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.
Paying Not To Go To The Gym
How often do new members actually use the gym? One study found that new exercisers are consistently overconfident about how often they'll actually use the gym, causing them to choose sub-optimal membership plans and pay a lot more than they should per gym visit.
What To Expect When You Start Lifting
Beginners often have no clue what to expect when they start lifting. As a result, they set poor goals, have unrealistic expectations, and set themselves up for failure. You can avoid this using the guidelines set in this post, though your own progress may not be ideal.
No Load Exercise Part 2 - A No Load Exercise Program
In the previous post on no load exercise, I explored the value of no load exercise as a bridge to full activity for those dealing with disability or dysfunction. In this post, I lay out a full exercise plan for incorporating no load exercise into your training.