It takes a lot of time and effort to work towards fitness related goals. When things don’t progress how you hope, an overwhelming sense of frustration can set in. I understand and relate all too well. Plateaus used to throw a wrench in my goals time and time and time again. Over the years, I learned more about my body and effective ways to approach plateaus – to either keep them from happening or karate chop them out of the way when they would hit.

I recently received a question via email on whether or not I have had to deal with plateaus when losing the baby weight and what I would do when encountering one. For the purposes of the reader request, this post will focus more intently on weight loss plateaus, but many of the ideas presented can certainly apply to other fitness related goals.

First up – I feel the need to clarify what I deem a plateau. I think a plateau occurs when ZERO changes happen for an extended period of time – in my opinion, close to a month. You may not notice a change on the scale but can definitively fit better into your clothes. Not a plateau. You may only see a half pound loss on the scale each week for a few weeks instead of the pound you were seeing. Not a plateau. I consider a plateau a lack of progress on all counts – ZERO change even after allowing your body the time to catch up with your efforts and make changes.

Now that we have that straightened out we can focus on the ways I avoided plateaus while achieving my Body After Baby progress and the steps I took when I found myself in one.

Have Room To Progress
I never quite understand the notion to nose-dive into a fitness plan with the top intensity, highest level of dietary restriction, or most challenging plan from the beginning. That can only lead to burn out. If you have super human will power and avoid burn out, then your body will eventually adapt as it’s a smart little yoda…and then where do you go?

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I like to start with the smallest of changes so I can build up habits, remain consistent with them, and have options to tweak the plan as my body grows stronger.

Take A Break
The first thing I will do when facing a plateau is proactively decide to take a break. Counterintuitive, no? But it works. I allow my body to take it easy on workouts for a week. I eat a bit more. I don’t stress over my goals. By the end of my break, I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on my goals with a new, stronger intensity. The stress from eating less, working hard, or just fretting my goals inhibits my body’s progress greatly. So, when I chill out for awhile my body appreciates it and reciprocates with future progress, like it did after my recent vacation.

Look Closely at the Little Details
Sometimes the small things we do add up to make a bigger impact than we imagine. We know that our training and eating habits have an impact on progress and will readily look to them when facing stalls. However, we also must consider our other habits. I always take a look at the other details of my health to determine what areas I can improve. Am I drinking enough water? Am I getting enough sleep? Am I active in other ways throughout the day? Am I stressing too much? Am I “regular”? Am I facing some crazy hormones? Those things have key roles and need to be in order for progress to happen.

Track It

It doesn’t need to be drastic (like measuring raisins!). If I want to track to check my habits, I usually resort to a few simple protocols. I measure foods that I can have a heavy hand with when serving (peanut butter or cereal) to make sure I am taking proper serving sizes. I will count calories loosely in my head for a week or two to see if I have any areas I can tweak. I will stay more mindful of extra bites or licks I steal while making M her food or cooking. Nothing excessive, but enough to pick up on habits that may need to change for progress to get back under way.

Add Another Gear
Up. The. Intensity! I don’t believe in adding a ton of extra time to workouts, but I do think we can push ourselves out of our comfort zones to maximize our results and get the ball moving again. When we get in a routine, we can easily start sailing through workouts out of habit. To avoid this, I try to mix up or increase the challenge of my workouts every 6-8 weeks. I will either try something new, add in more intervals, shoot for new distances, vary up my strength training routines, or pull out workouts that I know kick my butt. Work harder and smarter.

Ride It Out With Positive Thoughts
If all else fails, I go here. If I know I have done all I can to have taken a balanced approach to eating, training, and caring for my health, then I can only accept that and stop expecting so much from my body. I trust that respecting my body will bring it just where it should be and let it happen naturally. I stop stressing. I picture my goals and keep working hard. Surprisingly enough, staying positive and committed ends up bringing the desired results down the line. After all, when reaching this point the only options are to keep chugging away with determination or give up and say forget it. I know one of those choices won’t help me achieve my goal…so why not just dig deep, ride it out, and trust? It can only do good.

• What tactics do you use when facing plateaus in your goals?
• What is a detail outside of diet and workouts that you have to take care of to feel your best? I think sleep impacts me the most!

Goooood afternoon! I hope you all had a great day today and are ready to sail into the weekend feeling grand. If you need a little pick me up, I suggest watching Braedon’s dancing video again. It never fails to make me smile!

Earlier today I mentioned how adding a touch of plyometric moves to my workout really helps kick things up a notch. In fact, adding plyometrics to my training gives me a fun challenge every time. And the satisfaction of feeling all hard-core.

About a month ago, I shared my plyometrics obsession over on Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. Courtney assured me, however, that she wouldn’t mind me re-sharing the moves here because I wanted to make sure no one missed out on these little leg-fryers and heart-pumpers. Tuck these away to bring out to make you beg for mercy play someday soon. So - are you ready to add a little pep to your fitness? Hop on board. Quite literally!

Plyometrics: Favorite Moves & Why I Love Them

Plyometrics sounds super fancy, but basically it means jumping around like a crazy person. Why would you want to jump around like a crazy person? Well, I love plyometric training for quite a few reasons:

• they get my heart rate going to add a cardiovascular component to my strength workouts – and thus burn more calories
• they never fail to make my workout more challenging – you have to push out of the comfort zone to see results after all!
• the powerful movements strengthen my body to help improve performance in activities like running
• they make a fun addition to strength training – who doesn’t like to skip and hop?
• they use bodyweight and are extremely versatile

Ready to see my ten favorites?! I hope so…because that’s what you’re getting. This isn’t one of those choose your own story books. Although, how cool would that be?!

Burpees

I love to hate these little suckers. They work so good! Start standing. Bend down, placing your hands on the ground beneath your shoulders. Pop your feet out behind you to get in a push-up position. Jump your feet back in and jump straight upward. Repeat.

Bench Jumps

Stand in front of a sturdy bench, step, or training box that is about 2 feet off the ground. Jump up as high as you can and land softly on the bench. Step back down and repeat.

Speed Skaters

Jump to your right, landing on your right foot and stretching your left arm across your body. Quickly transition to the other side, jumping to your left foot and crossing the right arm across the body. Consistently switch back and forth until finished with the reps.

Squat Jumps

Start in a squat position with your butt back, back straight, and knees over the ankles. Jump straight up as high as you can, then land softly lowering back down to a squat. Repeat continuously for reps.

Pop Lunges

Start in a lunge position. Jump up, switching legs in the air, and land softly lowering down into a lunge on the alternate leg. Continue jumping and alternating sides for reps.

Tuck Jumps

Jump up as high as you can, either tucking your knees back (kicking your butt) or pulling them up in front of you towards your chest. Continue for reps.

Power Kicks

Pull your right knee up towards your chest. Driving down with your right leg, jump and kick forward with your left foot. Repeat on the same leg for reps, then switch sides.

Plie Jacks

Start in a low plie squat. Hop up as  high as you can and click your heels in together at the center. Land back in a plie squat. Repeat for reps.

Ski Jumps

Stand with both feet together and a slight bend in the knees. Jump as far as you can to one side, landing softly with knees slightly bent and feet still together. Hop back to start and repeat for reps.

Mountain Climbers

These aren’t technically a plyometric move, but I still love them. Position yourself in a straight arm plank position with arms straight and hands directly below the shoulders. Keep your back, hips, neck in alignment. Alternating sides, bring your knees up towards your chest in a quick and continuous motion.

There you have it! Ten of my favorite drills!

• What things do you add to your training to amp the intensity quickly?
• Ever used any of the moves above? Which is your favorite? If you’ve never done plyos – which move would you try first?