How a Change in Environment Can Help Break Through a Stubborn Plateau

They say the mirror never lies in the fitness world, but the mirror isn’t the ultimate barometer for one’s success or failure in reaching their fitness goals through exercise, although it does indeed make for a very good one. While you may like what you see in the mirror when you look at the visual representation of the hard work you’ve put in so far, the cold hard truth is that you may be stuck at a plateau which you just cannot seem to break through, making for the fitness success you’re currently basking in little bit bittersweet.

One thing which always seems to work wonders in helping break through a stubborn plateau is that of changing one’s environment. It may seem like an insignificant piece of advice to follow since it doesn’t really have a direct link to something like the reps you’re able to complete or indeed something like the maximum weight you’re able to lift, but it works nevertheless.

Try it and find out for yourself just how effective a change in scenery can be, whether the fitness plateau is one which has something to do with building muscle mass, losing weight, or endurance. A change in environment works either way, but if you want a little bit more convincing through learning just exactly how it all works, I’ll get into it just a bit.

Mind over matter

This is about as “motivational” or “inspirational” as I’m going to get since I ordinarily try to relay practical, actionable advice which my readers can get up from reading and implement physically, but only because this piece of advice is just as practical and actionable as any I ordinarily give.

So it’s all in the mind – hear me out…

A change in your workout environment is not enough to help you break through your fitness plateau. It may work for a few days to a couple of weeks max, but you’ll soon fall into the exact same cycle and worse yet, perhaps you’ll even lose any gains you may have made within that time as soon as you return to your regular environment in which you commonly work out. The change needs to be radical, like perhaps even moving all the way across town or moving to a new city altogether.

It’s all about how your body and mind react to your real world environment, beyond the “lab conditions” which are your gym. You get stronger, fitter, faster based on the physical and mental challenges your body and mind face in your real-world environment, so that’s where the change needs to be made.

Sometimes it’s a matter of the new environment giving you the extra motivation you need to put in that little bit extra effort to achieve a certain fitness goal, such as how the apartments in Madison inspire a lot of people to never skip their daily morning jog simply because they get extra inspiration from being able to run along the banks of Lake Mendeota – just like in the movies!