So you’ve been doing everything right – you exercise regularly, you eat right, you sleep 8 hours – yet it seems like your weight loss and muscle toning has stopped progressing, and it’s getting frustrating. What are you doing wrong? 

Absolutely nothing. Well, almost nothing. What is happening is that you’ve reached a plateau, when your body has grown accustomed to the stress that you’ve been putting on your body, or when you’re not intaking enough calories for your body’s increased metabolism etc. There are many reasons why you’ve hit a plateau, and it’s not hopeless. Here are 5 ways to break through that plateau and keep going like a boss!

Progress your workout

Having a standard routine might feel comforting, especially if you haven’t been exercising for long. But it also means your body will eventually get stronger, and that routine no longer poses a challenge for your muscles. Progress your workout in small ways – add an ankle weight when you climb, add 500m to your run, up the resistance on your gym bike, add more reps to your gym routine – and it will get your muscles burning again.

Try something new

On top of progressing your current workout, try something that you’ve never done before. Take a dance class, try a Barre workout, add swimming or running to weekend morning routines; basically anything to wake your mind and body up to something it isn’t used to. Don’t push yourself too hard though, ease yourself into it. You might be a professional MMA fighter, but unable to keep up with a Barre workout, so take it easy, safe, and have fun!

Exercise with a friend

Exercising on your own might get lonely and at times, frustrating. Try working out with a friend, and you can both push each other to try new things or be each other’s support when you feel tired. Afterall, it’s always more fun to laugh at each other after trying a dance class for a first time, and try again!

Shock your diet

For most people, weight loss equals to workout plus diet, which is not wrong, but over-cutting the amount you intake while upping the intensity of your workout might mean that you are not consuming enough calories for your body to burn. Increasing your GOOD calorie intake (emphasis on the good!) or taking more meals with smaller portions tells your body that food will keep coming in, and that it can burn calories safely without having to worry about storing fats for your daily functions. 

Make sure you are getting enough rest

Sadly, rest and recovery is often overlooked in a fitness regime because you might feel like it’s being lazy. However, rest is key to any fitness goal as it is the time that your body is building muscle and recovering. Pushing yourself to the gym when you’re tired is a good challenge, pushing yourself TOO HARD through a fatigued body might lead you to use the wrong muscles and eventually lead to injuries instead. So after a great workout, either change the target muscle group for your workout, or have a day off, relax, enjoy and feel refreshed to start again!

Remember that at the end of the day, the point is a happy, healthy and injury-free body, so enjoy your workout, but also take time to enjoy your food and chill-out nights, and Breathe!