When Progress Slows

Your body is a machine, and its job is to adapt to the things you ask it to do, both good and bad. That’s why when you try something new, like going to the gym, it can feel difficult at first but gradually becomes easier over time.

When you first start training, progress can be incredible. At the Legion, we call this “newbie gains.” Weightlifting is such a new stimulus for your body that it responds extremely well. You get stronger quickly, build muscle, and often see noticeable changes in a relatively short period of time.

But eventually, those newbie gains fade, and you’ll notice your progress begin to slow down.

So what does that actually mean? And what can you do about it?

There are a few ways to look at a training plateau.

First, weight training doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A lot of things affect how your body performs in the gym. Everything from sleep and nutrition to stress and overall health can influence your ability to recover and make progress.

As your body becomes more accustomed to weight training, these other aspects of health and wellness become increasingly important. When training is no longer a brand-new stimulus, getting enough sleep, eating appropriately, managing stress, and taking care of your overall health become critical to continued progress.

Secondly, you may need to change the stimulus you’re giving your body. Your body adapts to what you repeatedly ask it to do, so sometimes you need to give it something different.

That could mean changing exercises, adjusting rep ranges, manipulating time under tension, changing rest periods, or altering the amount of weight you’re lifting. There are countless variables you can adjust to create a new challenge and force your body to adapt again.

Think of it as your body saying, “Whoa, this is different. I need to figure out how to handle this.”

A good example is a powerlifter. Powerlifters typically spend a lot of time lifting heavy weights for relatively low repetitions. Introducing higher-rep sets with shorter rest periods would provide a completely different stimulus, one their body isn’t as accustomed to handling.

The same works in reverse. A marathon runner is highly adapted to prolonged, repetitive endurance work. Introducing heavy strength training with low repetitions can provide a new stimulus that their body isn’t used to.

The key isn’t simply to constantly change your workouts for the sake of change. It’s to understand that your body adapts to what you repeatedly ask it to do.

When progress slows, look beyond the weight on the bar. Consider your sleep, nutrition, stress, recovery, and overall health. Then look at your training and ask whether you’re still providing an appropriate stimulus for your body to adapt to.

By paying attention to both what you’re doing in the gym and how you’re supporting your body outside of it, you can keep making progress; not just for weeks or months, but for years.