I don't like pigs...even Porky Pig.

I spent most of my younger years on a ranch/farm. Cattle…lots and lots of cattle and a bit of farming and stupid, ungodly pigs. I hate pigs, but my dad had some which meant I had to help take care of them.

I hate pigs.

Even today, I don’t eat pork…except for bacon. I love bacon…but HATE pigs.

Before I get off on a pig-hating tangent, I better get to the point.

During those years spent in boots and trudging through mud and muck, I learned a lot of things have parallels to fitness and weight loss.

I’m serious!

For instance stagnation, ruts and plateaus.

We all reach points of stagnation (also known as a plateau) with our diets, workouts, and the idea we “want” to be healthy and fit – even me. As a matter of fact, I’m just coming out of a rut.

The same thing happened on the farm…literally. In the spring we’d get a lot of rain, plus melting snow and sun. Add in a lot of animals that weighed about the same as a Honda and you get some messy…stuff.

On top of that, you’d get a lot of standing water. Standing water is not good because it gets stagnant and is a breeding ground for all sorts of yucky stuff.

I think this dude's been stuck in a rut for a while.

We had to get rid of that standing water before any problems surfaced.

This job was not fun.

As a matter of fact it sucked.

It usually involved digging small trenches to let the water drain. It was tough work (I think I’ve seen convicts doing this type of work) but it’s work that needs to be done.

What’s my point?

If you’re stagnant or at a plateau, it can lead to a lot of problems.

You get frustrated.

You get angry.

You feel like you will NEVER accomplish what you’re trying to accomplish.

You feel like the weight will NEVER come off no matter how hard you try.

It’s maddening!

There are a couple ways to break through that stagnant state and they’re not really easy, but they’re necessary.

Just like me digging drainage ditches to drain the standing, stagnant water.

One way to break out of the plateau and get out of your rut is to do something BIG and drastic.

Change your workout completely. No minor tweaks and changes – I’m talking a major shift.

If you’ve been doing nothing but use machines or dumbbells for the past 6 months switch to all bodyweight exercises for a couple weeks…and make them tough.

Don’t do 10 bodyweight squats – do sets of 40 or 50!

Do burpees…do 1-leg burpees…do burpees with push-ups at the bottom.

If you normally do slow mountain climbers, increase the speed so you’re almost sprinting in place.

Challenge yourself with the most difficult types of push-ups you can possibly do.

If you want an example of a killer week’s worth of bodyweight workouts, check out my personal workouts for the week by clicking here.

Again – not easy, but necessary. The best part of breaking out of a rut and shaking off your stagnation is that it doesn’t take long once you crank things up a bit.

The drastic workout change should only last a couple weeks and then change things up a bit again.

Now, let’s talk about the fun part – the diet.

Obviously, by fun I mean not fun.

If you’re stagnant with your eating plan and find yourself getting to the point where you constantly tell yourself “I just don’t give a damn.” often, you need to take the same drastic approach as you do with your workout.

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WARNING!!!
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This does not mean I am telling you to do some whacky liquid fast for 3 months or some other crazy fad diet.

That’s not what I’m saying at all.

All I’m saying is that to break out of this feeling of stagnation and “I don’t give a damn” thoughts you need to get super strict for a week or 2.

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Or if you want to make this portion a little easier to follow, just follow my secret diet. Learn more about that by clicking here.
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By super-strict I mean completely cut out the junk – no cheats, rewards, mini-cheats, etc. for 7-10 days.

Kind of like a nutrition detox.

No booze, no breads, no junk foods, no 100-calorie snack packs, etc.

No pseudo-health foods.

Just lots and lots of real, healthy foods.

Lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats, healthy fats, good-for-you fish, etc.

I told you it wouldn’t be easy, but once you do it…

…Once you’re done, oh man will you feel awesome.

Once this short period is over, you’ll be free of the stagnation and out of that rut and you will feel alive again.

Your spirits will be lifted and you’ll be so glad you were so disciplined.

Do it and you’ll feel great.

But remember – to get rid of the stagnation and break out of that rug, you need to make big changes…no baby steps here – big, sweeping changes for a week to 10 days.

It probably won’t be very easy, but it will break you out of your weight loss plateau.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

And remember…

Be a superhero today!

The Fit Dad

P.S. – Don’t forget to check out my personal plateau and rut-busting workouts by clicking here.