Once an athlete has been training for any period of time it is inevitable that a plateau in training or performance will occur. Usually the reaction is one of panic. What now? There is no need to panic just realize that plateaus are a normal part of training progression. Performance improvement and training progress are not linear. There are periods of stagnation, just as there are periods of rapid improvement, hopefully there will not be periods of regression, but sometimes there is. If we recognize this as a normal part of the training process and accept it as such, then we will be able to overcome performance plateaus without any negative effects.
What exactly is a plateau? It is a stagnation or temporary decline in performance or training. It is not overtraining. That is a very negative outcome of many factors, which ultimately results in a significant decline in performance and/or the capacity to train. The ideal situation in a training year and an athletic lifetime is to see performance improve as a staircase like series of ever ascending small plateaus leading to a period of sustained high performance. Each step in the staircase is a period of adaptation to the training stimulus of the previous period of training. If we can evaluate our progress in this light and the length of each plateau is controlled then the plateau is a very positive training phenomenon. By controlling the training process, the lifestyle and the competition schedule it is possible to make the plateaus controllable. It requires careful planning and monitoring of day-to-day training as well as execution of a good long-term plan. The athlete must be fully aware of their role in the whole process. They must provide objective feedback on an ongoing basis to help the coach make any necessary adjustments.
What are the causes of plateaus? The most common cause is if too much time is spent in a particular mode, routine or in one training environment. For example carrying out a heavy lifting cycle for six weeks with the same sets and reps done on the same training days. Sports with extended competitive seasons like baseball, basketball and tennis fall into this trap. There is little variety or change of stimulus that will result in extended performance plateaus. The lack of variety or change in stimulus in training will result in stagnation. In general too much of any one component for too long will result in a plateau. The competition schedule can play a significant role in the cause of plateaus. Either too little competition or too much competition can cause a plateau effect. The former tends to make training seem to lack a purpose, while the latter does not allow adequate time to train and prepare. Also competition against inferior opposition will often result in a stagnation of performance because the athlete is not challenged and neither the training nor the competition offers enough stimuli for adaptation to occur.
Tomorrow - Part Two - Solutions and Suggestions