Break That Plateau

19.15 in break, Money, plateau, that

If you follow the same workout program for too long, you will start to see diminishing results (gains in muscle size and strength) over time as your body adapts to the stimulus placed on it.

You want to grow as fast as possible, right? A gym program is only as good as the strength and size gains it brings you. There might be nothing wrong with your program, but if you’re doing the same thing over and over, your body will have adapted and stop growing to meet the demands.

Signs of a plateau:

-          You aren’t increasing your reps and weights regularly and are stuck in the same place you’ve been at for 2 weeks or more.

-          You aren’t losing fat / building extra muscle (Your body weight stays the same).

-          Your gym regime seems more like a daily routine than a challenge for your body to overcome.

-          The work seems easy, but you still reach failure and can’t push past your previous bench marks.

Please note: Although OVER TRAINING and PLATEAU’s can often interlink, they are not the same thing; it is possible to over train without hitting a plateau, and it is possible to hit a plateau without over training.

Signs of over training (if you’ve overtrained then you need to remedy that instead of trying to break a plateau):

-         Sleep: you suffer from insomnia or oversleeping

-          Lack of motivation (could also be present in a plateau, but not as predominantly).

-          Diet: lack of appetite or constant cravings for high calorie / fast foods.

-          Moodiness

-          Halted/ diminishing physical performance

-          Depression (yes, too much gym could cause depression, who knew!?)

-          Muscle spasms and twitches

-          Lowered immune system, falling ill more easily and more frequently

-          You reach failure quicker on your reps with the same weight

-          Hyper-activity and loss of mental focus throughout the day

-          Constant unquenchable thirst

-          It becomes harder to follow your normal daily routine (waking up, working, spending time with friends and family, bed time, etc.)

-          Regular feeling of nausea

Back to breaking that plateau

8 ways to break a plateau:

1)      Take a rest week

Taking a rest week off might be all your body needs. Your body adapts between workouts the best it can, but there is also a long-term recovery that the body can use to maximize your progress. It is recommended to take a rest week off every 10 weeks you spending pounding the weights so that your body can repair on a deeper level. This time will allow your body to re-align muscle fibers, strengthen bones and joints and stock up in inter-muscular nutrients without the stress of quickly recovering as best it can before the next workout. Many people have larger muscle growth in their rest week than normal! They often return to the gym with increased strength, stamina and motivation.

It is recommended to spend two days during this week at the gym - only stretching and relaxing in the sauna, which will help maximize your body’s recovery.

It’s hard to stay away from the gym when you’re as dedicated and addicted as most of the bodybuilding greats. It can sometimes feel like we shrink a little when we take off. Try this out at least once and see how you feel when you return. In the meantime, use this opportunity to clean your house, spend some extra time with the family or do something fun. Taking a nice, relaxed walk can do wonders for you both mentally and physically during these times.

2)      Diet: Add or Subtract Something

You’ll be surprised how often this is the case. Are you taking enough calories to sustain further muscle growth? Are your macro (protein, carbohydrate, fat, fruit and vegetable) portions in order? There are many ways to customize your diet:

1.       Try a simple/fast-acting carbs straight after workouts to replenish glycogen stores in your muscles quicker

2.       Increase protein and water intake

3.       Increase your calories

4.       Switch out your protein sources (too much whey, too little fish?)

5.       Add micro-nutrients like vitamins, minerals or oils

6.       Check your supplements, are they really perfect or is it time for a change-up?

7.       What can you add or subtract to help your body get its growth back?

3)      Go on a creatine cycle

A good pre-workout creatine cycle will give your body a boost to blast past that wall it can’t climb over. Start with a half dose for 2 weeks, a full dose for 2 weeks, and then another half dose for the following 2 weeks (keeping the same reps and weight numbers you did on the full dose). Sometimes our bodies just need a good push in the right direction to get it growing again.

4)      Change the program

How long have you been following the program you are currently on? Under 3 months? Go back to diet. Over 3 months? Then it’s time to change it up! You can do this by either changing the whole program completely (a standard 5-day split to a Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) program) or a few small things on the program if you want to keep at it a little longer.

There are many things you can change in your existing program to bring back your body’s magical adaption mechanism:

1.       Rep Range

Many people cycle between a week of higher reps and a week of lower reps to keep the body in its primal adaption phase. Try using heavier weights for less reps or lighter weights for more reps. This has a great counter-plateau effect.

2.       Rep time

Try increasing your TUT (time under tension) with each rep. If your reps are usually under a second, take a full second to lift the weight, another second to hold it there and two seconds to lower the weight back to your resting position. The burn you feel in your muscles after doing this will definitely be an indicator of a greater stimulus being put on the muscle.

3.       Number of sets

Change the number of sets to a higher or lower number. Would your muscles benefit form a few more sets per exercise or are you doing too many sets for them to recover sufficiently before the next session? You can also add a Power set at the end of your session to pump the muscle you want to grow.

4.       Exercises Used

Switch rows with pull-ups, cable presses for bench press and hack squats with knee extensions and you will instantly be out of your plateau.

5.       Grip

Reverse the grip on all your exercises to work the muscle from an angle it is not used to, and force it to adapt to the new stimulus.

6.       Set style

Swap the standard 8, 8, 8 set for a pyramid style, drop set and super-set to keep forcing your muscles to grow.

7.       Intensity

Try decreasing the amount of time you rest in-between sets, now muscles will need to get stronger and bigger to be able to cope with less recovery time they have before being recruited to work again.

8.       Order

Change the order of exercises you do, so that different fibers in the muscles are recruited at different exercises. The bench press might be exhausting your triceps before you hit the dips. Now your triceps do more on the dips and your chest will need to step up to complete the bench press afterwards.

9.       Rest in-between workouts

You might be resting too little in-between sessions that use the same muscles, so that they aren’t at their full potential next time round, or you might be resting too long meaning that they have rested too long and have started going back to normal before they are used again.

5)      Get more sleep

You might feel OK, but maybe an extra hour or two of shut eye might be all your body needs to recover to the max for its next session under pressure. Most muscle growth happens when you sleep, so it’s important that we get enough of it and have the right nutrients in our bodies when we sleep so that our muscle can do what we want them to – Grow!

6)      Suntan!

Exposing the skin to the natural rays of the sun increases our testosterone hormones through the vitamin D our skin makes during contact with the light. No wonder why our energy levels are lower, grow slower and are just plain lazy during winter!

7)      Add a friend

Studies show that males particularly perform better at physical activities when their peers can see them. Some healthy competition between you and a bud will increase your muscular output. This might sound crazy, but it is true.

8)      Add music

Studies also show that the music that pumps you up can increase your body’s physical performance by around 30%. Imagine beating your personal best just because the right track is playing!

My top 3:

Everybody hits a plateau (although some plan ahead and make changes BEFORE they plateau). My personal favorite ways to speed things up are:

A.      Taking a rest week

I like the idea of getting a deep recovery every few weeks. I personally feel like it sets my last week’s gain to my new cycles’ starting point. After a week of rest, my new size and strength become my ‘starting’ stats for me to improve on before my next rest week.

B.      Going on a creatine cycle

I feel like creatine can be the jumper cables to a body that wants to start slowing down (its embedded in our bodies to save energy whenever it can, and it will only grow when it feels like it has to in order to survive). A helping hand from mister C never hurts.

C.      Changing my program

I generally do a rest week, then a creatine cycle and then a total change in program (different exercises, reps, split, everything). I love the soreness in my muscles when starting a new program because I feel like the muscle is now forced to grow even bigger.

Like this post? Disagree with what’s being said? Want to add something? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments below!

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Creatine and its Different Forms

15.17 in and, athletes, benefits, bodybuilders, break, creatine, different, drinking, for, forms, how, its, juice, lemon, make, Money, of, plateau, that

Creatine has gained a lot of popularity in bodybuilding and sports circles over the last few years. Today we look at what creatine actually is, what it does and the different forms that it is available in.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is an organic acid that contains nitrogen. It is organic because its molecules contain carbon and it is acidic because it has a pH level less than 7. Dont let the word acidic scare you; acids are very common in the body. For example, proteins are broken into amino acids in our bodies. Nitrogen is needed to make protein for new tissue (like muscles, skin and hair).

Creatine is a natural substance found in meat and fish and in our bodies naturally. It is not essential to consume creatine to sustain human life, because our bodies produce creatine naturally from the amino acids glycine, arginine and methionine.

Creatine has the primary role of supplying energy to the body, particularly the muscles. Energy cannot be created with creatine.

Creatine as a Pre-Workout Supplement

Creatine is often sold as a pre-workout supplement because it increases the bodys ability to produce energy at a faster rate. Since the body can produce more energy, it is able to achieve a greater work load during workouts, which in turn leads to greater strength and muscle growth. This allows people to achieve their workout goals at a faster rate than normal.

Creatine is very effective in boosting anaerobic performance, such as weight lifting, sprinting and other activities that require short bouts of energy.

Creatine as a Muscle Building Supplement

Taking a creatine supplement leads to greater weight gain, initially in the form of water retention and then later in the form of muscle growth. By pulling water into muscle cells, creatine increases protein synthesis. There are many protein shakes and meal replacement supplements that contain creatine to boost muscle growth and recovery.

The Risks of Taking Additional Creatine as a Supplement

A great deal of research has been done on the possible health risks of taking creatine as a supplement, of which almost all studies conclude that creatine is safe to use. There has been some speculation that creatine damages the kidneys or the liver, but no studies have been able to prove this so far or find any correlation between creatine consumption and kidney or liver damage. However, it is still recommended that people with any kidney or liver issues avoid creatine supplementation.

It is generally recommended that not enough studies have been done to prove that creatine supplementation is safe for people under the age of 18, since the long-term effects of creatine during the growth phase before adulthood are not completely known.

Negative side Effects

Studies have not shown any negative side effects that could cause long term health problems in adults so far, however some people do experience short-term negative side effects because creatine retains a lot of water. For example, creatine monohydrate would have a lower absorption rate than other forms of creatine. This means that the unused creatine sits in your gut until your body expels it with other waste products. People can experience nausea, bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea and cramps if a large amount of creatine sits in the gut, pulling too much water into it. 

Does Creatine Actually Work?

The effects of creatine vary from one individual to the next, since bodily function, genetic make-up and substance interactions differ between people. There have been some cases where people dont get any of the positive benefits of creatine after weeks of use, where others benefit greatly in contradiction. One key example of the different levels of benefit that individuals receive from creatine is the example of diet. Since creatine is only found in meat and fish foods, vegetarians would generally see a much greater effect from creatine supplementation than people who eat a lot of meat and fish, who are already consuming creatine.

Additionally, some forms of creatine work better than others, not all creatine is equal. Some people respond better to some forms of creatine when others respond better to other forms. In general, creatine in powder form has shown to be more effective in studies, compared to liquid forms (even so, some people report having a much more positive effect using the liquid form).

Different Forms or Creatine

There are different forms of creatine which can be bought at stores as supplements. Here is a list of the most common forms and their key characteristics.

Creatine Forms by Processing

Creatine Monohydrate

• Is the most popular form of creatine
• It is the most basic, natural form of creatine which is the least processed
• It is less soluble in water compared to most other creatine forms

Micronized Creatine

• Is basically micronized creatine monohydrate
• Micronizing the creatine breaks it down into smaller parts
• This increases the amount of the creatine that is absorbed and actually used by the body

Creatine Serum (Liquid Creatine)

• Is basically creatine monohydrate which has been dissolved in water
• It is supposed to be absorbed more easily, but some people report no effects of this form whilst others report that it works well
• Some argue that this liquid form of creatine breaks down because of the water content over time, rendering it useless

Buffered Creatine

• Is made at a higher pH level than regular creatine monohydrate
• It supposedly has the same effects as monohydrate without the possible negative side effects like stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and cramps. 
• It is also believed that it does not break down as much as monohydrate, meaning that less in needed for the same effect as monohydrate

Creatine Forms by Bonding with Other Substances

There are many other creatine forms that companies create by bonding it with other substances, and many more will be created by these companies in the future. 

Creatine Ethyl Ester

• Is creatine combined with ester on a molecular level
• Is said to be the form of creatine with the highest absorption percentage 
• Apparently, everybody feels the positive effects of this form of creatine and doesnt cause any negative side effects like stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and cramps

Effervescent Creatine

• Is creatine combined with sugar/sodium and a bubbling agent
• Has better absorption and taste than regular creatine

Creatine Citrate

• A form of creatine with molecules (citric acid) that increase absorption
• It is more water soluble and absorbent, but is needed in a higher dose for the same effect as creatine monohydrate 

Di Creatine Malate / Tri Creatine Malate (Tri is More Absorbent)

• Another type of creatine that is bonded with molecules (Malic Acid) to increase absorption
• This creatine form is also more water soluble

Creatine Orate

• Another form of creatine bonded with a molecule (Orotic Acid)
• Orotic Acid increases energy production in the body. So basically, creatine orate has two different substances that both increase energy at the same time

Creatine HCL (Hydrochloride)

• This is creatine bonded with hydrochloric acid
• It is more water soluble and absorbent than monohydrate
• Many say that this is the best form of creatine around at the moment, whilst others say that it does not work

Creatine Nitrate

• Creatine that is bonded to nitrate
• This form has the benefits of creatine combined with the additional benefits of nitrate, which also aids the bodys energy production systems

Final Word of the Day

Creatine can work for you, but remember that we are all different and respond to it differently. Fortunately, there are many forms that are available for you to try and see what feels and works best through trial and error. Be safe and dont use creatine if you are under 18, have any kidney or liver damage or are cutting for a bodybuilding show (because creatine retains water). STAY STRONG!

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