If you clearly understand and apply the principles involved in
natural bodybuilding, you will experience very rapid muscle
gains. However, over a long term, eventually a ‘sticking point’
or plateau in your training may be reached. It is at this point
in training that further muscle gains can sometimes appear
almost impossible. Sticking points are almost always a direct
result of overtraining. More often than not, this plateau can be
overcome with a brief layoff.
The reasons for such a “plateau” in muscle gains can vary.
Applying some of these simple strategies below should quickly
produce further muscle gains. Most guys mistakenly assume, when
reaching a plateau, that their maximum muscular potential has
been reached. That is simply not the case. Your true potential
is incredibly high. Very few guys come close to even
“scratching” their limits.
Now. Taking a brief layoff, is the first recommendation when
experiencing a sticking point in your training. After returning
to regular training, if you are still unable to increase your
muscle size, two further strategies can be applied to produce
bigger and better gains.
Increasing the current resistance on the exercise you are stuck
on can stimulate extra muscle growth. This increase should not
exceed more than twenty percent. For example, if you are using
100 pounds in a barbell curl for ten repetitions, the weight
should be increased to 120 pounds. Adjusting the weight like
this, will more than likely reduce your performance ability to
three or four repetitions. However, if you perform all sets with
maximum intensity of effort, the number of repetitions you are
able to perform will quickly increase to ten or more.
Sometimes, an increase of poundage is not safe, due to the
current level of weight already being used. In such cases,
adding extra weight can pose a threat to your safety. So
instead. Replace the exercise with an alternative. The change of
exercise need not be drastic. For example. If you have reached a
plateau in the bench press, you could replace it with the
incline dumbbell press. Or, parallel dips. The alternative
exercise should be included in the routine for three to four
weeks. After this period, the regular bench press can used once
again. You should notice significant gains very quickly after
doing so.
If you are still unable to increase your muscle gains after
applying these strategies and taking a brief layoff,
overtraining is usually the cause. Instead of having another
layoff, the number of sets you perform and the frequency of your
workouts should be reduced. Overtraining results from the amount
of exercise performed. Level of intensity is never the cause.
To compensate for overtraining, the amount of exercise performed
should be reduced by approximately thirty percent. If you are
currently exercising three times a week, your frequency should
be reduced to two times a week. If you are currently training
with ten total sets in a workout, that number should be reduced
to a total of seven. Look. I have never seen or heard of anyone
who after applying these strategies failed to make further
muscle gains. Any exceptions are usually due to poor nutritional
habits or not training with enough intensity of effort. Period.
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