Closer to the Edge

I recently received the great news that I passed my Les Mills video certification. The assessment feedback provided is highly detailed, analyzing each movement made throughout the 60 minute workout, offering suggestions for improvement and praise when demonstrating excellence and competence.

While well pleased with this result, I inspected the remarks carefully. One particular comment caught my attention. The examiner suggested that I "trust my strength" and up my weights. Les Mills instructors are expected to be inspiring with their weight choices, lifting to their upper limits of strength. I have to admit that with teaching a couple of classes each day, I sometimes go slightly lighter than I could lift in order to preserve my energy and strength for another class. Keeping my weights at an average level, I have noticed that completing the 60-minute class is less of a challenge now than it was when I first starting teaching it.

I have begun to plateau. Plateau: " a relatively stable level, period, or condition". That means - my body has reached a level where I am comfortable with the weight that I am lifting and it is posing no significant challenge to me. As a result, my body has adapted to these loads, and stopped changing to meet the physical demands of the workout.

Uh, oh. Not good. The goal of our workout is to change our bodies -- to continue to shape, tone, define and improve.

So today, I upped my weight. In some tracks, I simply added a 1 kilo plate to either side of my bar. That little donut doesn't look like much, and it certainly doesn't feel like much to pick up on its own, but just that small amount of extra weight on each end really made a difference after 5 straight minutes of repetitions in a single track.

Reaching a plateau is a common occurrence for people who workout regularly. At first, dramatic results come easily - pounds melt away, muscles start making an appearance. Just as it seems you are getting in the groove of exercising, you realize you haven't noticed a difference in your body recently. That means it's time for a change! Push yourself closer to the edge and mix it up.

If you think you may have reached a plateau, read this article to see if these 4 Signs that You Need to Lift More Weight apply to you.

If you decide to lift more weight, start with a modest increase, no more than ten percent higher than what you are currently lifting. Your weight should be heavy enough so that when you reach the end of a set (or track, in BodyPump), you feel completely fatigued and unable to complete even one more repetition.Follow @catherinederrow