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The plateau effect is a force of nature that lessens the effectiveness of once effective measures over time. When climbing, for example, it’s easy to reach a plateau and feel as if no matter what you do, your progress will be stunted. This article will offer some tips on how to overcome the plateau effect in climbing and get back on track with your training so that you can climb better, faster and more enjoyable than ever before!
What is the Plateau Effect in Climbing
As we explained above, the plateau effect is a force of nature that lessens the effectiveness of once effective measures over time. In other words, when you try to do something and it works at first but then stops being as effective – this can be called the plateau effect.
In sports, the Exercise Plateau Effect refers to when a body becomes accustomed to a certain stimulus and thus ceases to respond to it.
Why does it happen and how can you overcome it
Climbing plateau effects come from many different sources: overuse injuries; neurological fatigue (changes in our body’s ability to use the muscles); lack of variety in training methods; plateauing on a single route or boulder problem.
Overcoming the plateau usually involves a change in the person’s workout, including adding periods of rest, changing volume of exercises, or increasing/decreasing the weight used in strength exercises.
When it comes to the plateau effect in climbing, overcoming it is possible by making changes such as adding periods of rest and switching up exercises.
The plateau effect is something that everyone who climbs must deal with at some point, but luckily there are ways to get past it and train effectively again.
Tips to get back on track with training
In order to get back on track with your plateaued climbing, we recommend trying these tips:
– Increase the variety of moves you do in sessions. This is a great way to keep things fresh and help stop plateauing by working different muscles in new ways or pushing yourself past any muscle imbalances that have come up from focusing on a single type of climb.
– Choose different types of climbing and cyclically progress the intensity or difficulty on your own terms, rather than following any hard/easy pattern that someone else sets out for you. This will allow you to plateau in one type of training while progressing in others, which is an effective way to keep things interesting.
– Take a day or two off from climbing. This sounds counterintuitive, but sometimes taking a break from training can help you come back refreshed and ready to climb again with renewed vigor.
The plateau effect is something that everyone who climbs must contend with at some point in their development as an athlete; it’s nothing to be afraid of – just something to be aware of and train around.
More Resources About the Plateau Effect
A very interesting book has been written about this Plateau effect by Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson, exploring this effect in more detail.
The Plateau Effect shows how athletes, scientists, therapists, companies, and musicians around the world are learning to break through their plateau – to turn off the forces that cause people to “get used to” things – and turn on human potential and happiness in ways that seemed impossible.
Anything you want to do better – play guitar, make friends, communicate with your children, run a business – you can accomplish faster by understanding the plateau effect.
