When i decide to post a new Aldebaran's training routine here, i also mention why i did that. why we change the routine? because we felt that our muscle is stop growing. We don't feel any pump in it, our body get used to, and we end up plateau for months. And when finally we know it, we realize that something has to be done. CHANGE THE ROUTINE!
When i wander, i found an article about what plateau is and how to overcome it. I just summarize it and adjust the topic so it'll be fit for calisthenic workout. But if you're interested to visit the source you can find it at the end of this page.
Maybe some of you out there still don't know what training plateau is. Trainig plateau is a condition when you are no longer progressing in your workouts. Can't do more sets, more reps in quite some time. It also make your muscle stop growing. The worse part of hitting plateau is that it could have many reasons. Could it be you're training too much, not training enough, eating too
much, not eating enough, changing your workouts too often or not often
enough.
In a nutshell, a plateau is when our bodies become accustomed to the stresses
we place upon it throughout the training. It can also become
accustomed to a certain caloric intake.THE REASONS BEHIND MOST PLATEAU
is lack of strategic modifications in training programs, nutrition plans
and listening to your biofeedback. Those are all high level views of
why you have hit a plateau. When you don't give your body a reason to
grow anymore, it won't!
6 Symptoms You May Hit A Plateau
A Loss in Strength
If you feel a significant decrease of your performance Feels like you can't finish the set you once did. It is a sign that your body doesn't have enough time to recover and grow more muscles which makes u weaker when you hit training for those specific muscle area.
You Don't Feel Any Pump
When you train but you don't feel any pump on that muscle where it should be, this is the sign that your body doesn't fully recovered. You can compare it to the first day you hit the training, or when you hit the same training after a long break. Your muscles would fill up and you would get that famous 'pump' feeling? This could be another sign that you're on the road to overtraining.
Lack of Motivation
Lack of motivation can decrease your performance during training. Personal matters, chasing other interests, and plateau can be few reasons of it. At this point, your body is tired, fatigued and does not feel like going
to train. This is pure instinct and your body will
tell your brain
"We need to recover... STOP training'
As a motivated person i know that you want to push through and try to blast the plateau. But in this case you have to do the opposite. It's hard to do but it's time to give your body enough time to recover.
No Progression When Using The Same Workout Routine
A good way to trigger that you have a progression on your workout is when you noticed that you can add an extra couple of reps every single time you hit the same routine. Those little progression lead to a new muscle through "adapt and grow" principle. As long as your hard workout also combined with proper nutrition and proper rest.
However, if there's come a time when you have not progressed in any exercise using the same routine for at least 2 consecutive workout, then it's a sign you body hit a plateau and change the routine.
This rule only applies when you have not progressed in ANY form. but if you only have a hard time at only one exercise, then you need to change it to lighter version.
Lack of Aggression
You came to train but when you hit the workout you didn't feel as powerful as you hit it before. If it because you have a bad day, then you can ignore it and keep pushing while imagine the workout is the thing that makes you feel bad so you have to defeat it!
But if it's not, if you feel down, grouchy or little depressed and don't have the same excitement you usedto have when it's time to train then you must to stop training for a while. The reason why is when you feel depressed or overwork our body, your body will release cortisol and cortisol itself works against muscle building which supports you on your training.
Decrease In Appetite
There are few reason why your appetite decreases. But, if you have a good workout and eat proper meal in getting proper nutrition you should be good at your appetite and typically hungry all the time.
But if your body feel tired, lack of sleep, and no longer feel aggressive when you train, you might also notice that your appetite is decrease. This is because our body feel tired, overwork and make our muscle receptor is no longer responsive to accepting calories and transform it into glycogen on your muscle to fuel your training.
A tired body make the metabolism sluggish and less efficient at everything it does includes nutrition assimilation and digestion.
After you know the signs, now it's time for the good stuffs. There are many ways to overcome plateau and overtraining. Before discussing the way, first thing we need to know is "What cause muscle to grow?"
When we talk about muscle grow is not just about repairing the existed muscle tissue but more to build a new one. If we stress our muscle one week with a certain amount of stress (using workout routine), our body will respond by adaptation and it will grow a new muscle tissue. So the next day we back and hit the same workout it feels easier. the reason why, is because with the new added muscle tissue our body don't want to experience the stress again. Since you know how your body works, you need to add greater stress (add more reps or change the form) to bigger your muscle tissue. But this trick is not to add too great stress to your muscle to the point you can't efficiently repair and recover.
That's why it is so important to add progressive overload in your workouts.
Don't entrapped into illogical thinking that if an hour workout is good, then two hours workout is better. it doesn't work that way. The best way to progress in your workout is to apply progressive overload using absolute overload and relative overload. Here's what absolute overload and relative overload in calisthenic.
Absolute Overload: Absolute overload is overload your muscle with heavier weight. In calisthenic, you can change you form to achieve this. for example : try to change your regular pushup with your diamond pushup with the same reps. Another way to put more weight to your training is to do it slow. Try to do a pushup in 15 seconds instead of doing normal pushup. With 15 second pushup you may accomplish in fewer rep than your normal pushup because it feels heavier.
Relative Overload: Relative overload is applying more sets and more reps in your workouts.
After you understand how your muscle grow, it's time to move on to "How to Overcome Plateau and Over Training"
1. Take a Planned Recovery Week of Rest
"Sorry, no rest day for me". Most people think that in order to get bigger muscle faster, they have to train everyday. It's a common mistake.
Your body is tear muscle apart instead of growing new one when you working out. It's only when you rest and re-fuel properly, your body will build a new tissue in its place. Take 3-6 days off every 8-10 weeks of your hard training. It's not only to refresh your body and let your muscle grow completely. Spend a week off to refresh your mind, lower your cortisol level and make you miss the day you train hard so when you back you'll get more motivated and more aggressive.
2. Post-Failure Method
Based on "Post-Failure Heavy Overloading Method", i modified it for calisthenic where i am adding fewer rep and close it with hold for a couple seconds.
For example: You can't beat more than 10 pullups in a row for two weeks, so what you need is after you do your 10 pullups, rest for about 20 seconds (i assumed rest between each exercise is about 30 seconds) then add few reps and close it with hold your pullup on the bar for a couple seconds.
This method can be done using different way. After your 20 seconds rest is end, go back to the bar and do your pullup slowly. Maybe 4 seconds up, 4 seconds down and full control. Do as many as you can and close it with hold your pullup again.
Post-Failure Method can be done while you perform a set of several exercises which every one of it has a different muscle focus.
3. Pyramid Set
The name of this technique from the source is called "Drop Set". But in calisthenic i assumed that our exercises is perform by only using our bodyweight, i prefer to called it "Pyramid Set". since we can't rack down the weight resistance like we do on freeweight training
And how we do the pyramid set?
I like to use pullup exercise as example. Hahaha
So here's how we gonna do it.
Do your max pullup and count it. Let just say it is 15 pullups. Rest for a minute then do your max pullup again. You'll notice that the result of second attempt is less than your first attempt. Let just say you got 13 pullups in your second attempt. Using those two result you'll find how your pyramid set gonna be. You figured out that the gap between those are 2 reps, so you have to decrease 2 reps down until your pyramid set is end. Here is the summary:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
15 reps 13 reps 11 reps 9 reps . . . . . 1 rep
Pyramid Set can be done if you focused on training one muscle group or in attempt to increasing your max repetition number. In Aldebaran you can do this in free training session every Wednesday.
4. Slow Superset Training
The definition of superset in short is when you perform 2 or more exercises without any rest in between. When you combine at least 2 exercices in superset you may got total of 20 reps when you finished. Instead of try to hit 10 reps of every exercise with regular speed, try to lower the rep for about 6-8 and do it slowly. I've already mentioned how to do it ealier in post failuer method. Using this technique, you'll get total of 12-16 reps but you tear more muscle tissue and with good nutritions it will gives you more power and more muscle.
5. Choose A New Rep Range Completely
In order to keep your muscle grow you have to keep it adapting. Basically, we should change the rep range every 6-8 weeks depends on your level. For example: a beginner could follow the same routine for 3 months and continue to see the progress because they are new to training and their muscle still have a lot of potential to grow and get bigger. The case would be different if it is applied to someone who advance. They have to change their reps range completely every 3-4 weeks to keep it adapting.
In basic terms, if you have hit a plateau and you have been doing straight sets of 4x10, then switch it up!
Do 4x12 or 3x8 (lower reps, slower speed).
If you have been pyramiding your sets, try to adding 1 or 2 reps at the beginning and you'll have more sets to do.
6. Create A New Set of Fresh Exercise Variations.
One of the reason why our mucle stop adapting because it's become familiar with the exercise. That's why we have to create a new set of fresh exercise variations to keep it grow. The term of "Creating new one" is that we have to find another exercise variations which still keep focus on the same muscle group.
For example if you always do your pullup in regular grip, try to do it in wide grip pullup or close grip pullup. If you getting used to leg raise in your abs training, try to pull your leg raise on bar hanging with one one or your arm.
This is what i have mentioned up front. The reason why Aldebaran has to change the routine and i'm sorry for not be able to post it here because i am not always write down the routine in paper. Be creative and always try to think a new exercise which is more challenging and it is reachable on your level.
Finally, here we are at the end of the page on How To Overcome Plateau and Over Training. I hope you guys find it useful and can be applied on your training. If you got any question feel free to ask and see you on the next article.
Cheers!
Source:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/7-ways-to-bust-any-plateau.htm
