When you’re trying to lose your excess fat, it is quite natural that you would want to see some positive results to be sure that your hard work is paying off. But when your weight measuring scale stalls, isn’t it highly disheartening? Fitness experts call it hitting a weight loss plateau and it can be totally normal though extremely frustrating for those who are on a weight loss journey. Many of them end up discontinuing their workout routine midway, totally heart-broken and clueless regarding what went wrong in the entire process.
This article will throw some light on the common mistakes that cause someone to reach a weight loss plateau that hinders the progress. You may also be surprised to see this routine which was working for you at the beginning is no longer effective to yield the desired result. When you visit any reputed gym like Ido Fishman, they will be able to guide you on these minor mistakes that may hinder your progress by hitting the plateau.
Ido Fishman trainers are most well known in the fitness industry for their excellence in troubleshooting some of these pitfalls and helping their clients to get back on track.
Here are few common mistakes being reaching weight loss plateau that experts have identified:
- Having no workout plan
If you just walk into the gym without any workout plan it will be very difficult to stay focused on weight loss routine. It is very necessary to have a plan to ensure that the time you spend on your exercises is being utilized in the most strategic way. As per Ido Fishman trainer’s advice, you first need to know what your exact goal is, pay attention to the particular muscles you worked on during the last gym session and make sure you work on all of your muscle groups every week.
Also note down how much weight you used last time and whether you can increase it this time. Planning a workout routine in advance helps to keep track of what you should be doing in coming sessions. According to the gym experts, having a workout plan is also helpful to their clients as they can push themselves to finish their daily workout. Hence they help each of their clients to make and follow a balanced strategic workout plan that best suits their fitness goal and current capacity.
- Working out without the help of expert guidance
Many people at the beginning of their weight loss journey feel it would be easier for them to exercise at home. But exercising without any expert’s guidance is not only dangerous but also leads to reaching the stage of plateau after a few months where they don’t have any clue what was the exact reason behind not being able to reduce weight any longer. That’s why Ido Fishman Fit trainers guide their clients to the right workout schedule depending on the goals fitness level and any physical restrictions their clients may have. Trainers at Ido Fishman gym have long years of experience in this field and they can provide specific guidance as per the need and physical conditions of the participants.
That’s why if you only incorporate cardio in your exercise routine, initially you may lose some weight, but your body can lose muscle mass, too. So adding some strength training is also necessary to maintain and gain muscle mass. That’s why most people fail in their weight loss journey as they do not have proper knowledge about various fitness workout plans.
- Doing same workout every day
Ido Fishman trainers say, sometimes people continue doing the same workout everyday. This is another reason why they stop seeing any progress in weight loss. What happens is, as our body adapts to the existing exercise routine it becomes the new normal. So it is important to have a variety of workout routines to challenge our body and push it in new ways. So when you reach the plateau it can be only fixed by finding a new workout to keep increasing the challenge.
You can try with a heavier set of dumbbells. If you use a treadmill just go on increasing your mileage, or speeding up your pace.
- Not increasing the intensity at required level
As we get stronger our workouts should also become more intense. Keeping track of the heart rate is important to monitor how hard you’re exercising. Though it is not possible to give 100 percent effort on a daily basis, one can make sure whether the intensity matches up with the workout he or she is doing. This will help you to work as hard as he needs to burn sufficient calories (and trigger that afterburn effect).
- Not getting enough rest
If you exercise too hard for an extended time period, you will surely hit a plateau. Sufficient rest and recovery are much needed for growth.
If you are physically too tired from over-stressing yourself on a workout regime, take a few days off to re-energise. Don’t become worried about losing muscle mass or strength as you won’t. It is advised to take rest rather than pushing yourself through and cause injury or burnout.
Moreover, overtraining can put your body under constant stress causing damage as your body never gets the time to repair.
This way you reduce your capacity to workout, get tired quicker, and cause insomnia, stress, and undo the gains you worked hard to get. With that said, it is best to consult an experienced gym trainer who will guide you in every phase of your weight loss goal. Since the human body is a very efficient tool to adapt new changes, so when it gets accustomed to an exercise it stops responding. Ido Fishman trainers are always there to monitor the workout routines and they make sure the exercises their clients are doing are always changing in terms of weights, intensity, sets, number of repetitions and so on.