Happy Monday Squad!

Welcome back to The Daily Dumbbell, the fitness newsletter that makes every week feel like you just had a long weekend. Is this a 4 day work week? Might as well be! Cheers to starting the week fired up!

Today, we're talking about plateauing in the gym. 

But wait, before you break out into a cold sweat just thinking about that dreaded plateau, we’re going to hit you with a fitness hot take:

Plateaus are a myth.

That’s right, much like the Loch Ness Monster, cancel culture, and a gym bro who is satisfied with what he sees in the mirror… plateaus as you know them, do not exist.

Let’s dive in.

Busting Through the Plateau Myth

We’re just going to come out and say it: You aren’t stuck at 135 on your squat because you hit a plateau.

First, what is a plateau? Remember when you first started lifting and you increased the weight every single time you worked out? Amazing right. But then it leveled off. You hit a wall of some kind.

The dreaded plateau. Well, not so fast. Progress will get slower and slower as you progress on your journey, but if it grinds to a halt? That’s a sign you’re doing something wrong.

More often than not, a lack of progress in the gym comes down to two things:

1. You aren’t following a structured workout plan that is setup for you to progress and get bigger/stronger/faster in this specific movement.

2. You aren’t eating or sleeping enough to recover properly.

Now, that’s a wide umbrella. Let’s zoom in. First, your workout habits:

1. You’re hopping from one workout to another with no real plan. This doesn’t allow your body enough reps to get used to what you’re doing, adapt, and get better.

2. You’re doing too little volume to elicit growth. i.e. you’re squatting once a week and doing a few sets of lunges. Not gonna get it done.

3. You’re doing way too much volume to recover from. You’re doing 30 sets of squat variations, lunges, leg presses, etc. every week. Way too much.

4. Your intensity isn’t high enough: You’re never getting close to failure on any of your sets. Ya gotta do more than that.

5. Your intensity is too high: You’re working to failure every time and crawling out of the gym. That’s way too much. Do less.

Hopefully the picture is starting to materialize here: Balance.

Not too hot, not too cold.

To truly make strides in your fitness journey, you need to follow a plan that focuses on progressive overload, ensuring you're continually challenging your muscles.

Once your muscles are sufficiently challenged, you’ll have to recover. There’s really only two things to focus on here, but they’re both important:

1. You need to eat enough food

2. You need to get enough sleep. 

We’re not breaking news here. This isn’t complicated. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

1. Eat to fuel performance

2. Perform according to the plan

3. Eat to refuel

4. Sleep to recover

5. Repeat (over and over again for the rest of your life)

You’ll notice that the recipe for strength training, and really all athletic training is 1 part working out and 2 parts recovery.

We’ve got the visual learners covered:

This is progressive overload in visual form. The SRA Curve: Stimulus, recovery, adaptation.

1. Stimulus: breaking the muscle down

2. Recover: back to baseline

3. Adapt: to make it harder to break down next time.

We’ll dive deeper into the SRA curve next Monday, as well as what the workouts look like and how to achieve this, but for now we want you to channel some of that honesty from last week.

Be real with us for a minute. Are you following a structured workout plan? If not, why not?

If you find that you're not following a structured workout plan or you're struggling with proper nutrition and recovery, it's time to make some changes.

By addressing these issues, you'll be well on your way to smashing through those imaginary plateaus and reaching new heights in your fitness journey.

And if you’re not sure where to start or you need some guidance, reply to this email. We’re here to help!

Let's make this week a game-changer!

Move it or Lose It: The Magic of Mobility

We’re rewinding all the way back to elementary school gym class today.

Close your eyes. Let your mind transport you back to the gym. You’re standing on a blue foldable mat pulling your arm across your chest. Looking around to make sure you’re doing it right.

Feel that stretch? No, of course you don’t.

You might be shocked to find out those static stretches aren't all that electric after all. Much like icing a sprained ankle, and Pluto losing its designation as a thicc boy, a lot of what we learned as kids has changed.

In fact, various studies have shown that static stretching can actually increase the risk of injury.^1 2 3 

But we’re not here to scare you. We’re here to learn together! So, what's the alternative? Well tuck your chin and get a good push off the mats because we’re about to roll into the exciting world of mobility!

Now, you’re probably thinking, "But isn't mobility just woke stretching?” While we’re glad your BS detector is running at full bore, there’s a big difference between the two. Namely:

• Flexibility refers to the passive range of motion of a muscle,

• Mobility is about actively moving through a full range of motion like a boss.

Mobility training is dynamic, making you groove through different positions and movements, priming your body for a workout and turning you into a well-oiled machine.

Kinda like yoga but without the chakras…

Groovy.

Let’s talk benefits:

• It helps prevent injuries by ensuring your joints and muscles are properly prepared for the high-octane moves you're about to perform

• Improved recovery by helping you shake off muscle imbalances and tightness that may develop from regular workouts and 8+ hours of sitting slouched like a fucking banana each day.

• It can enhance your athletic performance by reducing the tightness/stiff feeling in your limbs.

• All of which leads to more enjoyable workouts!

And who doesn’t want to feel like a supple leopard in the gym? Shoutout Kelly Starrett.

Now it’s time for that sweet, sweet, actionable advice.

But before you take off at a sprint, know this: Mobility is a journey, not a race, so the first thing to remember is to meet yourself where you are right now.

You're not going to turn into a human pretzel overnight, and that's totally okay.

Think of mobility as a lifelong practice that starts with small steps, like dedicating just 3-5 minutes before your workout and a few more minutes before bed each day.

Now, if the idea of a lifetime commitment to mobility is making you break a sweat, fret not! This is the perfect use case for a 30 day challenge! We know how much everyone loves 30 day challenges!

Heres how to get started:

1. Commit to 5 or 10 minutes of mobility work daily. Remember, consistency is key. (Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were supple hips!)

2. Do your mobility practice at the same time every day. This helps you build a habit that'll stick like super glue.

3. Track your progress! Jot down how you feel and any improvements you notice. Watching your mobility grow will keep you motivated and inspired to keep moving and grooving.

4. Make it a priority: Running low on time in the gym and have to skip something? Skip something at the end. Mobility is mandatory!

Follow these steps and you’ll be a well oiled mobility machine in no time!

If you were hoping for a Daily Dumbbell 30 Day mobility challenge announcement, you’re not alone. But we just came up with the idea while writing it… so you’re going to have to wait.

But Mobility May does have a nice ring to it…

Have an amazing Monday! And as always, hit us with your feedback.