You Should Buy Fractional Plates
Fractional plates are lightweight plates (typically half pound incraments between 0.5 through 2.0lbs or their kilogram equivalents) that can be added to barbells or dumbbells to allow for a greater range of weight between full plates/dumbells. Fractional plates can be very useful for beginner and experienced lifters alike.
Work Out Harder, Not Smarter
Working out harder is the primary goal of a smart training program. You shouldn’t worry about having the perfect program, and should focus on putting in the effort if you want results, especially in the long-term.
Why Strength Fluctuates
Strength fluxuations are a natural part of training and aren’t necessarily a sign that you’re not getting stronger or something is wrong with your training program. As long as there remains an upward trend over time, you’re good! Stress, sleep schedule, recovery time, and how much you’re eating can all effect how strong - or not - you are on any given day. Disrupted training, like going on vacation or being sick, can also cause a dip in strength, but these setbacks are usually minor and getting back to your pre-break levels happens relatively quickly. The changes in strength can often be small numbers, too small to be noticed when the minimum weight you add is at least 5 pounds. The use of smaller fractional plates help make the flucuations in strength more clear.
Are You Wasting Your Beginner Gains?
“Beginner Gains” aren’t a one-time phenomenon - it’s a process that happens whenever you start practicing a skill or exercise your body is unfamiliar with or change up your training programming. Hitting plateaus generally happen when people meet their body’s natural point of diminishing returns or when they’ve exhausted whatever program they’re using that wasn’t necessarily made for longterm progress. Diminishing returns will happen to everyone. Although the progress will not be as dramatic as what you see during the beginner gains period, the most reliable way to keep growing is putting in more time and effort working out.