5 Training Methods to help you break through a weight training plateau
By: Martin Ebner, Head PT and sports nutrition specialist at Ebylife
You're eating well, training hard and giving your body sufficient rest, yet you're stuck in a training rut. What gives!?
Unfortunately, weight-training plateaus happen to us all. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate or Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, you will no doubt have or will experience at least a few strength training plateaus along the way. A loss in strength, failure to hit rep counts, irritability, lethargy, frustration, lack of motivation and little to no progress are all telltale signs that you've hit a training plateau.
Now, before we get into the 5 training methods that can help you get over your training slump and back on the “gains train”, let’s have a quick look at some of the main culprits when it comes to weight training plateaus.
Poor diet
Are you eating a nutritious and well-balanced diet? If not, it’s quite possible that your ability to progress is a result of bad nutritional planning, not a lack of effort or poor attitude. Make sure to eat a variety of healthy foods and always prioritize good pre and post-workout nutrition. If you aren’t fuelling up properly before and replenishing after your workouts, it’s little wonder your results are suffering.
See our favourite: pre-workout and post-workout formulas.
Repetitive workouts
Is your training regime varied and challenging? If not and you’ve been repeating the same workouts for 12+ weeks without progress, it’s possible that your body has become overly comfortable with the demands of your current workouts. To keep your body progressing you must aim for progressive overload. This is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency, rep count, etc to allow for your musculoskeletal system to grow stronger.
Not enough or poor quality sleep
Unless you're Dwayne Johnson aka the Rock or Marky Mark aka Mark Wahlberg, 5-6 hours of sleep simply won’t cut it. You must make sure to prioritize your shut-eye. That means turning off Netflix early and aiming for at least 7.5-8 hours of high-quality sleep.
Related: How sleep affects athletic performance
Rest days
Do you allow enough recovery time between workouts? Just like insufficient sleep can affect your performance in the squat rack, if you aren’t allowing for at least 24-48 hours rest between same-muscle group workouts, you’re likely interrupting the recovery process. Remember, muscles grow and recover when they’re resting, not when they’re active. If you hit it too hard for too long without allowing for adequate recovery, you could not only fail to hit your muscle-building goals, you could burn out and/or worst-case scenario, get injured.
Tip: Aim for at least 1-2 days off per week.
Related article: How to get the most out of your rest days
You’re under-hydrated
Dehydration is often overlooked when it comes to possible culprits of poor performance. However, not only can poor hydration affect your ability to perform physically, it can also negatively impact your mental performance by increasing fatigue, promoting a negative attitude and causing poor concentration.
If you’ve fallen prey to any of the main culprits mentioned above, you should first try to rectify your training plateau by solving these first. If your diet, workout plan, sleep, rest and hydration are all on point, the following 5 training techniques could be just what you need to help break through your weight training plateau.
1. German volume training
German volume training or the 10 sets of 10 reps method is not for the faint of heart. It’s extremely challenging but also incredibly beneficial for promoting hypertrophy with some athletes and bodybuilders claiming gains of up to 10lbs of lean muscle mass in just six weeks. This is a method I've used in the past to great effect.
How to do it: it’s quite simple. Perform 10 sets of 10 reps with the same weight for each set. To do so, you’ll need to use a load that would represent around 60% of your one-rep max (1RM). To really benefit from German Volume training, use compound lifts like squats, bench press and pull-ups. Given the extreme demands and recovery required between workouts, keep it to one training session per week for each body part. Rest times should be 60-120 seconds long.
2. Pyramid training
Pyramids are a popular training protocol amongst bodybuilders for muscle growth and powerlifters for strength gains.
How to do it: There are a few different ways to perform Pyramid sets. The first is to perform an ascending pyramid. This involves starting with a lighter weight for 12 reps. Each set you increase the weight by around 10% whilst reducing the reps by 1-2 every set. The second method is a descending pyramid. You start with the heaviest weight for 6-8 reps. Each set you decrease the weight by around 10% whilst increasing the reps by 1-2 every set. If you’re really up for it, there’s a 3rd option, perform the ascending and descending phases of the pyramid.
Much like with German Volume training, Pyramids are best used with compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press and pull-ups. They can also be very demanding so make sure to allow sufficient time between training sessions. Rest times between sets should be 60-120 seconds long.
Related: Bodybuilding: A Personal Trainer's Favorite Supplements for Bulking Up
3. Rest-Pause Sets
Rest-Pause Sets are a technique where you perform an exercise to failure or near failure, rest for 5-10 seconds and continue for as many reps as possible. You can repeat this process 1-2 times. Not only does the brief pause allow you to refocus on technique, it gives the muscles just enough time to recover by 10-20%, allowing you to knock out an extra few reps and help you blast over your training wall. Rest-Pause sets can be used with any exercise at any stage of your workouts. Rest times should be around 60 seconds between sets.
4. Drop sets
Drop sets are a technique where you perform an exercise to failure or near failure, then drop (reduce) the weight by 15-20% and continue for more reps until you reach failure, drop the weight again and repeat. Unlike German volume training and pyramids, drop sets are best used for isolated muscle groups like bicep curls and calf presses at the end of your workouts. Perform 3-4 drops for 3-4 sets and keep rest times at around 60 seconds.
5. Supersets
I’m sure you probably already have a couple of supersets included in your workout plan. If you don’t, start now! Supersets is a training method that requires you to perform 2 exercises back to back without rest. The exercises can be from the same muscle group (example: bench press and cable flyes for the Chest) or from different muscle groups (example: Rows and push-ups - back & biceps and chest & triceps).
By incorporating supersets into your workouts, you increase the intensity of your workouts by performing more work in less time (more volume). Supersets can be used with any exercise at any stage during your workouts. Keep rest times to around 60 seconds.
A final word
All of the training methods above are those that I can personally recommend. I use them all regularly and have experienced some big gains as a result. Especially when trying to break through training plateaus.
It’s important to keep in mind that some of these strength training protocols are extremely demanding on the body and aren’t necessarily suitable for continued long-term use.
For best results, always practice good form regardless of the exercise or training methods you use. Prioritize good nutrition, sleep, sufficient rest, progressive overload, and make sure to mix up your training program every 8-12 weeks or until you feel you can no longer progress.
Let the gains begin!
