What do you do when you reach a plateau?

Janoy Cresva · Apr 11, 2024

Hit a plateau with squats. I go every 3 or 4 days.

I'm thinking about either taking a week off and continuing to squat or switching to Bulgarian split squats.

eazy · Apr 11, 2024

Janoy Cresva said:
plateau with squats

eat more carbs prior to my squat session
change the time of day
change the rep range I'm working in for a while.
take a deload
take 20% of the bar. continue to add weight per my progression scheme. go right past where I was stuck.
increase the rest time between sets

Solomc · Apr 11, 2024

Yup. Time to change shit up.

eazy · Apr 11, 2024

have your form checked.

run a squat specific program like super squats or squat everyday.

CJ · Apr 11, 2024

Janoy Cresva said:
Hit a plateau with squats. I go every 3 or 4 days.

I'm thinking about either taking a week off and continuing to squat or switching to Bulgarian split squats.

How long has this plateau been? FYI, adding a rep or only a tiny amount of weight is NOT a plateau. Neither is a plateau over a few workouts, we can't continue to add weight/reps every single workout.

Any reason that you might have hit a wall? Are you in a calorie deficit? Not perfect sleep? Stress?

If there's nothing that you can think of, take a deload, at least a few extra days.

If you feel good after that, then you just needed a rest, and/or you're doing too much volume and/or frequency. Adjust accordingly.

If you keep hitting the same plateau, then a small change could be in order. Nothing wholesale, though.

Janoy Cresva · Apr 12, 2024

CJ said:
How long has this plateau been? FYI, adding a rep or only a tiny amount of weight is NOT a plateau. Neither is a plateau over a few workouts, we can't continue to add weight/reps every single workout.

Any reason that you might have hit a wall? Are you in a calorie deficit? Not perfect sleep? Stress?

If there's nothing that you can think of, take a deload, at least a few extra days.

If you feel good after that, then you just needed a rest, and/or you're doing too much volume and/or frequency. Adjust accordingly.

If you keep hitting the same plateau, then a small change could be in order. Nothing wholesale, though.

About 2 weeks. No stress, get enough sleep. I think I might not be resting my legs enough or sometimes I hit legs after work and I feel like Id be stronger fresh.

I'll probably take a deload then go from there.

crido887 · Apr 12, 2024

You break it

Trenbolonely · Apr 12, 2024

If it’s only squats, can you think of a technical factor that is limiting the movement or where you fail?

You can potentially address it with accessories

For example, do you pitch forward on the way up or down, or get stuck in the hole, fail due to lower back giving out?

John Ziegler · Apr 12, 2024

lfod14 · Apr 12, 2024

Janoy Cresva said:
Hit a plateau with squats. I go every 3 or 4 days.

I'm thinking about either taking a week off and continuing to squat or switching to Bulgarian split squats.

All your lifts, not just squats, gotta be phased and periodized and you'll avoid plateaus in most cases.

andy · Apr 12, 2024

switching to simillar level exercise is always a good idea.

Big-paul · Apr 12, 2024

For me it helped to take some time off. A week or two. Eat a lot and I always came back stronger. I would overtrain.That was before aas though.

lfod14 · Apr 13, 2024

Big-paul said:
For me it helped to take some time off. A week or two. Eat a lot and I always came back stronger. I would overtrain.That was before aas though.

Whenever I'd wind up with a week off (usually pissing me off the whole time) I'd always have INSANE weeks after that, yet still find it hard to take a week off, even when I know I need it.

SFGiants · Apr 13, 2024

Janoy Cresva said:
Hit a plateau with squats. I go every 3 or 4 days.

I'm thinking about either taking a week off and continuing to squat or switching to Bulgarian split squats.

Conjugate training really helps with this a lot.

Squat heavy once a week, lighter once a week but keep accessories that same.

Just swith up ways you squat, off boxes, different heights, add resistance and many other ways.

If you are not giving yourself time off or deloaded weeks, you are doing yourself a disservice.

We cause the damage to the muscles in the gym, it's food and rest that builds it and make you recover to become stronger.

A week off dose not mean no training, a good deload is just lighter weight, hence the named deload.

Deload = less weight, taking weight off the bar.

When I competed in powerlifting there was only 2 weeks out of the year I had to take an entire week off, or most of the week.

Janoy Cresva · Apr 13, 2024

lfod14 said:
Whenever I'd wind up with a week off (usually pissing me off the whole time) I'd always have INSANE weeks after that, yet still find it hard to take a week off, even when I know I need it.

Yeah. Im very hyper so I hate taking time off the gym. I need exercise

John Ziegler · Apr 13, 2024

people

Janoy Cresva said:
Yeah. Im very hyper so I hate taking time off the gym. I need the pump like a crack addict needs crack

Fixed

BigChief1 · Apr 13, 2024

Up the drugs

Big-paul · Apr 15, 2024

lfod14 said:
Whenever I'd wind up with a week off (usually pissing me off the whole time) I'd always have INSANE weeks after that, yet still find it hard to take a week off, even when I know I need it.

I know. Sometimes we push too hard. Years ago someone I respected told me to look at days off as growth days. He was right.

However with aas recovery is much faster, but still when your body is talking to you listen.

What do you do when you reach a plateau?

Janoy Cresva

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