it’s essential that you avoid tunnel vision on certain exercises. If your goal is simply to run faster and further, it’s not enough to simply run all the time—eventually, you’re bound to hit a plateau. Instead, you should consider adding cross-training exercises to help you make gains across the board. If you’re focusing on stamina, muscle strengthening will help just as much as cardio, and vice versa. Approaching fitness holistically helps prevent overuse injuries, provide more consistent results, and generally improve your fitness, all of which can help you avoid the plateau entirely.
Tip 5: Track Your Journey
As you work through a fitness plateau, it’s essential to find ways to stay motivated. One great way is to track your progress as you go. When we’re not seeing results in our physical bodies, looking at the history of your fitness journey can be an incredible way to inspire yourself to press on. There are countless apps out there designed for this, making it easy to track your workouts, body measurements, personal bests, and much more, but you can also do it the old-fashioned way in a physical fitness journal. Either way, taking a look back at your tracked progress can give you the motivation you need to push through a plateau and keep working towards your goals.
Tip 6: Get Help from a Pro
Sometimes, we need a little help to figure out where we could be pushing ourselves harder, or to find exercises better suited for our goals. If you’re finding yourself in the midst of a fitness plateau, you’ll no doubt benefit from the expert support of a professional physiotherapist.
In my practice, I’ve helped many clients overcome even the toughest plateaus. We work together to evaluate their current workout routine and figure out which parts aren’t working. We develop new workout plans, set attainable goals, find opportunities for variety and cross-training, and ultimately push through the plateau. Before long, my clients begin to see results from their hard work again, helping to motivate them toward their destination. In some cases, the expertise and accountability of a professional are exactly what you need to break through these slower periods along the road to your final goals.
If you’re in the middle of a plateau, don’t give up. No matter your goals, needs, or abilities, I can help you find new ways to challenge yourself, stay motivated, and see results again. If you’re ready to break through the plateau and get back on track, book an initial assessment today.