How to Break Through a Fitness Plateau After 40

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As your body changes, your nutritional needs might change too. So if you've been in a calorie deficit for fat loss, your metabolism may have slowed down, and it might be time to take a break. I love refeeds. A refeed is where, on the weekend, you spend time up in your maintenance calorie numbers and macro numbers, and then you go back into the deficit on Monday.

Yo, you guys, what's going on? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, or if this is one of your first episodes, hey, you guys, welcome to the show. I'm stoked that you're here with me, Nikkiey Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. On this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

I am your host, Nikkiey Stott, and in today's episode, episode 188, we're going to talk about what I feel like every person encounters along their journey at some point: hitting a plateau. So I want to talk about breaking through plateaus and how to overcome them in your fitness journey. Whether you are struggling to lose fat, trying to build more muscle, or just feeling stuck in your routine, this episode is for you.

I hope that by the end of this episode, you understand, most importantly, that plateaus are inevitable, that they're going to happen, and that it's okay. I'm probably saying this at the beginning of the podcast, but hopefully you will understand more why towards the end of the podcast, and be okay with the plateaus, and just welcome them in. Because there's one specific word that will hopefully resonate with you throughout this entire podcast episode, that you will understand more about by the end, so you can be more accepting of plateaus as they happen.

Okay, anyway, let's first start by understanding what a plateau is and why they even happen. I'm also going to break it down into some science, but try to keep it as high level as I possibly can, so you guys can follow me.

A plateau is the point at which your progress stalls, right? Despite doing your regular workouts, despite eating your normal nutrition on a daily basis, within your calories and your macros. And dude, I get it. It can be incredibly freaking frustrating, right? One day you're seeing the results, and the next day it feels like all your hard work just isn't paying off. And you're like, what is happening? I need to change all the things.

Actually, this brings up a really good story. At the beginning of my fitness journey, for the first year and a half of trying to figure things out, the things that I was trying probably would have worked had I given them more time to actually adapt to my body. I was your girl that was trying things every three weeks. I was like, why am I not seeing results? Or I would see results for six weeks and I'd be like, well, now this is stopping, so I must try something different. And I know that can resonate with you guys, because I know that you've been there at some point in your journey.

So why do they even happen? The human body is incredibly adaptable. When you start a fitness program or a workout, let's say you've never worked out before, your body isn't used to those new demands. So your body will see rapid progress. When I first actually started working out the right way, doing strength training and understanding the reps and the sets and how much I was supposed to be doing in a workout, I started to see some rapid progress, because my body was like, wow, I'm not used to this. This is a new demand. So there were some pretty quick changes happening, right? Maybe you guys have been there too.

If you actually are consistently doing the right thing, it's different from others who think they're doing the right thing but aren't really doing the right thing, and they're like, I'm not seeing any progress. You've got to be consistently doing the right thing. I was following the right thing for my body at that time, and I was able to see some pretty quick results.

But over time, and I've experienced this after almost 10 years of my fitness journey, my body adapts. You guys will know why I'm putting an emphasis on that word from what I said earlier in the podcast. Over time, your body adapts to these demands. Over the years of strength training, no matter if I tried bro splits or full body or something a little more high intensity, what was once challenging becomes routine. What was once easy to see changes from becomes, oh, my body's adapted to this. And it becomes something that I show up for on a regular basis because I know what it does for my mental well-being, rather than just the physical results that I see.

This adaptation is why you might see initial gains in strength or in fat loss, followed by a period where progress seems to stall. For those of you that may be following a new program, or you're a WarriorBabe and you see some pretty cool results within the first three to six months, then by the sixth month you're like, well, my progress seems to be stalling. It's because your body is adapting.

So I want to talk through those things, because there are several factors that can contribute to a plateau. There's metabolic adaptation, right? As you lose fat or gain muscle, your metabolism adjusts to that. So that's one factor that can contribute to a plateau.

Training. Doing the same workout routine over and over and over again can lead to diminishing returns. How many of you guys are following the same workout program that you were following six months ago? Your muscles get used to the exercises, and they stop being as effective at promoting the growth that you want to see and the fat loss that you want to see. I'm going to talk about how you can work through it with some strategies, but just a little hint on that note: you cannot be doing the same workout program over and over and over again expecting different results. What's that quote that I say all the time, you guys? By Einstein: insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Same goes for what I just said.

Another factor that contributes to a plateau is nutrition. Sometimes what works at the beginning of your journey no longer meets what your body needs six months in. As your body changes, so should your nutrition. This is why I'm not a big fan of macro calculators. Sure, you can go find out what your macro numbers should be online. You can Google a macro calculator and figure out what you should be eating and starting at and following for the first couple of weeks. But as you start to see some progress, your body's adapting to those macros. So for the end goal that you want to get to, those macros are not going to get you there. You need to be adjusting your macros along the way.

And that's going to bring me into some strategies here. The good news is, know that plateaus are not permanent. If you're experiencing a plateau, let's say two weeks of a plateau, think about it: this is two weeks in a year's worth of time. If you're stuck for two weeks and you're going to start shifting things up with some of the strategies I'm going to talk about, or you're working with your coach and you're already implementing some things, just give it time. Trust the process.

I always tell the clients, the babes within WarriorBabe, and our coaches say this too: trust us now, believe us later. In the moment that you hit a plateau, it feels like the absolute end of the world. It's like, I've been doing the same thing. The same thing that was getting me progress isn't getting me progress anymore. It's not working. I need to go find something else. And you spiral down the rabbit hole trying to find another program, and maybe that program is going to do the same thing as the one you're following, but since it's something new, you think it's actually going to work. That's not the case. It's just that your body needs a little bit of change. What you're giving your body in terms of working out, nutrition, rest, recovery, new goals: all of these things need to be taken into account to start to implement the change and get after the change.

So just take a deep breath. Okay, I'm entering a plateau. I'm going to talk to my coach about this, because she's the professional, and we're going to get through it. I'm just going to trust the process. And bam, lo and behold, after a two-week hiatus of not seeing any progress, I guarantee you, if you just trust the process, maybe it's two weeks we've been stuck, or three weeks, I don't know. I'm not going to put a timestamp on it, because everyone's journey is completely different. But if you've been in a plateau and you start to make some changes, give it some time for your body to adjust to those changes. And guess what you're going to start to see again? More results. Trust me on that.

We have coached around 20,000 women now inside of WarriorBabe, whether that be one-on-one coaching or the old course that we used to have. Talking to these thousands of women, and our coaches coaching hundreds of women, we've seen this so many times. There's been a handful that can't get past the fact that they need to just trust it and see it through. They leave and find another program, and they're stuck on this hamster wheel. And it's 10 years later. Some of them, I will remind you, end up coming right back to us. But 10 years later, they're still trying to do the same thing, right?

So just know that this is exactly what I've said to our clients, and what our coaches have said to our clients. If you are stuck in a plateau, this is the same way that I would coach you through it.

The first strategy you can start to implement to break through and start making progress again: I would always go first to the intensity with which you are showing up in your workouts on a day-to-day basis. And the second thing I would do is change up your workout routine.

So first and foremost, let's say it's the first week of a new program. You're most likely going to feel the most sore in the first week. You're probably going to see a few more changes, a little more definition, things popping through that you haven't seen. But getting to the third or fourth week of that program, let me tell you, your body adapts pretty freaking quickly. So by the third week, you're like, I'm not as sore anymore. You know how many times I've heard that? By the end of a workout program, I'm not as sore anymore. Guess what? Maybe at that point you shouldn't be doing the same weight that you were doing for the last two to three weeks, and that's why you're not as sore anymore.

And don't get me wrong, being sore is not an indicator of a good workout. I'm more so challenging the aspect of the weight. If you are lifting the same weight as you were the two to three weeks before, this is my point to you: hey, I'm going to try and lift a little heavier weight here. Because you need a little more intensity to push through a plateau, right? And then the last week, same thing. Maybe the last week of the program is how some of you guys feel in the third week of the program. You get what I'm saying? So challenge yourself a little more. One of the simplest ways to overcome a plateau is to push a little more with your intensity inside your workout.

I should say that I'm aware that a lot of women don't really challenge themselves, and they just kind of go through the motions of a workout. Just going through the motions of a workout isn't going to create the stress demand that your body needs in order to create the response that it needs internally.

The mitochondria. This is a perfect example of the mitochondria that we just talked about when I had the two incredible ladies from Lumen on in the last podcast episode. Mitochondria metabolize fat and are the incredible powerhouse energy source of our muscles. In order to get more of them, you have to increase your intensity. You have to challenge yourself a little more. So that would be the first thing that I would say.

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The second thing that I would say, and it ties into that first part, is that progressive overload is so important. This means that you're gradually increasing the weight, gradually increasing the reps and the sets, and challenging your muscles over time. I've done so many episodes on progressive overload. Those small adjustments can make a big, big difference, one being the weight.

The next thing that I would say is that at the end of maybe a four- or six-week block, depending on how long your programs are set for, this is the time. Going back to what I said earlier about people following the same workout program for six months: dude, you should be following a workout plan for four to six weeks and then changing it up. Change the type of exercise or add in new movements. This challenges your muscles in a different way. If you're incorporating new things, your body is trying to get out of the adaptation it had with the other types of exercises or movements, and calling on new muscles, or different muscle fibers, to do this new type of exercise or movement. See how you're breaking what your body is used to and challenging it with something new? You're forcing it to adapt in that way. That's going to help you break through a plateau.

Okay, so lifting heavy. Progressive overload. Adding more reps or sets in your next block, right? That four or six weeks is done, so maybe you keep some of the similar exercises in the next block, but you play with the reps and the set count. This is challenging your muscle. Let's say you want to get stronger in the squat. Keep the squat for six months, but you have to be challenging yourself with the weight, the reps, the sets, and the rest times. That's what progressive overload is. I promise you, if you at least try this step first, some of you will start to break through that plateau.

Maybe the next thing that I would do is reassess where you're at.

Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit WarriorBabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

Nutrition. As your body changes, your nutritional needs might change too. So if you've been in a calorie deficit for fat loss, your metabolism may have slowed down, and it might be time to take a break. I love refeeds. A refeed is where, on the weekend, you spend time up in your maintenance calorie numbers and macro numbers, and then you go back into the deficit on Monday, or however you want to play it out. But it's precise. You're up in your carbs, you're up in your fat, and you're following that to a T. It's not, oh, I can just eat whatever I want because I'm at maintenance numbers. No, it's strategic.

I just want to clarify that, because people could hear this and think, oh wow, she's saying Monday through Friday you're on track, on the weekends you just go off the rails, and on Monday you get back to it. No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that to strategically trick your body, you specifically increase a certain amount of macronutrients, and then you go back down on Monday. It's strategically planned.

Or a diet break. I've done this for some of my clients. For a week, they're back up at those refeed numbers. They're strategically on a diet break, strategically tracking a higher calorie intake for a week. And then their body's like, oh, this is what I wanted. We've been in a deficit for so freaking long. There's only so much you can push your body in a deficit until you really do plateau, and you have to figure out how to come out of that. And the way you come out of it is with more food. Okay.

And that's basically what I said at the beginning, too, about what you're tracking and consuming. Let's say you found a calorie calculator and you're trying these macros out. At the start, cool, it works for you for two weeks, three weeks, and you're seeing some results. Sometimes I've seen people go six weeks or a little longer following macros they found online, and it works. But then they're stuck in a plateau and they're questioning all the things. They're like, this isn't working anymore, so I'm going to try something else. Maybe I need to go keto. Maybe I need to go, I don't know, off the rails. This is where the spiral starts to happen.

And it's because those macros aren't working anymore. Either you've pushed yourself into a deficit, and sometimes six to eight weeks is all it takes for your body to recognize these are calories it shouldn't be consuming anymore. Or maybe you need to go a little deeper into a deficit to start to facilitate more. This is where a coach comes into play so well, because you aren't left on your own to spiral by yourself and figure out what you need to do. Leave it up to the professional. They can understand where you've been for the last six to eight weeks with the macros you've been consuming. They can understand what your body actually needs. Can it go a little further into a deficit? Or is it time to try a refeed or a diet break, strategically planned out for you, so you don't have to guess about what you should be doing?

That's where a lot of women that could be seeing results in a year take five years, because they spent half of that time in a spiral trying to figure out how to do it the right way for themselves. This is why I think it's so important to invest in yourself: buy the time, buy the education, buy the professional, and buy the support of somebody that knows what they're doing, so you can get results in a quicker amount of time. So that goes to reassessing your nutrition. What works at the beginning isn't going to get you to your end goal. It needs to be assessed along the way.

And then, when you do get to your goal, this is another one: set new goals. If you've hit a plateau, this might be the time to set a new, more specific goal. Instead of just focusing on how much weight you're trying to lose or how much weight you're trying to lift, think about other aspects of overall fitness that you want to improve on. Maybe you want to be more flexible. Maybe you want to master a new skill. Maybe you want to get into endurance and do a 70.3, right? Like a half Ironman, or an Ironman, or whatever. Sometimes when you shift your focus to a different goal, you can reignite your motivation and break through that stagnation.

And that's the thing. At the end of a goal, let's say you hit it, going back to reassessing your nutrition: like I said, what you started out at is not going to get you all the way to your goal. It's going to have to fluctuate. It's going to have to be changed multiple times along the way to that goal. And let's say you get to that goal. Well, what's next? You can't stay in a deficit for five years. You can't really stay in a deficit for a year or two years. You've got to know how to strategically welcome in more food without gaining all the weight back. And that takes a professional to guide you with that strategy and plan.

Another way that you can break through a plateau. So far we've talked about changing up your intensity in your workouts, changing up your workout routine, reassessing your nutrition, and setting new goals. The next one is to incorporate more rest and recovery. A plateau is sometimes your body's way of telling you that it needs a break. Overtraining, in a sense: if you are somebody that works out six to seven times a week, doing five days of cardio, that can lead to burnout, and it can totally hinder your progress. You're kind of, what's that saying? Fighting an uphill battle, like you're walking up a hill. I can't even think of the freaking saying. Y'all know what I'm saying?

Overtraining leads you there. If you're hoping to reach a certain goal, decreasing body fat or increasing muscle mass so your body is more toned, but you're working out six to seven days a week and doing X amount of cardio, that's actually going to lead you in the opposite direction. You're going to be more stressed. You're going to cause more inflammation. You're going to be more tired. You're not recovering well at that point, so it will lead you to burnout. So make sure that you're incorporating enough rest days into your routine and focusing on recovery strategies like stretching, getting outside, walking, getting enough sleep, and foam rolling. Maybe you do Pilates for some stretching, right? I think that's really freaking important.

And then I would say the last thing to focus on in terms of strategy is that it's important to maintain a positive mindset, as hard as it is during a plateau. Plateaus are a normal part of your fitness journey, and they're often a sign that you've already made significant progress. Now it's just time to reassess some things, change up some things, and challenge your body in a different way.

So the last thing I would say is you've got to have the right mindset around this when you experience it. As I said, it can be frustrating. You can get discouraged. But instead of getting that way, I would recommend that you see it as an opportunity to learn more about your body and what it needs to keep moving forward and progressing to the results that you want to see. If you can wrap your mind around that, it will be an absolute game changer for you as you continue on your journey.

Because after 10 years, you know how many times I've experienced plateaus? And over time I was like, ah, this is just part of my journey. It's just part of my lifestyle at this point. Okay, I'm welcoming in a plateau. I'm not going to get frustrated. I'm not going to get discouraged. It is what it is. It's just a season of life that I'm in, and I understand how my body operates. So I'm going to make some tweaks here and there, and I'll be Gucci. I'll be able to circle back around in a couple of weeks and progress forward. That's the type of mindset you need to have.

It's not going to happen overnight. But you know what's really cool? When you're working with somebody, they'll be able to help you develop that type of mindset, so that once you're out on your own, you'll just recognize, hey, this is part of my journey. I'm in a plateau right now. And you'll welcome the plateau, because you see it as an opportunity to learn more about your body, and to see more opportunity in how you can move forward from it and learn from it.

Okay, so with all that being said, let's go over the strategies again. Change up your workout routine: every four to six weeks is enough time to be in a training block, and then you need to change it up. Another one, first, before that, is being more intense in your workouts, if you notice by week three or week four of a program that you don't feel challenged.

And by the way, you've got to do the boring work. You've got to follow a program consistently for four to six weeks. By the fourth or sixth week, you're going to be really bored of the workouts, but that's part of it. People that get really good results do that. I can't tell you guys how many times I've followed four- to six-week training blocks doing the same workouts every single time. Obviously different days offer you different workouts, but it was like that for four to six weeks, and then I would do a new one, and a new one, and a new one. Honestly, I love doing that, because by the fourth or sixth week, I already know where I'm going. I know how to navigate the gym. I know what machines I need next. And my brain isn't so focused on the workout. I find I can really tune into being present with what I'm doing and how my body's moving.

The first week is always typically the hardest, because you're trying to navigate your routine and being in the gym, whatever. But I find by the last week, it's like, oh, this feels nice. Okay, well, here we go, new one next week. But you've got to understand the importance of doing that.

So all in all: do the boring work. Reassess your nutrition. Set new goals. Incorporate rest and recovery. Make sure you're doing it the right way. And have a positive mindset as best you can. It's frustrating. It can be discouraging. But it's also an opportunity to learn more about your body.

So plateaus can be frustrating. We know that. But they're a sign that you're pushing your body to new limits, and that's how you're going to get to the goals that you want to see. Everything we said today, you can apply. If you're stuck in a plateau right now, welcome it. Try out the strategies we talked about. Reassess your nutrition. Adjust your routine. Maintain a positive mindset. You can break through the stagnation and totally continue on your path to success. You just have to be welcoming of the time that it will take for your body to adapt.

That was the word that I wanted you all to take away from this podcast: adapt. Understand that when you've done something for a period of time, whether you're new and getting into a new program, your body has adapted to that newness. So it needs a little bit of a challenge, or a change, or something new in terms of your macro numbers or a new workout program, to break out of that and move on to a new adaptation. The human body is incredibly adaptable. So what once was working needs to be assessed, so that you can continue to adapt, continue to change, and continue to push forward to the results that you want.

So welcome in the plateaus. Once you get in one, you're like, oh, my body's here. It's adapting. I need to challenge it so that it can adapt again, because I've got goals to meet, right? I hope this podcast helped you rethink and reframe how you welcome plateaus on your fitness journey, and that you can think about them a little differently now and recognize that your body is adapting and you just need to change things up. And you also need to be patient when you are changing things up. All right, guys, on that note, I'll see you all in the next podcast. Peace out.

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