The dreaded workout Plateau! Even if you have been making solid gains month over month, at some point you will hit that brick wall and seem to get stuck or even worse, lose your gains! No matter how hard you try or how much you want that weight to start climbing again, it just seems like maybe that's the best you are going to ever do...

Keep in mind we are talking about strength and muscle size Plateaus, weight loss plateaus are another topic entirely but there is a bit of an overlap for sure.

So how does one go about getting past a Workout Plateau? Here are a few suggestions that may help you...

Take a mini break: Sometimes a Workout Plateau is your bodies was of saying it's tired and needs a break to fully recover. Taking a week off could be the best thing you could do and you will more than likely find many of those annoying pains and tight areas will benefit from some time off. If you find it hard to stop cold turkey for an entire week then perhaps just take it easy in the gym, keep your workouts moderate and don't push to failure.

Change things up: There are many ways you can change things up, one way is to adjust your form or grip, even small changes could help you find a position that works better or taps into a stronger area of your body. When training, find alternative exercises that hit the same body parts you are having plateau problems with, work on accessory exercise work, focus on the area where you seem to be getting stuck and train that portion of your lift or pull until it no longer is a sticking point.

Increase your intensity: Your workout Plateau may be as simple as you just need to ramp up your game. If you train the same day in and out and never do more reps or sets or try and add more weight, well guess what... Your body will adjust and figure you are happy with the way things are since you are not asking your body to do more than it is capable of. Put more load and demand on your body and it will have no choice but to adjust and get stronger to meet the new demand.

Feed your body what it needs: Many people make the mistake of not giving their bodies enough of the right foods to grow and get stronger, perhaps you need to make some changes in this area, maybe more protein or even more carbs so you have the fuel you need during your workouts to push harder and longer.

Be patient: Even if you are doing everything right, the stronger you get and the longer you have been training, this will naturally lead to long extended Workout Plateaus. Persistence and dedication is what separates the elite athletes from the mediocre ones.