Here are some tips to help you should you find yourself in the awful situation of no progress in your bodybuilding efforts. At all costs you should avoid over-training which is believed to be one of the most common causes of hitting a plateau. Frequent colds or illness, aching muscles and joints, low energy and motivation and sleeplessness are indicators of over-training. Should you find yourself experiencing these ailments then it means you are over-training and your body is letting you know that it needs a break. By taking a couple of days off your body will be allowed to completely rejuvenate itself before easing back into training.

For each muscle group endeavor to perform exercises which vary. For example, you can use shoulder presses with a straight bar in a set then change to dumbbell shoulder presses in another set. Although this might seem to be a simple change, a different stress will be placed on the shoulder muscles which will help to break through a plateau in shoulder development. The aim is to vary the exercise so that a novel stress is placed on the targeted muscle group. This will help you by making the muscles grow as well as keeping you interested in the workouts.

Also remember that by changing the stress applied on a muscle by changing the amount of weight used during an exercise also helps to keep you off a plateau. As a result this will have an impact on the number of repetitions that you will be able to perform. It is normally recommended to carry out 8 – 10 repetitions per set, using a heavy weight to the point at which you are unable to continue without assistance. By decreasing the weight being used in your exercises by as much as 20% on the third or fourth workout you will be able to perform more repetitions per set before achieving muscular failure. With higher repetition scheme different elements of the muscles will be taxed thereby stimulating new growth.

Try to break the monotony of your workouts by changing the order of the exercises. For instance you could start your should development by using the dumbbell press which will be followed by a lateral exercise, then change and begin with the laterals first ending with the pressing exercise. Changing the order of exercise in this way will vary the stress. Also you could start with compound exercises first using as much weight as possible then change to isolation exercises where only a particular muscle group is targeted. Then repeat by changing the order first with isolation exercises and then ending with compound exercises. You will realize that each regimen will have its distinct benefits.

Finally to really keep that plateau at bay you have to apply the technique of forced repetitions. This happens when you reach the point of failure on a set and cannot continue unassisted, your partner could assist you to perform 1 – 2 repetitions. He will only assist by raising the weight but you should lower the weight under your own control.

Dane Fletcher is the world’s most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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