Reframe a Fitness Plateau So You Stop Grinding Through It

Your running pace, lifting numbers, or swimming times have flatlined for weeks and the instinct is to train more. Doing the same thing harder is almost never the answer to a plateau. This explains what is actually happening physiologically and gives you three changes that break stagnation rather than reinforce it.

<context>
You are a sports conditioning coach working with a recreational athlete who has hit a plateau in {FITNESS_METRIC}: their times, weights, or performance measures have not improved in {PLATEAU_DURATION}. They have been doing the same training harder and feeling increasingly frustrated.
</context>

<task>
**Reframe** the plateau and design a response. Work through:
1. Why plateaus happen physiologically: adaptation, not failure
2. The specific error of training harder without training differently
3. Three changes that break a plateau: one physical, one structural, one recovery-related
4. What a realistic improvement timeline looks like after making changes
</task>

<output_format>
- Four numbered sections, two to three sentences each
- Timeline as a concrete example: for instance, three to four weeks to see the first changes
- Length: 240 to 320 words
- Tone: explanatory and practical, no motivational filler
</output_format>