Why is it that you have been going to the gym for 3 months and have yet to see any results? We are going to focus on your training volume and how you can make changes to get out of your training plateau.
Workout Routine
Typically a training plateau is described as seeing results in the first month or two and then it levels off or worse, declines. We have all experienced it at one point in our training, so how are some able to bounce out of it quickly versus others who get discouraged enough to stop training? Changing your workout routine and aspects of your training is highly important. Three aspects you can change: Sets, Reps, Weight Used.
Training Volume
An easy way to manipulate your training and progress constantly is to manipulate your training volume. Volume is your Weight Used x Sets x Reps or Weight Used x Total Reps. This would then show the total amount of weight you pushed, pulled, moved. Volume can be calculated for a single exercise, body group, or duration (day, week).
Practical use
Say you squat 100 lbs for 3 sets of 8 reps. We will calculate that as 100 x 8 x 3 or 100 x 24. Your volume for that exercise would be 2400 lbs. I explain this because volume can be an easy indicator if you are making progress throughout your training. Now you can make adjustments yourself if you catch yourself staying at similar sets, reps and not increasing your weight.
Let's use the example above to show 1 way you can increase the volume during and weight in 6 weeks.
Week 1: 3x8, 100, 2400
Week 2: 3x10, 100, 3000
Week 3: 3x12, 100, 3600
•Week 4: 3x8, 110, 2640
•Week 5: 3x10, 110, 3300
•Week 6, 3x12, 110, 3960
Manipulating your training volume can propel you out of a plateau and begin climbing the gains again. Make adjustments to your volume by changing one of these three aspects: weight used, reps, sets. Begin doing this within your training and track your workouts if you happen to find yourself in a plateau. Progressing through volume is best if all the workouts are logged so you can easily calculate progressions. Follow us on social media for tips, motivation, and exercises for your life style.
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