You exercise almost every day but your weight loss is stagnant? Experts share 5 tips to break through difficulties

You work out almost every day, but your clothing sizes aren’t decreasing and your weight loss has stalled. What's going on? Because you have reached a plateau. The following five methods can help you break through the difficulties, make your muscles tighter, and lose the last 3 kilograms. The new rule of the game: after reaching the goal, you must persist.

[Tip 1/Warm up, no excuses! 】

If you skip the warm-up (and we know you all want to), you're probably taking away the maximum effect of your workout. By warming up properly, you can increase the intensity of your training, burn more calories, and prevent sports injuries. Here is the correct way:

Count to 5: Spend 5 minutes gently moving the muscles in your body, the more the better, such as jumping jacks, butt kicks, and windmills (bend over with your legs spread out, and touch your left foot with your right hand and then your left foot, alternating between them). "These exercises get your blood pumping, activate your muscles, and make your workout more effective," says Tom Holland, an exercise physiologist and author of Beat the Gym. Exercise intensity should be on a scale of 1 to 10, and should not exceed 4.

Roll, don't stretch: Research published in the Journal of Strength and Toning shows that stretching your muscles with a massage roller for just one minute can improve flexibility without the loss of strength that static stretching does. The more flexible your muscles are, the more efficient your movements will be.

[Trick 2/Trick your muscles]

As your body adapts to an activity, efficiency improves—and then you stop noticing the results. But your muscles aren't that smart. It is recommended that you add some changes to the movements to keep your muscles feeling new.

Change your equipment: You can still do your favorite moves, but use different tools. For example, you can replace the dumbbells with tension equipment or tension ropes (TRX). You can switch from doing abdominal exercises on the floor to doing them on a resistance ball. “When your body is faced with an unfamiliar movement or motion pattern, it has to work harder to adapt,” Holland explains.

Change the order: If you are already doing muscle training, you might as well reverse it or change the order altogether. "Changing the order of your exercises is like starting a whole new exercise that makes your muscles work harder," Holland says.

[Tip 3 / Increase the difficulty]

Still not seeing results? Then you may not be sweating enough. The following method can go a step further.

Increase the difficulty: One quick way to firm up your muscles is to increase the weight of your dumbbells, but it's not the only way. Try changing the way you exercise. "Once you're comfortable with a basic squat or sit-up, you can switch to doing it with one foot raised," says trainer Stephanie. This shifts the body's center of gravity, requiring the torso and core muscles to work together to support the weight and maintain balance.

Start with the basics: "One way to gradually improve your cardio training is to increase the intensity or time by 10% each week," says Dorette Franks, a coach at USA Triathlon and Track & Field. So if your treadmill speed is 6 mph, increase it to between 6.1 and 6.6 mph next time. Small, gradual increases aren't difficult and will keep you going.

Tip 4: Change frequently

If you exercise more than three times a week, adjust the frequency to improve the effect.

Split your workouts: If you run 4 miles twice a week, you can run 2 miles 4 times a week. “That can make you feel tired more often or more, which can further drive you to change,” Holland says.

Be flexible: Mix up the time you exercise depending on your goals. A study in the Journal of Physiology pointed out that if you want to burn fat, you can exercise before breakfast after fasting for several hours, so that you can mobilize stored fat instead of carbohydrates eaten (the main source of energy for muscles). If you want to increase muscle strength and burn calories, ride a bike at night. A study published in the Journal of Exercise Biology shows that people who ride a bike between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. feel more energetic than those who ride in the morning.

Tip 5: Give yourself time to recover

Take some time to relax from intense exercise. You'll be fitter between each exercise session because your body is repairing (i.e. rebuilding) the muscles. Here's how to schedule rest periods for exercise:

Try active recovery: do some light activity (like light cardio, a restorative yoga class) between bouts of high-intensity exercise. "The idea is that gentle exercise during rest can prevent muscles from stiffening and activate blood circulation and promote self-healing," Holland said.

Take a day or two off: You should definitely take one day off each week, Holland advises. If you don't rest, you may get injured because your body doesn't get enough time to repair itself. Additionally, your workout won't be as effective as it would be on a day when you've had adequate rest.

Take a break week once in a while: If you exercise intensely 5 to 7 days a week and then go several months without a break, you should give yourself a 7-day break. "Exercise plateaus may mean that your body is fatigued and needs more time to recover," said a female strength expert. After resting, your body will be full of energy and ready to sprint at full speed again.

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Remember to do these three things after working out! Improve your exercise weight loss efficiency!

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