Oakville Ontario News, Articles and Reviews

Claudine de Jong

At some point during your exercise program your body will fail to respond to the exercise and diet that had at once guaranteed you such great results. This is called “the plateau effect”. It is inevitable and we all experience it at some point. What once worked for your body has now slowed down.  For example; strength increases fade; fat loss slows; and lean muscle gains aren’t as apparent.

So how do we get your body to respond to exercise like it did when you first started your fitness program?

The Fundamental Formula for Results:

90% of growth comes from the last 10% of your performance.  When your body says “enough” it is because that is the limit it is used to being pushed to.  Your body is smart and will adapt very quickly to doing the same exercise at the same intensity to the point where it has become predictable to your muscles.  The mind must override this and push the body into new frontiers.

3 Tips To Breaking The Plateau:

1.   Variety, Variety, Variety!  Cross training is always the best way to keep your body guessing and you are less likely to get bored from doing the same thing over and over again.

2.   Time vs Reps – both are great but if you typically count reps when you lift weights consider doing 60-90 second intervals.  This is another great way to push your body to the limit.

3.    Try adding explosive exercises at the beginning or the end of your workout.  For example after you begin or complete your regular workout program add 20 tricep dips, 20 pushups, 20 burpees, 20 climbers, 20 power jump squats, and 20 split jumps.  This will add some shock value to your workout and push your body to new limits.

Remember you are stronger than you think.  The mind usually gives up way before the body, so don’t be afraid to push yourself and make the most out of your workouts.

Happy Training!

Well it’s that time of year again when the ghosts, goblins, and witches come out to play.  However it is also that time of year when we are haunted by the fact that our house will most likely turn into a candy store.  This can be especially frightening for those who are trying to lose weight or simply maintain their weight.

THE HAUNTING FACTS

Did you know that eating 9 small chocolate bars equals approximately 875 calories?  Since it takes 3500 calories to put on one pound of fat we just have to eat 9 bars a day for 4 days to put on one pound.  Wow! That’s how easy it is to start tipping the scale.

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