If you clearly understand and apply the principles involved in this course so far, you will experience very rapid muscle gains.  However, over a long term, eventually a ‘sticking point’ or plateau in your training may be reached.  It is at this point in training that fast muscle gains can sometimes appear almost impossible.  Sticking points are almost always a direct result of overtraining.  More often than not, this plateau can be overcome with a brief layoff.

The reasons  for such a “plateau” in muscle gains can vary.  Applying some of these simple strategies below should quickly produce further muscle gains.  Most guys mistakenly assume, when reaching a plateau, that their maximum muscular potential has been reached.  That is simply not the case.  Your true potential is incredibly high.  Very few guys come close to even “scratching” their limits.

Now. Taking a brief layoff, is the first recommendation when experiencing a sticking point in your training.  After returning to regular training, if you are still unable to increase your muscle size, two further strategies can be applied to produce bigger and better gains.

Increasing the current resistance on the exercise you are stuck on can stimulate extra muscle growth.  This increase should not exceed more than twenty percent.  For example, if you are using 100 pounds in a barbell curl for ten repetitions, the weight should be increased to 120 pounds.  Adjusting the weight like this, will
more than likely reduce your performance ability to three or four repetitions.  However, if you perform all sets with maximum intensity of effort, the number of repetitions you are able to perform will quickly increase to ten or more.

Sometimes, an increase of poundage is not safe, due to the current level of weight already being used.  In such cases, adding extra weight can pose a threat to your safety.  So instead. Replace the exercise with an alternative.  The change of exercise need not be drastic.   For example. If you have reached a plateau in the
bench press, you could replace it with the incline dumbbell press. Or, parallel dips.  The alternative exercise should be included in the routine for three to four weeks.  After this period, the regular bench press can used once again.  You should notice significant gains very quickly after doing so.

If you are still unable to increase your HGH levels or gain muscle mass after applying these strategies and taking a brief layoff, overtraining is usually the cause.  Instead of having another layoff, the number of sets you perform and the frequency of your workouts should be reduced.  Overtraining results from the amount of exercise performed.  Level of intensity is never the cause.