The element of surprise can take some of the mystery out of staying fit. Almost everyone hits a plateau in the pursuit of health. The sedentary individual who won’t stir from the sofa could be said to be on a plateau of sorts, but even active people fall into a routine of doing the same workouts and eating the same foods.
“One thing working against us is age,” said Alice Lindeman, an associate professor of nutrition at Indiana University in Bloomington. “For example, in your 50s, you basically need 50 calories less (per day) than you did in your 40s. Plus, you will naturally lose a small percentage of lean muscle mass (about 1 percent each year after age 35) if your fitness regimen is constant.
“So if you don’t make some adjustment in your food intake or physical activity level, you will be taking in more calories than your body needs. You will gain weight.”
Changing workout pace and adding variety to menus are favored solutions.
Exercise scientists endorse the principle of “muscle confusion.” Muscles grow faster and stronger when forced to react to changes. The concept extends to training the lungs and cardiovascular system.
“The best indicator for knowing if you are hitting a plateau is your heart rate,” said Gregory Florez, owner of the Chicago-based First Fitness, which employs more than 50 trainers in a half-dozen U.S. cities. “It’s the window to the body. If your heart rate is lowering as you do the same workout, you need to find a way to challenge the muscles.”
This sort of surprise attack can enhance the body’s overall adaptability. It is the foundation of cross training–calling upon different muscles to do the work–which can be more easily achieved as warmer weather beckons.
“I stop my strength training at the gym during the summer,” Lindeman said. “I spend four days in the garden each week instead, tending to my tomatoes, peppers, green beans and pumpkins.”
Although Lindeman welcomes the physical break from weight-lifting–and friends and neighbors appreciate her tomatoes because she doesn’t really like them–the best reason for the change might be that it averts boredom. By fall, she looks forward to returning to the gym.
Lindeman, who advises collegiate and recreational athletes, also sees summer as a time to expand your sense of culinary adventure. Summertime harvests can encourage you to add nutrients while trimming fat grams.
“I tell people to look for bright fruits and vegetables,” she said. “You get the added beta carotene, vitamin C and potassium. Fresh peaches are packed with nutrients and can really have you looking forward to a healthful dessert.
“I grill fish about four times a week in the better weather. I love fish, but I cook less of it in the winter because I don’t want to smell up my house.”
Discipline in diet and exercise is admirable, but you have to make sure you don’t end up clinging to a routine. How do you tell the difference?
“Boredom is a highly reliable health indicator,” Florez said. “We see clients every day who never vary what or when they eat. They are missing out on opportunities to feel more energy and maybe even lose weight.”
For example, Florez said preliminary studies show that even moving up your bedtime snack by a half-hour can help promote a sounder sleep. He also advises people to gauge their energy levels during exercise; more than a few clients “save up” calories for a post-workout meal, usually dinner, rather than eat a pre-workout snack that would prepare them better for exertion.
“We see people who will try new exercise regimens but are unwilling to adjust the vitamin supplements they take,” Florez said. “Everything should be reviewed.”
Regular exercisers often reach a plateau in six weeks, though a well-conditioned athlete might hit a flat stretch within a month while novices could require two months. At that point, muscles have become more efficient at the same task, so they’re not working as hard. One major result: The more efficient body burns fewer calories.
Florez offered some research-proven ways to alter an exercise routine so it will “surprise” the muscles: Add some 30-second intervals of brisk walking or lunges to a running or walking routine. Increase intensity on your exercise bike for 60 seconds every 10 minutes. Use a different computerized program on your exercise machine. Change the angle of your weight-lifting exercise or even the order of lifts. Best yet, get outside for a bike ride or hike.
Many elite athletes now follow “periodization” schedules that build up the body in three phases to be in peak shape for the season. Then they change to a recovery phase when the season ends. Lindeman sees a natural counterpart for personal nutrition plans.
“We do have four seasons of the year,” she said. Those seasonal changes should remind people to change their eating habits too.
“No one should eat raisin bran or oatmeal every morning, or chicken every dinner,” Lindeman said. “Oranges should not be your only fruit. Summer is especially full of good choices at the produce stand. You can get out of a rut.”
