When you first start working out…it’s great right?

Everything is new and fun…the adrenaline is flowing, self-confidence is rising, and the best part is…

…You start seeing some results.

Maybe you drop 11 pounds…lose a few inches…drop a size…put on some lean muscle and get stronger. You really do feel like you can take on the whole world… I like to call it the beginner’s glow.

But then…

As you get in better shape, you realize that it’s getting harder and harder to see more results…It’s damn near impossible.

And the glow starts to fade.

I’ve seen it happen with myself and so many other times with clients…and it usually happens like this.

• Training starts…you are nervous but optimistic.
• The workouts and new nutrition start working…your getting more and more into it.
• You’re in the full swing of things…training 3 times a week…drinking protein shakes and eating healthy…everything is going great.
• You start seeing results and your getting even more excited…you can’t wait until you start seeing some incredible results…dare you say 6 pack?
• 1 month later…no 6 pack? You give it another month.
• Still no 6 pack and then you start doubting yourself…work picks up…you lose s little focus.
• Another month goes by and you’re down right pissed off and frustrated. You go from honking your horn to flipping the bird and your ready to give it all up.
• Your shaking your head wondering what your not doing…why your not seeing results…but you still have that annoying last 10 pounds still on you that you need to drop before summer and you told yourself… this was going to be your year.
• You know something has to change.

Well…

I know how you feel.

To hit a plateau and get your fitness progress kicked in the teeth.

But don’t worry…

…I’ve been to plateau hell and back…And now I’m here to help you break through that wall and get back to seeing results.

Below… I’m going to share 4 -Super Important Fitness Plateau Breaking Tips…so that you can blow past any doubts and feelings of quitting.

These are tips that experts and trainers fail to tell you…and you have to understand that it’s a lot more than following a formula.

It can’t be just... training + nutrition = results…

What a lot of personal trainers forget is that you are person…not a math equation…

A person with individual problems…

And…

Remember that all this information is great but…without application it’s useless. So make an effort to try one or two of these things and if they work for you great…

If they don’t…forget about it and move on.

All right…here we go.

How to Lose The Last Annoying 10 pounds And Blast Through Your Fat Burning Plateau

1. Step Up Your Intensity

A lot of people misinterpret intensity.

They see it as a constant and never changing pace or level. There’s easy…hard…then intense.

But what they fail to see is that intensity is constantly changing just like your fitness levels are changing.

As your fitness levels get better…it gets harder and harder to train with intensity. Sometimes you get in such good shape you don’t even remember what intense feels like and you wouldn’t see it even if it spit in your face.

Think back to when you first started training…

Do you remember the first 3 or 4 workouts you did?

Brutal right?

You were probably sore for days, vowing to never go back to the gym again because you didn’t want to walk around at work…looking like you went horseback riding the day before.

The workouts were brutal because you were brand new…and it was just simply fu*kin hard for someone who hadn’t trained in awhile to start working out.

You were training at a beginning level of intensity.

It’s like watching The Biggest Loser… contestants walk or jog on the treadmill and just pour out gallons of sweat.

They look like they’re training harder because…

They are… for them it’s a ridiculously intense level.

But as they lose weight, get better in shape, and start putting on lean muscle…they have to start increasing the difficulty, the effort, and the intensity of the workouts.

You need to do the same if you want to break through your fitness plateau and start seeing results again.

You’re at another level of fit from when you first started… You Need To Step It Up!

2. Finding New Motivation

There are times when it’s impossible to get motivated. When your ideal day is sleeping in and watching daytime television.

And then some days it’s just easy to get up and kick ass.

You wake up refreshed…make a solid breakfast packed with lean protein and healthy carbs…take a positive attitude with you to work…train your ass off at the gym and just be productive.

But it’s hard to keep this going and over time…

…It starts to go.

I like to visualize motivation as a big cup of juice.

Every time you read something…hear something…or see something that motivates you…your cup get’s refilled with juice.

But…every time you rely on motivation to help you get going…you drink some juice.

Sooner or later…your cup is going to be empty and your going to need to refill it.

So…

Here are some things you can do to refill your cup… get re-motivated so you can be more productive and start seeing some results.

• Music

Music is awesome because it can single handedly change your mood.

I was at a comedy show recently and in one of the opening acts the comedian did a bit on listening to music in the car.

He would play music and show how he would react to it if he were driving.

• Emo…he would be sad.
• Rock and Roll…he would head bang.
• Gangsta rap…he would lean his seat back and start bumpin his head.
• Reggae…he would roll up a …well I think you get the idea.

It was pretty entertaining…but what I got from it was how much music can affect my mood and motivation.

When I need to lift heavy and get a little intense but feel a little tired… I turn up the Metalica and it can push me to be better…when I’m reading and I need to focus…I like to listen to classical music.

So the next time you need a little motivation…an extra push.

Load that I-pod with a kick ass play list… And go make yourself better.

Read

Ask anyone that knows me, and they will tell you… I love to read.

It wasn’t always like this…I used to only read magazines…until I discovered training books and motivational books.

I especially liked the motivational books because it offered an opportunity to escape from everything and it would transport me into a really positive place.

Some books offered real life application and techniques to improve motivation.

Other books just told inspiring stories.

Whether it was a rags to riches story…an individual overcoming all odds

to become successful story…

The great thing was…

…it reminded me that everyone was meant to be great and live a full life.

Reading is an awesome way to refill your cup with motivational juice…

But don’t take my word for it…check it out for yourself. (sorry I had to throw it in there so I could find a picture of the guy from reading rainbow…hilarious)

Take “Me” Time

Sometimes the best thing for you is to be alone…

To get away from everything that’s busy and the things that make your life crazy…

So you can just sit…think…and recharge.

This small tip is easily underestimated and often overlooked.

But when you need to find some motivation…you’d be surprised at how much and how well you can motivate yourself…but you have to give yourself a chance to.

Workout

Get up off your ass and head to the gym. Even if you’ve been feeling crappy about your progress…just start moving.

The endorphins released when you start working out gives you a natural high…

And think about your time at the gym as an escape…an escape from everything else in your life.

In the gym…it’s just you and the workout.

The workout doesn’t care what your wearing…your ridiculous boss…your piece of shit car… or who you have to see next week…

The workout only cares about you.

It’s time to release some stress…get motivated… and work on you!

Watch These If You Need A Little Extra Motivation!

3. You Will Get Stuck If You Stay In Your Comfort Zone

Stepping out of your comfort zone is hard.

I mean…who the hell in their right mind wants to put themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

Like… I would never sign up for a solo singing contest in front of a bunch of people.

Because…well number 1…

I’m not good at singing

And number 2…

That  situation would totally suck!

But in fitness…stepping out of your comfort zone is so important because comfortable won’t get you anywhere…it’s the uncomfortable that produces results.

For me… uncomfortable in fitness was NUTRITION.

I loved taking my workouts to uncomfortably intense levels…pushing it to edge.

But when it came to nutrition…

…I was pretty much a little baby.

Uncomfortable was preparing meals for the week so I could strategize and avoid temptation…

…Uncomfortable was forcing myself to eat a full serving of vegetables at every meal…and finally uncomfortable was giving up everything I liked to eat that contributed to my weight gain and body fat.

But I had to be uncomfortable in order to see results and break through the plateau I was in.

Look to be uncomfortable…in your workouts, in your nutrition, in your strategies to avoid temptations…everything.

4. Change Your Goals As Your Body Changes

So noticing and adapting as your body changes is becoming a common theme in this article…because it’s important.

We often run transformation contests at my gym and it’s awesome to see people make goals and reach them.

But something really cool happens every 8-week contest that we hold.

Halfway through…a lot of the contestants already reach their goals…

…And then the funny thing happens…they come to me and ask what they should do.

Well…

Make new goals…so you can reach them too…and a lot of them reach those second goals too.

So as your body changes and get’s in better shape… you need to evaluate your goals and decide if they need to be changed as well.

You can’t stop once you reach your goals…you need to keep moving forward.

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

– Michelangelo

Tweak Your Workouts With These Training Tips To Kick Start Your Results

Now I want to introduce some methods you can incorporate into your actual workouts that can help increase the level of work and kick start your results.

A lot of the times…

We forget how amazing our bodies really are. They are so effective at adapting and progressing…

We need to continually stay on our toes and make things harder.

Well here are some sure fire ways to sling shot you to some serious results!

1. Shorten Rest Periods

Do you monitor your rest times?

If not…start.

Or maybe you find yourself starting your next set when you feel like your ready to go?

This is a big and commonly made mistake that a lot of gym goers make…even die hard gym rats make this mistake.

They do one set…take a sip of water, wait long enough until they feel like they can lift it the same amount of times without dropping it on their face.

If they’re more tired in the later sets…then they’re taking a longer rest.

I can tell you right now that this is stupid.

One way you can blast through a plateau and increase the amount of work your body has to do is monitoring your rest times and slowly starting decrease it.

Your making your body, work harder by giving it less time to recover…so now on your second set…

You will be doing the same amount of work with less recovery…and now your body to use more energy.

More Energy = More Calories Burned

Now that is how you get results.

2. Sprint Interval Day

Try this sprint interval challenge to take your fat burning results up another level.

If you’re not breathing hard or sweating your ass off…

You’re not sprinting and working hard enough…

The Challenge:

Sprint for 30 seconds followed by 1 minute of active recovery.

Active recovery does not mean laying down on your back and breathing hard.

Active recovery is walking back or jogging back…you must stay moving.

Repeat for 15 minutes or for 10 rounds.

3. Change Your Program

Your body has the amazing ability to adapt to a training program within 3-4 weeks.

Ask yourself…

How long have you been doing the same things in the gym?

If it’s been longer than 4 weeks…you need to make a change. You need to be continually trying to make things harder.

Here are some ways you can increase the difficulty of your workouts.

• Increase weight
• Increase reps
• Increase sets
• Try different and more complex exercises
• Shorten rest periods
• Superset exercises or even tri-set exercises
• Raise the incline or lower to decline
• Train single leg or single arm
• Train with circuits

4. Journal And Dissect Your Nutrition

Have you ever run straight into a fat burning plateau?

I have and for me I knew exactly why…

My nutrition was slipping and I was starting to fall into the temptation of Girl Scout cookies…ice cream…carbs…etc.

But sometimes the mistakes in your nutrition aren’t as easy to pinpoint as ice cream.

I mean come on…we all know ice cream is bad but…

Did you know fruit can be bad for you too if your trying to lose weight?

See…

Not so easy to identify what’s keeping you from seeing results right?

What I did to help me identify the more tricky areas in my diet was create a Nutrition Journal…

This way I would be able to see everything I was eating and it was easier to pinpoint my trouble areas.

Now you can go to websites like sparkpeople.com or fitday.com and track everything on there…

FOR FREE.

Not only will it log your daily food intake but it will also break all nutritional facts down.

It’s a great way to do a progress report on your nutrition and give you an opportunity to fix any problem areas.

Okay… I think that’s enough for this post.

Remember advice is great…but useless if it’s not applied.

So try applying just 1 or 2 of these things into your fitness training lifestyle and if it works great…

If it doesn’t throw it out and move on.

Also…

…if you know anyone that could benefit from reading this post…all I ask is you pass it on…email it out…facebook post it.

My number 1 goal is to help people embrace their training lifestyle and I know I can reach more people with your help.

Keep kicking ass!