How to Overcome Stagnation in Your Fitness Journey

00:00Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else. 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 with like, I love refeeds.

00:38Refeed is where, you know, weekend you spend 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 Nikki 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, Nikki Stott, co-founder of Warrior Babe.

01:08On 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, Nikki Stott, and today's episode, episode 188, we're going to talk about what I feel like every person encounters along their journey at some point is hitting a plateau. So I want to talk about breaking through plateaus, how to overcome them in your fitness journey.

01:42Whether you are struggling to lose fat, whether you are trying to build more muscle, or you're just feeling stuck in your routine, this episode is for you. And I hope that by the end of this episode, you understand, most importantly, that plateaus are inevitable, and that they're going to happen, and it's okay. And 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.

02:14Because 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, and 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. And I'm also going to break it down into some science, but like try to keep it as high level as I possibly can, so you guys can follow me.

02:46A plateau is the point at which your progress stalls, right? Despite you doing your regular workouts, despite eating your normal nutrition on a daily basis, within your calories and your macros, and dude, I get it. Like, it can be incredibly freaking frustrating, right? One day you're seeing the results, the next day you're like, dude, 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,

03:20probably the things that I was trying probably would have worked had I given them more time to actually adapt to my body. So I was your girl that was like trying things every like three weeks. I was like, why am I not seeing results? Or like then 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 of your journey. So why do they even happen? The human body is incredibly adaptable.

03:52Adaptable. When you start a fitness program, you start a workout, your body, 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. Like when I first actually started working out the right way, doing strength training and understanding like 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.

04:23So here are some pretty quick like changes happening, right? Maybe you guys have been there too as well. If you actually are consistently doing the right thing, it's a difference. Then others and just like trying to think they're doing the right thing, but they're not really doing the right thing. And you're like, I'm not seeing any progress. You 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 like 10 years of my fitness journey, my body adapts.

04:54You guys will know why I'm putting an emphasis on that word from what I said earlier on the podcast. Over time, your body adapts to these demands. So like over the years of strength training, no matter if I tried bro splits or full body or a little bit more like high intensity, like what was once challenging kind of becomes like routine. And what once was like, you know, easy to do or easy to see things, like it kind of becomes like, oh, this is just like my body's adapted to this. And it becomes just something that I, you know, 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.

05:33And 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 guys that may be following a new program or you're a warrior babe 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's several factors that can contribute to a plateau.

06:04There's metabolic adaptation, right? Like as you lose fat or you gain muscle, your metabolism adjusts to that. So that's one factor that can contribute to a plateau. Training. Training. So 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're following six months ago? Your muscles get used to the exercises and they stop being as effective as at promoting, you know, the growth that you want to see and at promoting the fat loss that you want to see.

06:37You can't be doing, I'm going to talk about this, how you can like work through it with some strategies. But just a little hint to that note. You cannot be doing the same workout program over and over and over and over again expecting different results. So what is that quote that I say all the time, you guys? By Einstein. He's like, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again expecting different results. Same goes for what I just said. And then another factor that contributes to the plateau is nutritional aspects.

07:11Like sometimes what works at the beginning of your journey no longer meets what your body needs six months in. And as your body changes, so should your nutrition. So a lot of people think like, oh, this is why I'm not a big fan of like macro calculators. Sure, you guys can go find out what your macro number should be online. Like you can go Google macro calculator and you can figure out what you should be eating and starting at and like following for the first couple of weeks. But as you start to see some progress, your body's adapting to those macros. So like the end goal that you want to get to, those macros are not going to get you to that end goal.

07:44You need to be adjusting your macros along the way. And that's going to actually bring me into some strategies here. So the good news is know that plateaus are not permanent. Okay, so if you're experiencing a plateau, if you're experiencing like two weeks of a plateau, think about it. This is two weeks and like a year's worth of time. And if you're just stuck for two weeks and you're like going to start, you know, shifting things up with maybe some strategies I'm going to talk about. Or like you're working with your coach and you're already implementing some things. Just give it time. Like trust the process.

08:15I always tell the clients, the babes within Warrior Babe and like our coaches say this is that trust us now, believe us later. Like 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 spider down the rabbit hole trying to find out another program that maybe the program is going to do the same thing that you're following in this program. But since it's something new, you think it's actually going to work. It's not the case. It's just because your body needs a little bit of change. Like what you're giving your body in terms of working out, in terms of your nutrition, in terms of rest, recovery, new goals.

08:51All of these things need to be taken into account to start to imply the change. Start to like get after the change. Right. And so it's not like it's like just take a deep breath. Okay. I'm entering a plateau. Right. Okay. So I'm going to talk to my coach about this because she is the one that's a professional in this and we're going to get through it. And I'm just going to trust the process. And bam, long behold, like after two week hiatus, I'm 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 we've been stuck.

09:25I 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 those changes. And guess what you're going to start to see again? Some more results. Trust me on that. We have coached over 20, around 20,000 women now inside of Warrior Babe, whether that be one-on-one coaching or our old course that we used to have. And talking to these thousands of women and our coaches coaching hundreds of women.

09:57It's like we've seen this so many times. And there's been a handful that can't get past the fact that they need to just trust it and see it through. And they go and leave and find another program. And they're stuck on this hamster wheel. Okay? And it's like 10 years later. And some of them, I will remind you, say they end up coming right back to us. But 10 years later, they're still trying to do the same thing. Right? So it's like just know that this communication is exactly what we've – I've said to our clients.

10:30Our coaches have said to our clients, this is the same way that like if you are stuck in a plateau, this is the same way that I would coach you through it. The first thing would be in terms of like a strategy that you can start to implement or break through and start making progress again is I would always go first to the intensity of which you are showing up in your workout on a day-to-day basis. And then the second thing I would do is like change up your workout routine. So first and foremost, let's say it's like the first week of a new program.

11:03You're most likely going to start – you're going to feel the most sore at the first week. You're going to probably see a little bit more changes, a little bit more definition, things popping through that you haven't seen. And like the first week or two of a new program, 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? Then maybe at that point, you shouldn't be doing the same weight that you were doing for the last two to a week.

11:35And that's why it feels like you're not as sore anymore. And don't get me wrong. Being sore is not an indicator of a good workout. But I'm more so challenging to the aspect of the weight. If you are lifting the same weight as you were the last two to a week before, you know, those other two weeks of the program, this is my point to you to be like, oh, hey, I'm going to try and lift a little bit more heavier weight here. Because you need a little bit more intensity to push through, right, a plateau. So, um, and then the last week, same thing.

12:05Maybe the last week of the program is how some of you guys may feel the third week of the program. Um, you get what I'm saying? Like, so challenge yourself a little bit more. One of the simplest ways to overcome a plateau is to, is to push a little bit more with your intensity inside your workout. I don't think that, you know, I shouldn't say this. I said, I should say that, like, 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.

12:36Just going through the motions of a workout isn't going to create the stress demand that your body needs to have in order to create the response that internally it needs. The mitochondria. This is a perfect example of the mitochondria that we just talked about when I had, uh, the two incredible ladies from Lumen talking about it in the last podcast episode. In order for you to create more mitochondria, which metabolizes fat and does all the incredible powerhouse energy source of our muscles.

13:08In order to get more of that, you have to increase your intensity. So you have to challenge yourself a little bit more. Um, so that would be like the first thing that I would say. 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, Warrior Babe is here for you. At Warrior Babe, 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.

13:46Imagine 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 forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. The second thing that I would say is obviously because that in that first part, progressive overload is so important. So this means that you're gradually increasing the weight.

14:18You're gradually increasing the reps, the sets, and you're challenging your muscles over time. I've done so many episodes on progressive overload. And just those small adjustments can make a big, big, big, big, big, big difference. One being the weight. The next thing that I would say is like, okay, at the end of maybe a four or six week block, depending on how long your programs are set for, this is the time. Like I don't, what I said earlier where people are following the same workout program for six months. Dude, you should be following a workout plan for four to six weeks and changing it up. Changing up the type of the exercise or adding in new movements.

14:51This challenges your muscles in a different way. And so if you're incorporating new things, your body is calling on. It's not, it's trying then to get out of the adaption that it was with the other types of exercises or those types of movements. And calling on new muscles or different types of muscles or different muscle fibers to do this new type of exercise or new type of movement. So you're breaking that, you're, see how you're breaking what your body is used to and challenging it with something new.

15:23And you're forcing it to try and adapt in that way. That's going to help you to break through a plateau. Okay. So lifting heavy. Progressive overload. Adding in more reps or sets to your next block, right? That four weeks, six weeks is done. So then maybe you keep some of the similar exercises in that 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 and the sets and the rest times.

15:58And that's what progressive overload is. I promise you, if you at least try this step first, maybe for some of you guys, you will start to break through that plateau. Okay. Maybe the next thing that I would do is, um, reassess where you're. 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, Warrior Babe is here for you.

16:36At Warrior Babe, 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 forward slash apply today to start your transformation.

17:06That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Nutrition is that 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 with like, I love refeeds. Refeed is where, you know, weekend you spend up in your maintenance calorie numbers and macro numbers.

17:38And then you go back into the deficit on Monday or however you want to play it out. It's usually, but it's like precise. Like you're up in your carbs, you're up in your fat and you're following that to a team. And it's not like, oh, I can just eat whatever I want. I'm in maintenance numbers. No, it's like strategic. So I just want to make that clarified because you people could be like, oh, wow, she's saying Monday through Friday and the weekends you just go off the rails and on Monday you get back to it. No, no, no, no. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying to strategically trick your body is you specifically increase in a certain amount of macronutrients and then you go back down to it on Monday.

18:14It's strategically planned. Or a diet break. I've done this for some of my clients. It's like for a week they are back up. They're up at those refeed numbers. So they're strategically in a diet break, strategically tracking high calorie intake for a week. And then their body's like, oh, this is what I wanted. Like we've been in a deficit for so freaking long. There's only so much that 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. Okay.

18:45So and what basically what I said at the beginning too is you what you're what you're tracking and consuming. Let's say you found a calorie calculator and you're trying these macros out. Let's say that at the start of that cool works for you two weeks, three weeks and you're seeing some results. You could even sometimes I've seen people go like six weeks or maybe a little bit longer following some macros that they found online. And it works. But then they're stuck in a plateau and they're questioning all the things.

19:16They'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. All the rails. Right. This is where the spiral starts to happen. And it's because those macros aren't working anymore. And so you've either pushed yourself into a deficit. You know, could be that six to eight weeks. Like sometimes it's all it takes for your body to recognize this is the calories that I shouldn't be consuming anymore. Or maybe you need to go a little bit deeper into a deficit and you start to facilitate more. This is where coach comes into play so well because you aren't left on your own to spiral by yourself and to figure out what you need to do right.

19:52It's like leave it up to the professional that they can understand where you've been at 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 bit further in a deficit? Or is it time to go and try a refeed or a diet break and strategically plan it 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, they take five years because they spent half of that in a spiral and trying to figure out how to get it the right way for themselves.

20:25This is why I think it's so important to invest in yourself and buy the time and buy the education, buy the professional and buy the support for somebody that knows what they're doing so you can get quicker results in a quicker amount of time. So yeah, so that goes to the reassessing of your nutrition and just, you know, 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. It's like set new goals. Okay, if you've hit a plateau, this might be time to set a new, more specific goal.

20:56Instead of just focusing on like how much weight you're trying to lose or how much weight you're trying to lift, think about other aspects of maybe overall fitness that you want to improve upon. Like maybe you want to be more flexible. Maybe you want to master new skill. Maybe you want to get into endurance and do a 70.3, right? Like an Ironman or half Ironman or whatever. So it's sometimes when you shift your focus to a different goal, you can reignite your motivation, help you break through that stagnation. And that's the thing, like at the end of a goal, let's say you hit a goal, going back to like the reassessing of your nutrition, like nutrition in the beginning, like I said, what got you, what you started out at is not going to get you all the way to your goal.

21:38You're going to have to be, it's going to have to be 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, it's like, well, what's next? You can't stay in a deficit for five years. You can't stay in a deficit for really a year or two years. Like you got to know how to strategically be able to welcome in more food without gaining all the weight back. And that takes a professional in that sense to be able to guide you with that strategy and plan. Another way that you could break through a plateau.

22:09So what we talked about changing up your intensity in your workouts and then changing up your workout routine, reassessing your nutrition, setting new goals. And then kind of like the last show talk about one being incorporate more rest of recovery. Like a plateau, sometimes your body's way of telling you that it needs a break. Like so overtraining in a sense, if you are somebody that works out six to seven times a week doing like five days of cardio can lead to burnout and it can totally hinder your progress. You're kind of like, what's that saying?

22:40Like fighting up, fighting up, you're going up against like you're walking up a hill. I don't know. I can't even think about the freaking saying. Y'all would know what I'm saying? Overtraining leads you to that. Like if you are hoping to get a certain goal of decreasing body fat or increasing more muscle mass to your body being more toned, but you're working on six to seven days a week and doing X amount of cardio, that's going to lead you actually in the opposite direction. You're going to be more stressed. You're going to cause more inflammation.

23:11You'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, adequate, getting enough sleep, foam rolling. Maybe you do Pilates for some stretching, right? So I think that's really freaking important. And then I would say the last thing to focus on in terms of strategy is like it's important to maintain a positive mindset as hard as it is during a plateau.

23:43They 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 like you got to have the right mindset around this when you experience it. Because as I said, it can be frustrating. You can get discouraged. But instead of getting that way, I would recommend that you would 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.

24:21I think if you can wrap your mind around that, it will be an absolute game changer for you as you continue to go on your journey. Because if I want to talk about it after 10 years, you know how many times I've experienced plateaus in those 10 years? And in the time I was like, ah, this is just part of my journey. It's just a part of my lifestyle now at this point. It's like, 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.

24:52And I understand how my body operates. So I'm going to make some tweaks here and there. And I'll be Gucci. And I'll be able to, you know, circle back around in a couple of weeks and be able to progress forward. That's the type of mindset you need to have. And it's not going to happen overnight. But you know what's really cool? Is that when you're working with somebody, they'll be able to help you to develop that type of mindset. So that once you are out on your own, you will just recognize, hey, this is a part of my journey. I'm in a plateau right now. And you're welcoming the plateau because you see it as an opportunity to learn more about your body.

25:26And to see more opportunity in how you can move forward from it and learn from it. Okay. So with all that being said, we talked about strategies again. Change up your workout routine in terms of, you know, every four to six weeks is enough time for you to be in a training block. Then you need to change it up. Another one is first, before that, being more intense in your workouts. If you notice that like week three or week four of a program that you're following that you don't feel like. And by the way, you got to do the boring work.

25:58You got to follow a program consistently for four to six weeks. And by the fourth or sixth week, you're going to be really bored of the workouts. But that's a part of it. People that get really good results do that. And I can't tell you guys how many times I've followed four to six week training blocks doing the same workout every single time. Honestly, I love every single, you know, day for six weeks or every single week for four to six weeks. You know, obviously different days offer you different workouts.

26:28But 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 getting to 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 necessarily so much focused on the workout. I'm finding like I can kind of just really tune into, I can really tune into like being present with what I'm doing and how my body's moving.

27:01And I'm not necessarily thinking about, the first week is always typically the hardest because you're trying to find, navigate your routine and be in the gym, whatever. But I find by like the last week, it's like, oh, this feels nice. Okay, well, here we go. New one open next week. But you got to understand the importance of doing that. So all in all to say that, do the boring work. Reassess your nutrition. Set new goals. Incorporate rest and recovery. Make sure you're doing it not the right way. And then have a positive mindset as best as you can. Like it's frustrating. It can be discouraging.

27:32But it's also an opportunity to learn more about your body. So plateaus, they can be frustrating. We know that. But they're a sign that you're pushing your body to new limits. And that's the way you're going to get to the goals that you want to see. So make, you know, all what we said today, you can apply. If you're stuck in a plateau right now, welcome it. Try out these things that we talked about in terms of strategies. Reassess nutrition. Adjust your routine. Maintain a positive mindset. You can break through the stagnation and you can totally continue on your path to success.

28:05You just have to be welcoming of the time that it will take for your body to adapt. That was my word that I wanted you all to take away from this podcast is understanding that when you've done something for a period of time, whether you're new and you're getting into a new program and you've done that for a period of time, your body is adapted to that newness. And so it needs a little bit of a challenge or change or something new in terms of your

28:37macro numbers or new workout program to break out of that and go on to a new adaptation. Our body, the human body is incredibly adaptable. So what once was working, you know, needs to be assessed so that you can continue to adapt and you can continue to change and you continue to, you know, push forward to the results that you want. So welcome on the plateaus. Once you get in it, you're like, oh, my body's here.

29:08It's adapting. I need to challenge it so that it can adapt again because I got goals to meet, right? So I hope this podcast helped you guys to rethink and reframe how plateaus are being welcomed on your fitness journey. And you can think about them a little bit differently now than recognize that your body is adapting and you need to just 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. Hey, guys, real quick.

29:38If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident. Do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork that you may have. And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. And to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now. Thank you.

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