Ep. #428: Dr. Mike Israetel on Breaking Through Muscle Gain Plateaus

Do you ever feel like you’re just spinning your wheels in the gym?

Are you having trouble remembering the last time you added any real weight to the bar on any of your key lifts?

Has your body weight and body fat percentage been hovering in the same range for what seems like forever?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, I get it. I’ve been there myself and understand the frustration firsthand.

You see, the hard lesson us weightlifters have to learn is once our “honeymoon phase” is over—the first six to eight months in most people—continuing to gain muscle and strength gets harder and harder, until eventually progress becomes so slow you can barely measure it.

That’s not even the kicker, either. Not only is muscle and strength gain harder to come by the more you train, the more training you have to do just to continue eking out improvements.

In other words, as time goes on, you have to do more and more intense work in the gym for less and less reward.

This is one of the key reasons so many people get stuck in a rut, and in this episode, Dr. Mike Israetel explains why this happens, what else contributes to plateaus, and how to overcome these obstacles and keep the needle moving.

In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Israetel, he has been one of my most-requested podcast guests and for good reason. Not only does he hold a PhD in Sport Physiology, but he’s the cofounder of Renaissance Periodization, a successful blog, coaching program, and fitness platform, similar in many ways to my own company Legion Athletics.

So, in this interview, Mike and I discuss what a real plateau is, strategies for breaking through plateaus, the importance of deloads, exercise order, sleep hygiene, and more.

6:50 - What is a plateau and what are some strategies to break through plateaus?
14:53 - How do you determine if you’ve plateaued?
27:30- What do you do after you hit a plateau?
54:18 - Is intensity important for muscle growth?
58:36 - Where can people find you and your work?

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