If your workout doesn’t excite you, motivate you, inspire you, leave you feeling fulfilled…We’ve all heard and are aware of plateaus. Those pesky times in our life when little-to-no change is happening after we’ve been working our booties off. It’s super frustrating and really irritating to be working without results. So how can you avoid hitting a plateau? You gotta keep it fresh…and you want to mix it up BEFORE you hit that plateau.
Signs That It’s Time:
- You’re Bored. Does your workout routine bore you? Do you have to drag yourself out of the house, or throughout the 30-60 minutes? Are you constantly having to self-motivate internally?
- You’re Tired. Do you find yourself listless throughout the day, and getting a poor sleep cycle at night?
- You Avoid It. You make up ANY excuse to NOT have to head to the gym/run/program
- You’re Dissatisfied. After your workout, are you left feeling MEH?
HEADS UP! It’s time to mix it up. A plateau is coming in hot and you need to Jazz. It. Up.
Tips to Mix It Up:
- Get Outside. Sunlight and fresh air inspires creativity, positivity and lowers stress levels.
a. A study at the University of Essex showed that the color green, such as that found on trees, grass and other plants in nature, makes exercise feel easier.
2. Try Something New. It’s not always easy to get outside of your comfort zone, but it can lead to BIG results on your body.
a. Run long distance? Try adding in Fartleks (random intervals of high intensity)
b. Love yoga? Give Barre a try. With a similar philosophy of cultivating length and lean muscle mass, you’ll enjoy the shorter range of movements while activating your small-twitch muscles.
c. Lift weights? Add in cross-training. In between sets, bust out burpees or jump rope to spike your heart rate and recover while you lift.
d. Cross-training junkie? Add in all of the above!
3. Get with a Group. Everything is easier with a team and fitness is no exception. Not only will a group or individual hold you accountable, human interaction can boost your mood and inspire a little healthy competition.
My personal motto is to keep it fresh, every single day. I explore a multitude of settings instructors, and routines. I never repeat a workout, or a run without extensive time in between. If I’m running a familiar pathway, I always spice it up with a new playlist, and add in Fartleks, agility work or cross-training along the way. Check out our locations to see if there is a Kaia FIT near you so you can avoid plateaus and make friends along the way!
MEET COACH ANGELA:
Coach Angela is our Head of Franchise Support and Development on the Corporate team AND an amazing Kaia FIT Coach. Angela began as a certified trainer, quickly moved up the ranks to an elite Kaia coach. She then owned Kaia FIT Boulder, before deciding to join the Corporate team full-time to provide education for our coaches and owners, to help them take their businesses to another level.