5 reasons why you hit a lifting plateau
Do your training sessions also end in anger and frustration regularly? You’re not alone.
If you’re a professional athlete or a lifter who simply loves to lift and become better at the sport. Reaching a lifting plateau and working hard to overcome, but not succeed, can be one of the most frustrating parts of the sport. Day in and day out dragging yourself to the gym, putting in the hard work and long hours. But still those same weights on the bar..
You know you need to adjust something in your training. But can’t pinpoint yet what it is exactly. Your program, sleep, recovery, mindset or any other variable around your training?
Today we will cover 5 reasons why you hit a lifting plateau and how you can fix these problems.
Mindset
Training Program
Insufficient Recovery
Improper Technique
Lack of Consistency
Mindset
One of the most important but also most difficult parts of Olympic Weightlifting, is creating and keeping the right mindset you approach the sport with.
I remember the times I was not able to train properly, because my toes and feet hurted. Not because I dropped a barbell on it. Not because I clean and jerked world records. But because I kicked the bar and plates after being frustrated with missing a lift.
Yeah.. That happened.
The lesson I learned from situations like this (and I have a lot of similar stories to tell), is when your foot and the barbell are having a fight, the bar is definitely going to win. Now what you can learn from this, is that frustration will hold you back. Maybe you’re not a hothead like I was and hopefully deal with your frustration in a different way. But one thing is for certain, bottling up frustration is going to hold you back.
The interesting part is where such frustration or emotion comes from. It mostly has to do with the expectations you have. For yourself, for the lift, for the process, for the weights. If we expect something to be a certain way, we kinda already create this reality in our minds. Which sounds positive at first, because you know.. “Affirmations”. The problem occurs when reality doesn’t live up to the expectations.
You will feel a sense of disbelief, a sense of failure, a sense of being betrayed by your own expectations. Because you are. Having false expectations will only lead to disappointment down the road.
That’s why you want to get more in sync with your body and stay in the moment.
For example: the program says “Snatch 4×3 @70%”. You’re at your 50% right now and it just doesn’t feel right.
You can choose to continue, because the program says 70% and who gives a f*ck about your 50% right? No way in hell you’re gonna stop anywhere short of that 70%.
Or.. You can do some more sets on your 50% to try to get in the groove a bit more. Feel your technique and where it feels off. Take that 50% just as seriously as your 1RM. After those sets, a couple of things might happen:
It starts to feel way better and you will eventually smash those sets at 70%
It starts to feel a little better and you decide to do your sets at 60-65%
It starts to feel a little better and you still decide to do your sets at 70% but miss a
couple
Because you’ve freed yourself from the expectations of performing, you’ve altered your
mindset from “I need to do it and must succeed” to “I get to do it and want to succeed”. This shift will help you perform better, but also helps you to deal with the situation when it
doesn’t go according to plan.
Training Program
Having the right mindset can get you a long way. And an even longer way if you’re talented.
But when you actually want to reach your highest potential (talented or not) you need to have the correct structure and training program.
How to assess your training program?
The short answer is; you shouldn’t, because you’re an athlete.
The longer, more nuanced answer is; it depends on how much of it you want to do yourself.
As an athlete or weightlifting enthusiast you should be focussed more on how you approach training and try to complete your training program to the best of your ability. So it would be smarter to focus on finding the right program and/or coach instead of assessing the ins and outs of your program yourself.
Having said that, there must be a way to know if you’re following a good program or not, right?
Being a coach myself, I have a rule of thumb when creating a training program you can also benefit from when following a training program. That is; after every mesocycle of training (4-6 weeks) you have to have some form of progress on what you focussed on.
Let’s say you focus on the back squat. In 4-6 weeks time you have to have some form of PB.
– Intensity PB (1-5 RM)
– Volume PB (Total reps on a given weight -> reps X sets)
– Technique PB (New mobility or a smoother/more efficient movement pattern)
*PB= Personal Best *RM= Rep Max
If you don’t progress on the aspect you are focussing on, then your coach and/or you should reconsider the program and see what went wrong.
Insufficient recovery
You can have the best program in the world, train like a mad man, have a killer mindset and still plateau when your recovery is insufficient.
Like gym bro’s on the internet say: “There is no overtraining, there is only under-recovering” While it isn’t as black and white as this, it does have some truth to it. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that there is no overtraining, especially in Olympic Weightlifting, but you definitely need to be a different breed to do so when your recovery is on point.
Given the fact Olympic Weightlifting involves the CNS a lot, you don’t just eat more protein to recover and that’s it. The CNS recovers differently and takes more time than your body (muscle, tendons, ligaments). Your CNS also fatigues when you are anxious or experience stress. That’s why sleep and stress management are very important to give your CNS the proper recovery.
*CNS = Central nervous system
But of course you don’t lift the weights with your mind like a true jedi (if you do, message me) You use your body to lift those weights. And depending on your training, you’ll probably do some “bodybuilding style” accessory work as well. That’s why there is a bigger picture you need to look at regarding recovery as an Olympic Weightlifter.
– Diet
– Sleep
– Stressmanagement
– Training volume/intensity
Some basic tips to keep those aspects in check:
Diet
– Make sure you get enough protein in -> about 1gr per pound of bodyweight
– Get in sufficient calories -> take 15-16x your bodyweight in pounds as a starting point. Keep track of your weight and adjust accordingly
(If you’re 200 pounds -> 200×16= 3.200kCal)
Sleep
– Aim for 8 hours of sleep as a start and through trial and error find what works best for you. Some need 7 or less, some need 9 or more. Find your sweet spot
– Start with a bedtime routine 30 min before going to bed. No artificial light like phone screens, television etc. Ideally work up to about an hour before going to bed. Great time to do some self reflection and mobility work!
Stressmanagement
– Plan and prioritize. Each and every yes is a no to something else
– Take planned (and spontaneous) time off. Not only off from work, but off from the “world”. No phone, no people. Just you together with you, doing nothing. Getting in sync with your emotions, thoughts and physical being. Everybody needs different amounts of time off. Learn about yourself and find out what you need
Training volume/intensity
If you’ve already put in some work on the above things and you still don’t recover/feel tired? Have a look at or discuss with your coach about your training program. Maybe you’re doing a bit too much volume or maybe you’re doing too much high intensity work.
– Does your body feel sore all the time and you get too much nagging pains? That’s a proper indicator that you’re probably doing a little too much volume
– Are you always tired, or at least too often? Less motivation to go to the gym, can’t seem to focus during training or during the day? Could be because you’re lifting too heavy too frequently. This may indicate your CNS is a little fried and you need some time off of the heavy lifts
Improper technique
Maybe you belong to the top 1% of people when it comes to discipline. Your mindset is on point, your program is on point, your recovery is on point, but you still can’t seem to improve your lifts?
Or you’re just simply a weightlifter.. Then it’s probably your technique.
Olympic Weightlifting is a sport you clearly need to have a lot of strength for to be good at. Superhuman strength if you want to reach the top.
BUT, it’s an immensely technical sport as well. I would even go as far as saying the technical aspect is the number one difference between the good and the great athletes.
The Snatch and Clean and Jerk are skills. How do you improve a skill? By practicing it.. Especially by practicing it correctly and frequently.
The unique part about the Olympics lifts is that they are skills that become more difficult every time you add a kilo. And the whole objective is to put as many kilos on the bar as possible. That means that every time you add a kilo it increases the physical demand, but also increases the demand on the skill itself. Making it much more difficult than just getting stronger.
How to improve technique? Now that’s the million dollar question. The best advice I can give you:
Get a capable coach and leave your ego at the door.
If this isn’t a possibility for you right at this moment, what can you do?
– Still leave your ego at the door
– Practice with light weights
– Film yourself to see what goes right and what goes wrong
And of course follow the @barsweightlifting instagram and learn about the ins and outs of the techniques of the Olympic lifts 😉
Lack of Consistency
Consistency is key.
Cliché, I know.
We also know most clichés have at least some truth to them. In this case, a lot of truth.
Being consistent is the number one indicator you can predict if somebody is going to succeed.
Let’s put it like this.. Have you ever experienced somebody who does all of the things correctly all the time and doesn’t make progress? I’ll wait..
Not going to happen.
The good news is that you don’t have to do everything correctly all of the time. If you can stay consistent for 80% of the time with even a semi-ok plan, you’ll make a lot of progress. Combine that with a proper plan and you’ll make tremendous progress.
Think about it, 80% of the time for a year straight means about 10-11 months of consistent work. That’s not nothing, that’s a lot.
Now, how can you stay consistent?
Making a plan you can actually stick to right now. Start simple, start small. After you create a routine you can stick to, you can slowly build it out and make it more difficult.
There are 2 main things that will help you accomplish this.
Make little short term goals.
Like I said earlier, start simple and start small. 9 times out of 10 we bite off more than we can chew. Don’t overestimate yourself, just start small. It’s better to adjust your goals upwards along the way, instead of downwards. Momentum is one of the most underrated aspects of accomplishment.Learn to control your emotions/ego.
Understand that even when you start out small and simple, it is going to take discipline to accomplish what you set out to do. In a nutshell discipline means you do what you have to do regardless of how you feel. I used to be overwhelmed by this idea..“I’m not disciplined, it’s not in me”
“I don’t want to live my life like being in the army”
But let me give you a little secret. Once you slowly learn how to make decisions not based on your emotions or ego, but on what’s the right thing to do. That’s as freeing as it can get!
Conclusion
Assess your mindset and training program. Optimize your recovery.
Technique is King.
And keep showing up, regardless of how you feel.
If you want somebody to guide you through this process, have a look at the “Remote Coaching” page and if you want a training program to bite your teeth in, take a look at our “Programs”.
Until next time..
Lift Weights, Raise Bars.