7 ways to Destroy Strength Training

Plateaus

by Matt D’Aquino

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7 ways to destroy strength training plateaus

Over the years I have seen countless people start a brand new gym program

and within a few a week or so they start seeing results. They feel great, have

more energy and each session they seem to be lifting more and more weight.

When they first started out, they were only squatting 30kg and within weeks

they are squatting 60+ kgs and they are over the moon about it. These people are super excited and motivated to hit the gym knowing that they are going

to get stronger and stronger. But if you have been training for a while then

you know that this period only lasts a short while. Sooner or later these instant results stop coming.

The gains become harder.

The results soon become harder to get. At the start you were slapping a few more 20kg plates onto the leg press

every session and now you are at your limit and don’t want to add another

2.5kg in fear that you may squash yourself.

It is in these times that I see peoples motivation drop. At the beginning these

athletes were first hitting the gym four days a week and now they are now only managing two or three sessions a week. This purely comes down to the

fact that if you want results, you are going to have to push hard and work

hard for them. Especially when you hit a plateau.

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”

The longer you train and the more refined you become the harder it is to see

results. This is the main reason why you need to be consistent with your training. The more consistent you are the faster the results will come.

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Put yourself Usain Bolt’s shoes. He would train thousands of hours in the

hope of not only maintaining his speed, but to gain an extra .01 on his world record time. He is so refined that he would have to not only be consistent

with his training, but he would have a few slight tweaks in his training

regime to help him get results and bust through any plateaus he may have.

In this months article I am going to share with you 7 easy ways to bust through your strength-training plateau. By adding these tweaks into your

strength and conditioning program you will start to see small gains in the

gym and prevent yourself from plateauing, and if you are plateauing here is how you bust out of it.

Method #1 Change your grip

One of the easiest ways to change up your strength training routine is to

alter the position of your grip. Rather than doing close grip bench press all the time why not go for a wide grip bench? Instead of doing wide grip chin-

ups, try doing a week of close grip chins.

Rather than doing normal stance squats why not try a week of sumo squats instead. With your deadlifts why not do some deadlift variations such as half

or quarter deadlifts, suitcase deadlifts or any other deadlift variation you can think of.

By changing your grip you will not only keep your motivation high, but you

will also keep your body guessing.

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Method #2 Adjust the weight

Try and something you have never done before. Maybe decrease the weight

and increase your reps for a week OR increase the weight and drop the rep

range for while. Once again this will keep training fun but also keep your body guessing.

Method #3 Alter sets and reps

One of the easiest ways to burst through your plateau is to alter the amount of sets and reps you do. I once overheard a guy in the gym say, “I have been

on a 5 sets by 5 rep program for 7 years now.” When I heard him say this I

cringed on the inside. If this was true, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he was plateauing in his training. If you have been doing the same program year

after year then your body isn’t getting shocked into doing something else, so

it doesn’t need to adapt. Change up your sets and reps every now and then. Simply add in two extra sets onto your squats or add in an extra twenty reps

onto your bench press. This will help keep your body guessing and keep you

in a state of change.

Method #4 Rest periods

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Why not shorten or lengthen your rest

periods every now and then.

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Method #5 Time under tension

I see countless people in the gym doing their pushups as fast as humanely

possible. I often ask these people to try and perform 20 pushups at a slower pace. I usually ask them to do a pushup taking five seconds on the way down

and five seconds up. This is what strength and conditioning coaches call,

‘time under tension.’ It simply means the muscle is under load for a longer period of time, which in turn will work it out harder then you ever thought

possible.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Slow down the rep range and feel the burn.

Method #6 Equipment type

Changing what equipment you use is another easy way to bust through your

strength training plateaus. Rather than using barbells all the time for bench

press, squats and deadlifts. Why not use dumbbells, sandbags or even kettlebells and replace the bar.

This not only keeps your routine changing but it will also help shock your

body into lifting in a slightly different range to what it is normally familiar with.

This also works if you are always using dumbbells. Change it up and use a

barbell for a few weeks.

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Method #7 Exercise type

This one is super obvious. Just change exercises. I see some people do the

same four movements each and every time they hit the gym. Rather than

doing chin-ups every session why not do lat pulldowns or seated row. Rather than doing pushups all the time opt for dumbbell or barbell bench press

instead.

Instead of squats each workout why not use the leg extension and hamstring curl.

By changing the movements in the gym you will be more excited to go and

you will also keep your body guessing, growing and busting through any training plateau.

Essential Strength Training Exercises for Competitive Judoka

There are a number of exercises that I believe are non-negotiable for

competition Judoka. I believe that the exercises below should be part of your strength and conditioning program a few times a year.

- Squats and all variations (front squats, zercher squats, bodyweight squats, jumps squats etc)

- Overhead Press and all variations (push press, dumbbell press, seesaw press, puch jerks, arnold presses etc)

- Clean and Jerk (if you have a qualified Olympic lifting coach

overseeing you

- Deadlifts and all variations (sumo, dumbbell, partial deads etc)

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- Chinups and rowing variations (wide grip, close grips, Judogi chins,

underhand, overhand, alternate, rope chins, bent over row, seated row,

db row etc)

- Rotational core movements (tornardo ball movements, barbell

rotations, Russian twists, barbell twists etc)

- Miscellaneous movements (rope climbs, prowlers, sled drags, battleropes, kettlebell swings, sandbag swings etc)

For more info and Judo specific strength programs check out my Strength Training for Judo package at www.judostrength.com.

With these Strength Training for Judo you will develop:

ü Awesome upper body strength and power

ü Lower body, strength and power

ü Increase your entire strength and power generation

ü Improve full body balance and co-ordination

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ü Increase your agility making you harder to throw

ü Full-body speed, agility and quickness

ü Unbreakable grip strength

ü Strong rotational core strength

ü Mental toughness

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