Top 5 Exercise Plateau BreakersWritten by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson
“Plateau”. That dreaded word that you do not want to hear, let alone experience. Especially if you have been diligently exercising in an attempt to get fit or lose weight. We have all experienced a plateau at some time – all of a sudden you stop losing weight or you just can’t seem to run any faster. When you hit a plateau, don’t panic. It doesn’t necessarily mean you need to work harder or spend more days at gym. Here are five ideas that may help you break through in record time.Take an Active Rest If you have hit a plateau, it may be time for an “active rest”. Take a week off from structured exercise, and instead take leisurely walks, play ball with kids, or take a yoga class. Active rest rejuvenates mind and body and allows for overworked muscles to rest and rebuild. You will return to exercise stronger and ready for new challenges. Time to Eat As you increase your fitness level, your body’s metabolism may increase and so will your calorie needs. If you hit a plateau, evaluate how much you are eating. You may need to eat more than you have in past for your body to continue to increase its fitness level. If you find you are often hungry, this is a clear sign you need to eat more to sustain your exercise program. Mix it Up If you do not vary your workout routine your body will eventually run on “cruise control”, and you will experience a plateau. Try new cardiovascular activities, or use free weights if you always use machines for strength training. Changes in your routine will surprise body and force it to adapt, bringing you to new levels of fitness. Different Day, Different Intensity Varying your activities, or cross-training is important to avoid or break through a plateau. While cross-training type of activity is often recommended, it is also important to cross-train intensity of your workouts. Specify different days of week as low, moderate or high-intensity days. Try interval training – work at a low intensity for a couple of minutes and increase to a high intensity for a couple of minutes, and repeat. If you use a heart rate monitor, be sure your average heart rate for your exercise sessions vary from day to day.
| | Your Fitness Success: Just a Phone Call AwayWritten by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson
Did you jump out of bed this morning, ready to exercise? Or was it another morning where snooze button won over your best intentions? Do you have a crazy morning business schedule, but promise yourself you will work out at end of day? How many times have you actually followed through with that promise? Most people know they should exercise, and many know how to do it, but simply can’t get motivated. Many busy people have found their answer in a growing trend in fitness known as phone coaching. You probably have heard of coaches for different facets of life – personal, business, financial, etc. Fitness coaching by phone appeals to busy person who is trying to balance work, family and personal care, and often finds their care at bottom of list. With our crazy schedules, it is hard to find time to exercise, let alone make two to three appointments a week with a personal trainer at health club. Fitness coaching by phone saves you time, frustration and money. With a phone coach you have a 20 to 30 minute weekly phone session to determine your goals and exercise schedule for week. You exercise on your own, whenever and wherever it is convenient. Tara, a phone coaching client in California liked convenience and motivation her coaching program provided: “A friend of mine at work suggested phone coaching. I said, why not? I didn't have to go anywhere. I could call my coach from work and exercise by just walking out front door of my office. Pretty soon, I found on my walks that my feet were wanting to fly over pavement, so I started walking and running, then built up to where I would run 30 minutes. It became addictive-I was actually looking forward to it!”
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