When starting out with training, especially strength training, many people wonder, "Why am I not getting stronger quickly?" or "Why aren't my weights increasing?" In the beginning, weight increases rapidly, and you might think, "At this rate, joining the 1000-pound club will be a breeze!"
However, at some point, you hit a plateau, and it feels like others are easily increasing their weights while you remain stagnant. In reality, the issue may not be with your workout itself, but rather external factors like stress and diet. While it’s important to address these external factors, in this article, we will focus on common mistakes made during strength training at the gym and the reasons why your weights may not be increasing.
1. Left-Right Imbalances
When you repeat the same exercise for a long period, your body adapts, and the stimulus weakens. As you increase the weights during strength training, imbalances in your body may become more pronounced. Most people have imperfect left-right balance, often due to daily habits or postures.
These imbalances may not be obvious when lifting lighter weights, but as you perform heavier movements like the bench press or deadlift, you may notice one side of your body bears more of the load. Continuing strength training in such a state will exacerbate these imbalances, reducing training efficiency and increasing the risk of injury.
For example, if you're left-handed, you may notice that your right hand grip weakens faster during a deadlift. When squatting, you might realize your body leans to one side. These issues not only reduce the effectiveness of your strength training but could also lead to serious injuries.
To address this, it's advisable to incorporate various training tools. While barbell exercises are great for maximizing strength by using both hands and feet, pushing your body beyond its imbalanced state may hinder progress and increase the risk of injury.
In such cases, using kettlebells, dumbbells, or cables can help activate muscles on both sides and improve balance. Through this balance training, you’ll eventually be able to lift weights that once felt difficult in barbell exercises.
2. Frequent 1RM Testing
When training for strength, it's natural to feel the urge to check your maximum weight once in a while. The curiosity of "How much have I improved?" is natural, and sometimes sharing your progress on social media or using it as motivation can be a great way to stay engaged.
However, if you're following a strength program, focusing on the process is far more important than focusing on the results. Most well-designed strength programs train based on 70-80% of your 1RM (one-rep max) and are generally carried out in a structured way over 6 to 12 weeks. Testing your maximum weight, such as 1RM or 3RM, during this process could interfere more than help.
The main purpose of a 1RM test is to set a baseline at the beginning of the program. After this point, retesting isn’t really necessary.
The major issue with frequent 1RM testing is that it puts excessive stress on your muscles and nervous system, leading to fatigue. As a result, the amount of training on the test day is reduced, and subsequent training sessions will also be negatively impacted. Over time, this can slow down progress. The key to strength training is sticking to the process and focusing on gradual improvement. By letting go of the urge to check numbers frequently and concentrating on the program’s stages, you'll achieve better growth and results.
3. Focusing Only on Weight
Often, when engaging in strength training, people focus solely on lifting heavier weights. While lifting heavy weights is one of the core aspects of strength training, it’s important to remember that the human body is not just a machine designed to bear heavy loads. While the body may quickly adapt to lifting heavier weights in the short term, there’s a risk of not getting enough training that could hinder further strength development in the long run.
It’s also important to understand that strength includes not just raw power, but also muscular endurance. If your goal is simply to hit a new 1RM record, focusing on increasing weight is understandable. However, if you’re building a strong, healthy body, it’s essential to incorporate volume training and interval workouts in addition to simply adding weight.
Research has shown that human strength development occurs through balancing volume and weight. Therefore, strength programs are designed to ensure a certain amount of volume is included. If you lack endurance, it’ll be difficult to follow the strength program properly. While there may be periods where you focus on weight and reduce volume during strength training, the majority of your training period should focus on volume for long-term success.
4. Quitting Midway Through the Program
Let’s be honest: strength programs can get boring. I’ve experienced this myself countless times. Most strength programs last between 8 to 12 weeks, and the core focus is on repetition. Exercises like squats, bench presses, rows, and deadlifts are constantly repeated. This repetition can get monotonous, which is a major reason why many people quit midway through the program. Eventually, they don't reach their desired results and are left feeling disappointed. The dilemma of "How long do I have to endure this monotony?" vs. "If I stick with it, I’ll get good results" is a common thought process.
In such cases, I recommend strategically modifying the program. Some people may have the misconception that "the program must be followed exactly as written." While it's true that a well-designed program has solid reasoning behind it, it’s often more important to continue making progress, even if it means slightly modifying the program.
For example, if you’re getting tired of the barbell bench press, try switching to a bench press machine or dumbbell bench press. Alternatively, you can add push-ups to vary things up. The key is to add variety while still keeping the core goals of the program intact. These small changes can help you maintain consistency and reduce boredom.
The reason strength programs are so popular is that the results are clear when followed to the end. Therefore, it’s most important to add your personal variations within the program’s framework to stay consistent.
5. Neglecting Rest
The foundation of strength is muscle. So, how are muscles built? Muscles develop through the process of "exercise → damage → recovery → growth (adaptation)." Exercise causes small tears in muscle fibers, and after adequate recovery and proper nutrition, the damaged tissue repairs itself, growing stronger and thicker. Without sufficient recovery, muscles cannot grow, and no matter how hard you train, your strength won't improve as expected.
Each individual has limits to how much they can train and recover in a week. When planning your training, it's important to consider not only what exercises to perform and how much weight to use but also to ensure adequate rest and nutrition. There’s a noticeable difference between a week of training with proper recovery and nutrition versus one without. With proper recovery, you’ll experience faster strength gains and better workout performance.
This is why BurnFit offers a feature for tracking rest. It’s not just an additional option, but a recognition that tracking and managing rest is as important as tracking your workouts. This helps users systematically maximize their performance.
6. In Conclusion
Do you remember the excitement you felt when you first started strength training? The thrill of lifting a weight that once seemed impossible, that rush of accomplishment—those moments made you feel like you could conquer anything.
But as time passes, you might find that your weights have plateaued. The initial excitement turns into boredom, which can cloud the purpose of your training. Eventually, this leads to neglecting your workouts.
Even so, don’t give up. There is definitely a way to overcome this plateau. The key is to identify the problem, try various approaches, and continue moving forward. This plateau is just part of the process, and you can overcome it.
I hope this article helps those of you struggling with plateaus. BurnFit is here to support all the dedicated users who continue their fitness journeys!