Breaking Through Barriers: The Ultimate Guide to Overcoming Running Plateaus

This refers to a period where , despite maintaining a consistent running routine , you cease to see any progress . It's a common that I'm personally experiencing right now , but it's something we can work together .

So , just going over the show notes , this week we'll have a look at why does running plateau happen , so what are the common causes and what are the strategies we can adopt , and then we'll finish it all off with a nice summary . So what does running plateau , or why does it happen ?

If you are not experiencing a running plateau , you likely have or will at some point in your athletic career or your running career . So why does this happen and what can we do about it ? Let's take a look at some of the more common reasons you might find yourself facing a running plateau and what you can do in that particular situation .

As I was preparing to write this , I naturally started reflecting on my own runs and I realized something both interesting and startling that I am going through a plateau myself , so hopefully this episode will look behind the curtain and give you some clues as to why we are plateauing and what we can do about it .

First , it's important to realize that there are several reasons , and all runners might hit plateau during their training . Logically , the strategy that will probably work best for you then will depend on the underlying cause . So what are the common causes ? Well , there's over training , so terms suggest .

Over training is what happens when you push yourself a bit too hard , and this could mean you're running too much or at too high of intensity intensity . Either way , you're demanding more of your body than it's capable of self-seafly delivering .

In some cases , you might also experience some aches , pains and injuries when you're over training , but that isn't always the case . Sometimes , your running progress just sort of slows you down . The solution here is both straightforward and counter intuitive . You may need to take it easy .

This might even mean taking a few days and some situations up to two weeks off to fully recover from the stress of your body has been experiencing . I know this feels wrong , but the reality , though , is that athletic progress , regardless of the sport , does not happen during the workout .

It happens between workouts , when you're recovering , and your runs simply provide a stimulus telling your body I need you to adapt to this . So those adaptations , though , take time and energy for your body to complete .

So if you are noticing you aren't making progress , it may be that you need to take some time away from the sport so your body has a chance to catch up and make the needed changes . Then we'll discuss this later on as well .

In an article written by Jonathan Thompson , he goes on to say , relating to his experience in the weightlifting world , and I quote in the weightlifting world , this is a common practice . Over the years , I've noticed a rhythm in my own lifting progress . After about a month or so on a specific routine , I started to plateau and stop making the progress .

If I can try to push through without changing anything , I might even start to slide back wood in my lifts and losing strength , but if I take a week or so off , do some cross training and focus on recovery , I can usually return to my routine and even lift more than when I last attempted , because the same physiological principles are at work and running .

The same proliferation is applied . Sometimes I just need to take a week or two away from running . So the malice adaptable machine that is the human body , the human body , can do its work .

If you've been working hard in your runs and start to notice a lack of progress , coupled with aches or pains and general lack of motivation , chances are is that you need to take some time off to recover end of quotes Under training . Well , to understand why , let's think about the idea of adaptation we briefly discussed earlier .

Your workouts provide a healthy amount of stress which triggers an adaptation response in your body . So when you meet the same challenge in the future , you are faster , stronger and just generally better prepared for it .

If your workouts don't provide enough of a challenge , say by only focusing on easy runs and ignoring anything that really pushes you , the odds are pretty good you find yourself at a plateau . I think I found this to be the case , as is easy to focus on the recovery runs of maybe three to five K .

Having to push harder in intervals is sometimes something I might shy away from , so thankfully , the solution is a simple one I need to push harder , but safely , in situations like mine . The goal is to use more challenging workouts to bust through the plateau . The exact nature of these workouts , though , will depend on your usual routine .

Typically , the idea is to incorporate something currently lacking from your routine that challenges you in a new way . For me , this means interval runs , which I'm going to schedule as part of where I've done here , but for you , the problem might be the opposite .

Maybe you feel your endurance is waning , so the likely solution would be to focus on that aspect of your fitness by running gradually greater and greater distances . Either way , the goal in this case is to challenge yourself in a way and break through whatever aspect of your routine is holding you back Mental and emotional stress .

Sometimes , though , the issue is not physical but emotional . Just like your body , you get burned out by cranking out the same old workouts consistently , and your brain can simply check out , or stress in another area of your life may be leaving you drained , so you simply don't have the mental or emotional energy to go to your runs .

For me , it's about this time of year that my seasonal depression really starts to crank up , making it difficult to focus or on just about anything . It can be really hard to get out the door when it's dark outside , either in the morning or even in the evening .

I remember going back 15 years ago when I was a lot younger and I had the motivation to get up early and go for the long run or tempo run . Now I'm a lot older and heavier and don't recover as quickly . It has proved to be quite difficult Again . In the article by Jonathan Thompson , he explains whatever the cause .

During these times of elevated emotional stress and exhaustion , the best solution is to do whatever it takes to make your workouts more enjoyable . This might mean taking some time away from running to focus on a form of cross-training , like Pilates or weightlifting , that you find more fun and relaxing .

During especially stressful periods like the holiday season , it's important to remember there's nothing wrong with going into a maintenance mode and just allowing yourself to coast for a little while . But don't worry too much about making progress . Just focus on not losing the improvements you already made .

And as run as world article , they described this as being overwhelmed . Everyone has a threshold for what's mentally manageable . So when your head gets overwhelmed with too many tasks balancing a fast paced career , keeping up with the kids , worrying about the ailing relative you can hit the tipping point .

Overload usually leads to inertia , like a deer in the headlights . You have so much to deal with that you just freeze Jason .

Chris Jason , a mental conditioning coach , says that to think of your life in terms of units of energy , if you have , let's say , 100 units per day where it is spent , a big deadline at your work or financial concerns can sap very high percentage of those 100 units , leaving you with barely enough to do an easy three miler or three kilometers it might be me in

my case Let alone tackling hill repeats . Breakthrough would be be mindful of your tipping point . Chris Jason , a mental conditioning coach and founder of the Triathlete Mind , says if summer is your least flexible time of year , for example , don't sign up for the fall marathon , so in the autumn you're doing a marathon .

So that will require major time and energy commitment over your busy season . Become more manageable time of year for demanding trainer or scale back your goal and opt for maybe a half marathon or 10K or even a 5K . And if you are already in the midst of training and feel more overwhelmed than motivated by your goal , break your training to do into smaller tasks .

So focus your mental energy on tomorrow's workout . Only Spend a few minutes thinking about it , what you're going to wear when you're going to do it . What you're going to wear , you're going to do it , and Jason says being forward thinking and making decisions about those small details will give you a game plan . We'll show hope .

You feel in control and less overwhelmed . I can totally sympathise with this . Maybe , if you're a member of a gym , why not take advantage of any personal training office they may have for you ? Might provide you with some more multifunctional exercises , and this will help stimulate your mind and body .

Look on the bright side and this is an interesting point that brings up interesting thing that can't be ignored . Plateaus are not necessarily a bad thing . Of course , they can be deeply frustrating , and , as athletes and runners , we feel like we need to be making constant and stunning progress in our training .

The reality , though , is that it's just not how it works , and that's a good thing . You all have in life , responsibilities outside of running , even professional runners , of other things . They need to be think about and Careful .

An occasional plateau , then , is a perfect time to care for those , those other responsibilities , while holding the status quo in your fitness . Many experienced runners Actually schedule this sort of holding pattern into their yearly , yearly schedule . So is that sort of like that peer at the principle of periodization .

So you may , and , like me , like Olympic athletes or any professional athletes , they'll do a set training goal in the winter . Then they may taper off coming up to competition , but maybe in between those times they will Set aside a recovery plan as well . Of course , as we talked about , most plateaus are decided by your body .

Still , try to view these plateaus as important messages from your body , rather than just frustrations , frustrations or refusing to make progress for one reason or another . Your body is telling you what it needs and once those needs are met , progress can continue .

So why , when you encounter a plateau , then try to calm , accept it and figure out what's really going on .

Other strategies to overcome a running plateau . So some of these strategies may occur . We have covered in the past podcast in some form or another . In an article by Run Kingbird , they suggested the following figure out and set a goal . Setting achievable goals is a challenging thing .

First , it's important to take some time to think about what your overarching running goals are . Once you identify the big goal , you can set that little goal that you will get you started . Do you want to run a 5k ? Then maybe your goal is to run two minutes longer every time you run for a month . Do you want to improve your pace ?

Then make your goal is to run intervals twice a week . Do you want to run a marathon ? Then choose one and then start a training plan . Setting achievable goals is about focusing on why you want to improve and setting a goal that will get you started . Run with a friend Friends , pushes to run a little faster , a little further then you would have otherwise .

The social aspect helps us to make time for running or we might otherwise choose a different activity . It takes a lot less willpower to run with a friend Then it does to drag yourself off the couch on your own . Sometimes running with a friend is all it takes to push you to the next level . Create a schedule .

A lot of runners just run whatever distance they feel like on any given day , with no thought of improvement . These can lead to plateaus . So if you want to escape and make a schedule , it can be flexible , for example , run one long run a week or it can be a little bit more definitive , for example , run specific distances on specific days of the week .

Having some sort of framework helps you push yourself , just like that little bit harder so you can get , as you can start getting stronger again , and it just gives you a little bit more of a direction . Plus , it gives you a plan as to what you're aiming for in the long term .

Maybe 12 , 16 weeks it could be doing a 10K in under 60 minutes or 50 minutes , or whatever your goal is . Diaryty , says Jane Jacobs in her article on how to break out the running plateau . I will include links to all the articles that I've done research in the show notes .

So switch up your runs to include different types of workouts hills , tempo , easy , long fart , looks , repeats , you name it . Progressing is really hard If we continue to do the same workout over and over . The step below can really help you to really focus in on what runs will help you towards your specific race goals . Try interval training .

The definition of interval training is running faster than normal for a short period of time and then running or walking or standing until you're ready to do it again . You can repeat that cycle in a lot of different ways . There are no better way to get faster than to run intervals .

Intervals are the best way to improve cardiovascular strength , ie strengthen your heart and lungs so you don't get out of breath as easily . They strengthen your muscles in ways that are different from just running a steady distance . They also get you mentally used to running faster than your usual pace .

That way later it does not feel weird or intimidating or scary to run fast . Anyone looking to improve their speed should really consider some form of interval training . Again , this is something we have covered in episode five and I will include a link in the show notes . Run Heels this is something we have covered in a recent episode .

Running hills uses different muscles than running on a flat ground . Now , it encourages the use of the glutes and abdominals , give greater flexibility in the feet and it might not be activated otherwise . Bonus as those muscles get stronger , you become a better runner and that is take advantage if you do have any sort of hills around your local area .

If not , do it on the treadmill if you are a member of a gym . And again , as I said , we did cover this in a previous podcast . Strength Training A lot of runners just run .

For some people that works , but adding the right kinds of strength training can be beneficial to any runner , focusing on the exercises to activate and strengthen your glutes , abs , quads , hamstrings and calves and hip flexors can make a huge difference in your running . Runners at every level go through plateaus , but there is always something new .

You can try to escape and get better at Hitting a running plateau is an ideal time to refocus . So get out there and create a new goal and make some changes . So , yes , definitely recommend strength training . Some people have said that maybe they don't include enough strength training into their running , but definitely .

I think there can only be positives by including strength training as part of your training schedule . In summary , well , we've covered a lot of ground on the topic of running plateaus , exploring the various reasons why they happen and the strategies to overcome them .

Whether it's over training , under training or mental and emotional stress holding you back , remember that plateaus are just a temporary roadblocks on your running journey . So the next time you find yourself facing a plateau , don't despair . Instead , embrace it as an opportunity for growth and exploration .

Set new goals , mix up your workouts and don't be afraid to seek support from friends or professionals , or keep listening to Brian's Rompod . And hey , if you've enjoyed today's episode and found it helpful , be sure to check out our past episodes for more tips and insights to all things running related .

Until the next time , keep placing up your shoes , panning the pavement , chasing those personal records . Remember every step forward , no matter how small , is a victory worth celebrating . Thanks for tuning in to Brian's Rompod . Stay safe , stay motivated and happy running everyone .