Many of us exercise on a regular basis, and we become comfortable with the same exercise routine. But is your standard routine leading to a plateau in fitness gains? Once the body becomes used to running a few kilometres each day, is it basically the same as doing no exercise?
One of the most beautiful things about the human body is its resilience and its ability to adapt to physical demands like exercise training. Our bones, muscles, tendons, heart, and lungs, will adapt to the stress exposed to it. This means if you undertake exercise that’s physically challenging, your body will adapt to this stress to ensure the same activity feels slightly easier in the future.
This mechanism of adaptation is both a blessing and a curse. The adage “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” can be applied here. If you’ve ever been bedridden due to a major illness, or gone into hibernation over the winter, you’ll be familiar with the dramatic loss of fitness associated with reduced exposure to physical stress (exercise training).
But, do we lose gains from exercise as our bodies get used to it? If we keep on with the same exercise regime, we’ll maintain the current gains in fitness, but further gains will diminish and we’ll eventually reach a plateau. These adaptive responses are called the “training effect”.from www.shutterstock.com
The training effect can only occur when adequate stimulus (exercise stress) is applied to the body, and sufficient recovery is allowed. Muscle is a great example. Many adaptations occur, but from a mechanical perspective, small micro-tears in the muscle are experienced when you lift a heavier weight than you normally would. Immediately after training, your body gets to work to heal the “damage” and rebuilds the muscle so it’s strong enough to more easily cope with those demands in the future.
Progressively increasing load and adding variation are two important progression strategies to help ensure fitness gains are realised. Progressive overload refers to frequent yet small increases in stress. If stress is increased too rapidly or with insufficient rest, you can risk overtraining and injury. So, what’s the solution to preventing a plateau in fitness?
Increase your intensity
When walking around the local lake for the first time a few months ago, you may have noticed your breathing was rapid but you could carry on a conversation (moderate intensity) or very rapid breathing where talking was more difficult (vigorous intensity). But now, you can walk the same route without a noticeable change in your breathing (light intensity). These are important cues to show that you’re now fitter.
If the time it takes you to do the same route remains the same, you are no longer applying the same stress (moderate or vigorous intensity exercise). Intensity is important. To move beyond a plateau, you will need to walk or jog faster, take a slightly more undulating course, or introduce regular short bouts of higher intensity work (run for thirty seconds or so every few minutes) so you’re exercising at a moderate to vigorous intensity.
Train for longer
Your endurance performance can be influenced by the amount of time you spend completing your desired activity. You might decide that one of your cycling, running or rowing sessions each week becomes a slightly longer one. Increasing all of your endurance workouts during the week is not recommended, as you might overdo it and injure yourself.
It’s advised to increase your running distance by no more than 10% and certainly no more than 30% per week to move beyond a plateau without increasing the risk of injury.
Exercise more often
Increasing how often you train each week can help to move beyond a plateau in your fitness.
Change the order of your exercises
Most of us are limited for time and cram both aerobic and resistance exercise into the same session, but this might cause an interference effect, resulting in smaller gains in muscle strength or size. Some strategies to reduce this effect is to separate most of your aerobic (running, cycling, rowing, swimming) exercise from your resistance training sessions by at least six hours. Alternatively, you can limit combined aerobic and resistance exercise sessions to three or fewer bouts per week.
Preventing a plateau can be tricky, but listen carefully and your body will give you clues along the way. Be mindful that sleep, good nutrition, flexibility, and recovery days are just as important for progressing your fitness as the most challenging session you do in the gym or on the road this week.
Clint Miller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.
Authors: Clint Miller, Lecturer, Clinical Exercise Physiology, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University
Wengi wetu hufanya mazoezi kwa ukawaida na tunahisi vizuri kufanya mazoezi hayo. Lakini je, utaratibu wako wa kawaida unaongoza kwenye kiwango cha juu cha maendeleo ya afya? Wakati mwili wako unapoanza kukimbia kilomita chache kila siku, ni sawa na kutofanya mazoezi yoyote. Moja ya mambo mazuri zaidi kuhusu mwili wa binadamu ni uwezo wake wa kubadilika na uwezo wake wa kukabiliana na mahitaji ya kimwili kama mazoezi ya mazoezi. Mifupa, misuli, mishipa, moyo, na mapafu yetu, yatabadilika kulingana na mkazo unaotokana na mkazo huo. Hii inamaanisha kwamba ikiwa unafanya mazoezi ambayo ni changamoto ya kimwili, mwili wako utajipatanisha na mkazo huu ili kuhakikisha shughuli hiyo hiyo inahisi rahisi zaidi katika siku zijazo. Utaratibu huo wa kuzoea hali ni baraka na laana. Mithali "kama huitumii, utaipoteza" inaweza kutumika hapa. Kama umewahi kuwa kitandani kutokana na ugonjwa mkubwa, au kwenda katika hibernation juu ya majira ya baridi, utakuwa ukijua na hasara kubwa ya fitness kuhusishwa na kupunguza mfiduo wa mfadhaiko wa kimwili (mafunzo ya mazoezi). Lakini, je, tunapoteza faida za mazoezi wakati miili yetu inapozoea? Kama sisi kuweka juu na utaratibu huo mazoezi, sisi kudumisha faida ya sasa katika fitness, lakini faida zaidi itapungua na sisi hatimaye kufikia plateau. "Mtazamo huu wa ""mfano wa mazoezi"" unajulikana kama ""mfano wa mazoezi"" na unaweza kutokea tu wakati msukumo wa kutosha (mfadhaiko wa mazoezi) unatumiwa kwa mwili na kupona kutosha kunaruhusiwa." Misuli ni mfano mzuri. Mabadiliko mengi hutokea, lakini kutoka kwa mtazamo wa mitambo, micro-machozi madogo katika misuli hutokea wakati unapoinua uzito mzito kuliko kawaida. Mara baada ya mazoezi, mwili wako hupata kazi ya kuponya uharibifu na kujenga misuli ili iwe na nguvu ya kutosha kukabiliana kwa urahisi na mahitaji hayo katika siku zijazo. Kuongeza mzigo na kuongeza tofauti ni mikakati miwili muhimu ya maendeleo ya kusaidia kuhakikisha faida ya fitness ni kweli. Mzunguko wa kupita kiasi unaendelea unarejelea ongezeko la mara kwa mara lakini dogo la mkazo. Ikiwa mkazo unaongezeka haraka sana au kwa kupumzika kidogo, unaweza kukabili hatari ya mazoezi kupita kiasi na kujeruhiwa. Kwa hiyo, ni nini suluhisho la kuzuia plateau katika fitness? Wakati wa kutembea karibu na ziwa la karibu kwa mara ya kwanza miezi michache iliyopita, unaweza kuwa umegundua kupumua kwako kulikuwa na kasi lakini unaweza kuendelea na mazungumzo (nishati ya wastani) au kupumua kwa kasi sana ambapo kuzungumza kulikuwa na shida zaidi (nishati ya nguvu). Lakini sasa, unaweza kutembea njia hiyohiyo bila mabadiliko ya kuonekana katika kupumua kwako (ng'ambo ya nuru). Hizi ni ishara muhimu za kuonyesha kwamba sasa uko katika hali nzuri ya mwili. Ikiwa muda unaotumia kufanya njia hiyo hiyo unabaki sawa, huwezi tena kutumia mkazo sawa (mazoezi ya kiwango cha wastani au nguvu). Mtazamo ni muhimu. Ili kuhamia zaidi ya plateau, unahitaji kutembea au jogging kwa kasi zaidi, kuchukua kozi kidogo zaidi undulating, au kuanzisha mara kwa mara vipindi vifupi vya kazi ya kasi zaidi (kukimbia kwa sekunde thelathini au hivyo kila dakika chache) hivyo wewe ni mazoezi katika wastani kwa nguvu. Ufanisi wako wa uvumilivu unaweza kuathiriwa na kiasi cha muda unaotumia kukamilisha shughuli unayotaka. Unaweza kuamua kwamba moja ya vikao vyako vya kuendesha baiskeli, kukimbia au kupiga makasia kila juma inakuwa ya muda mrefu kidogo. Kuongeza mazoezi yako yote ya uvumilivu wakati wa wiki haipendekezi, kwani unaweza kupita kiasi na kujeruhi. Inashauriwa kuongeza umbali wa kukimbia kwa zaidi ya 10% na hakika sio zaidi ya 30% kwa wiki ili kuhamia zaidi ya kilele bila kuongeza hatari ya jeraha. Kuongeza mara nyingi unayofanya mazoezi kila wiki kunaweza kukusaidia kuendelea na mazoezi yako. Mabadiliko ya utaratibu wa mazoezi: Wengi wetu ni mdogo kwa muda na cram wote aerobic na upinzani mazoezi katika kikao kimoja, lakini hii inaweza kusababisha athari ya kuingiliana, na kusababisha mapato madogo katika nguvu ya misuli au ukubwa. Ili kupunguza athari hii, baadhi ya mikakati ni kutenganisha mazoezi yako ya aerobic (kukimbia, baiskeli, kupiga makasia, kuogelea) na vikao vyako vya mafunzo ya upinzani kwa angalau masaa sita. Kwa mfano, unaweza kuunganisha mazoezi ya aerobic na mazoezi ya upinzani kwa vipindi vitatu au chini kwa wiki. Kuepuka mteremko wa mwili ni rahisi, lakini sikiliza kwa makini na mwili wako utakupa vidokezo. Kumbuka kwamba usingizi, lishe nzuri, kubadilika, na siku za kupona ni muhimu sana kwa maendeleo ya mazoezi yako kama kikao cha changamoto zaidi unachofanya kwenye mazoezi au barabarani wiki hii. Clint Miller haifanyi kazi, haifanyi ushauri, haipati hisa au kupokea fedha kutoka kwa kampuni au shirika lolote ambalo lingepata faida kutoka kwa makala hii, na haijafunua ushirika wowote unaofaa zaidi ya uteuzi wa kitaaluma hapo juu. Clint Miller, Mwalimu wa Kliniki ya Mazoezi ya Physiology, Shule ya Mazoezi na Sayansi ya Lishe, Chuo Kikuu cha Deakin