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Break through a fitness plateau
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In your efforts to lose weight, has the scale stopped moving?
If you're doing the same exercises at the same pace with the same weight, it can keep you from losing weight, especially if you are eating the same amount. This happens because your body adapts to your workout, which essentially makes it less effective. You're burning fewer calories doing the same workout over and over again. Small tweaks to your routine can produce big results to get the scale moving in the right direction once again.
Here's how you can break through a fitness plateau:
Go farther. Once a week, add 10 minutes to your normal routine. Keep increasing this time to burn more calories and build endurance.
Go faster. Speed up your run or cardio routine by adding some interval training. Alternate 2 minutes of hard effort with 2 minutes of moderate effort. You'll cover your usual distance in less time and burn more calories.
Get stronger. Add 30 minutes of full-body strength training (focus on major muscle groups) 2-4 times a week to build lean muscle, which boosts your metabolism and scorches calories.
Mix it up. A couple of times a week, replace your usual routine with something different. If you always use the elliptical, try the stationary bike, stairclimber or even swimming. Mixings things up keeps your body guessing, so it'll have to work even harder to keep up.
Take a break. If you're putting your time in at the gym, but haven't seen results, give yourself some recovery time. Read more about the importance of recovery days.
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