Brad Davidson, the author of The Stark Naked 21-Day Metabolic Reset, says that sometimes the best way to bust a plateau is to take time away from the gym. 

Now is the time to look in the mirror and do a reality check: Am I making progress in the gym? Is my muscle mass growing? Are the things I’m in the gym training for actually happening? If the answer’s no, it’s time for a reboot. Take a three-week break, fix what’s broken—sleep!—then watch your energy and strength soar.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Ways to Recover After a Tough Workout

By the time this book comes out in February—just after the holidays—a lot of you will have just jacked up your liver and blood sugar. You haven’t slept, and your hormones will be through the roof—not an environment for muscle growth, balance, and fat loss. 

I make anybody we work with do a reset right out of the gate. Athletes get eight to 16 weeks to rest and prepare when their season ends. We live in a marathon of sprints. We don’t get that.

This program works best when you’re not getting anywhere in the gym or no longer motivated to work out. Yes, it’s hard to persuade people to take a break. But instead of feeling guilty, make this the time to pamper yourself. I’ll make my athletes take a walk every day. Get a massage. Meditate. Do yoga. 

I train athletes, CEOs, Navy SEALs, very high achievers. I deal a lot with people who overexercise. Quarterback Blake Bortles came to me after his first season. His arm was tired, and his fat became elevated. He knew he had to fix something. He returned this year looking incredible. I helped PGA pro Brendan Steele put on 35 pounds of muscle and add more than 20 yards to his drive.

And let’s not overlook this important benefit of a metabolism reset: Your sex drive will be optimized—it’s one of the stinkin’ reasons we go to the gym! You should want to have more sex! When the body’s healthy and the metabolism’s healthy, the only thing it wants more than sex is to survive. So if you’re not out runnin’ for your life, then you should be thinking about having sex as if you were an 18-year-old. 

DAVIDSON’S TOP TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL RESET

1. The most beneficial place to start is to begin bringing down coffee intake and get plenty of sleep. Also eliminate alcohol and sugar from your diet.

2. Support your liver by drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning.

3. Save your carbs till dinner. This will promote fat burning throughout the day.

4. Proactively reduce your stress. Yes, it’s easier said than done. Go to bed early, even try meditating.

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