I've been working with both elite athletes and recreational exercisers for a long time. And far and away, the biggest question I get is this one:

"Help! My progress has stalled! What do I do!?!?"

Of course, not every email, phone, or in-person plea for help reads the same. The level of panic differs, as does the level of training and nutrition information provided, and the vehemence with which they insist they're "doing everything right."

Indeed, just the other day, I got an email from a good friend who also happens to be one of the top strength coaches in the world. Apparently his girlfriend has been training hard, making progress, and then — whammo — she hit the brick wall.

Frustrated over your lack of progress? You're not alone!

Here's the gist of his email:

"…she's totally taken to the gym. In fact, she's stronger than a lot of my high school MALE athletes. As an example, last week she dead lifted 250 and benched 135 – at a body weight of 135.

It's been about ten months and during the first five or six, she really changed her body dramatically. Now, her scale weight only changed about 10-12 pounds, but you could completely see the body transformation.

However, the last five-six months have been completely stagnant in terms of fat loss. She's stuck at about 135lbs (at a height of 5'3").

Obviously, her initial changes had a lot to do with the addition of a good weight training plan, the substitution of intervals for steady-state cardio, and the fact that she was hanging around a guy like me. In essence, she wasn't drinking as much alcohol or eating unhealthy foods.

Her diet now is really good. Quite a few veggies, good protein, pre and post workout shakes, BCAAs, fish oil — and she's always making bars from your Gourmet Nutrition cookbook.

We decided to throw her nutrition from yesterday (a lower body training day) into FitDay. It came out to about 1,400-1,500 calories. Protein intake was 177g, with fat about 45g and carbs around 100g.

Also, like I said, she really gets after it in the gym: lifting four times weekly, plus a strongman circuit once a week, and an additional two or three interval sessions. She's easily getting her six hours a week!

The exercise component clearly isn't the problem; I wish more of my athletes trained like her! However, I think we could make some quick modifications on the nutrition side of things to get the ball rolling.

Oh, as a little aside — she's on the pill. However, she's coming off it next month for a trial run to see how she responds.

All that said, I'd love to hear a few quick thoughts from you on how you'd approach her program. Honestly, I think she looks amazing and love her to death the way she is, but I know it's something she wants to work on, so I thought I'd ask."

Don't panic just yet.

See what I mean? Despite the details, it's the same ol' question: "Help! My progress has stalled! What do I do!?!?"

Since I'm guessing that every person reading this article has either had to ask this question in the past, is asking it now, or will ask it sometime in the future, I thought it might be a good idea to share with you my response.

It went something like this:

"Thanks for the detail in describing what she's up to. Based on what you told me, I think we have to consider four things before tweaking the program:

1) The Pill

Simply put, the pill can be a progress killer for some women.

In fact, two girls I've worked with recently have switched off either the pill or the patch, and in a month dropped about six pounds of fat each!

Here are some details: both were sub 15% body fat to start with and although they didn't have a hard time staying fit while on the pill, whenever they tried to kick it up a notch to get leaner, it would be super-hard for them — and they'd usually stall out.

Both dropped weight immediately after switching to an IUD and, more importantly, have found it relatively easy to kick-start progress when upping exercise volume and reducing calories.

With this, along with some of the risks associated with long term prescription birth control use, I always think it's a good idea for women to explore alternative methods. But I encourage women to be responsible here; it's a lot harder to lose fat when pregnant!

2) The Cardio

Although it's currently en vogue to recommend interval training over low intensity cardio, I've found that sometimes, low intensity cardio helps a lot when added to a complete, mixed training program.

Of course, this assumes aesthetics are the primary goal.

To this end, my ol' standby, a 45 minute pre-breakfast walk, does wonders when added to a high intensity routine.

What about dropping the two to three interval sessions and replacing them with four 45 minute morning walks while rockin' out to that iPod? If she keeps the heart rate around 140-150, that should do the trick.

I know, sometimes it just "feels" like there should be high intensity intervals thrown into the mix. However, there seems to be plenty of high intensity work in her program already, with the weight lifting and the strongman circuit.

Plus, oftentimes, when women train very hard and eat very strict for long stretches, it can be oddly counterproductive. In my experience, women adapt to new programs and stabilize body weight so darned well. Guys just don't experience this.

Must be the fact that women have to preserve their weight to make babies; but regardless of the reason, girls just have to mix things up a lot. That's why you might do those four 45 minute walk sessions for a few weeks and then do some intervals for a few weeks, and then keep on switching between the two.

Intervals are great, but don't be afraid to slow down once in a while!

Keep the stress forever undulating and the female body responds much better. Same goes for nutrition.

3) The Diet

I don't know what your girlfriend does all day (whether she has an office job or an active job), but I'd guess that anywhere from 1600 to 2100 would be in the "weight loss range" and 2100 to 2500 would be in the "maintenance range" for her, based on her training.

However, this way of thinking about intake is limited when it comes to women since they need variation in their plan to keep progress moving.

For this reason, I'd probably have her using three different menus:

1. A higher calorie/carb day (maybe 200g carbs on this day)

2. A moderate calorie/carb day (maybe 150g carbs on this day)

3. A low calorie/carb day (about 100g carbs on this day)

Note: on the higher calorie/carb days (approximately twice weekly), I'd reduce dietary fat. On the low calorie/carb days (maybe three times a week), I'd increase dietary fat.

I outlined a similar plan (albeit a bit more complicated) in the article I wrote about Val Waugaman's training and nutrition program. You can find it here.

Please don't stress over every kcal/carb. This leads to madness. Just get in the ballpark and you should notice the effects.

4) The Reality Check

I'd highlight this factor; put a gold star next to it, whatever. Really, take note. It's that important. Perhaps the most important thing I'll mention here.

The truth is, some girls simply can't walk around at their mental ideal weight.

Yes, they can get better. Yes, they can make progress. However, every single one of us has to come to terms with something. We have to come to terms with what our bodies look like with a reasonable amount of intelligent exercise and a reasonable, intelligenteating plan.

Here's the reality check.

The most successful Figure Athletes walk around at 12 to 15% body fat or less year-round. And many of them are doing much less exercise you're your girlfriend's doing now. Plus, many of them are eating much more than she is now!

For example, one girl I work with walks around pretty ripped year-round. But, to achieve this look, she only has to do 4-5 training sessions per week and eat clean. Not strict. Just clean.

Now, when it's time to get her show-ready, we really dial things in. The exercise volume goes up. The nutrition gets spot on.

But when we're not getting ready for a show, we keep her habits sound, keep her nervous system fresh, and keep her eating enough to function in every day life — to be healthy. This way, she can maintain an "ideal" body without destroying her health, her metabolism, and risking overtraining.

Here's the hard pill for most women to swallow: It just so happens that this "balance point" allows this girl to stay around 12% body fat year round. Lucky her!

Of course, it's not just luck. She's been training hard for years, has learned how to eat and exercise for her body, and is a paragon of consistency and discipline. Still, many women with the same characteristics and background wouldn't be able to maintain 12% body fat year round doing what this girl does.

So it's part hard work, part consistency, and part "thank you mom and dad."

To this end, sure, your girlfriend could diet her butt off and train like crazy to walk around at 12% body fat. Or she could even go crazy hard to get figure ready. However, that's not sustainable. It's too time consuming and makes it impossible to have a real life.

Also, it always ruins other parts of their lives. They get bitchy, moody, and are always stressed out about exercise and their bodies. No fun to be around!

Finally, there are health consequences. The girls who push, push, push year-round always end up destroying their bodies. Their health suffers, and eventually, they end up blowing up, gaining a lot of fat and finding it impossible to manage their body composition.

The key is this: Your girlfriend has to get her habits dialed in to the point where they're healthy, sustainable, and fun. They must be intelligent, too, but that's a given.

Then, over time, her body will slowly improve and she'll learn what her body looks like under these conditions. Eventually, if she wants to get leaner for a specific purpose, you can do that.

You'll just have to fully understanding that she'll have to return to her "normal" healthy habits. And that when she does, her body will end up looking like she does at that balance point."

Some women look like this year-round, but for most, that's not a realistic goal.

So there you have it. A letter to a friend, which really is a letter to Figure Athletes everywhere.

I hope these tips will help kick-start your progress. But even more, I hope they'll help you re-frame your expectations. It's very easy to get frustrated and to stagnate when you think your fitness journey is only about never ending fat loss.

When you embrace the fact that it's about developing healthy, sustainable, enjoyable habits, "no progress" becomes "no problem."

About the Author

Having worked with elite athletes in almost every sport, including figure, Dr Berardi is the "go to guy" for athletes looking to take their game to the next level.

To find out more, visit his website.

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