Are You Working Out Too Much?
While chatting with a friend in the gym the other morning I told him I was on rest days for the last 3 days. He looked at me funny and said, “Oh no! I’m afraid I’ll lose momentum.” Actually, this is a common thought process and is nothing new! But this thought can really damage your body and gains!
Challenging yourself in a workout is one thing. Ramping up training too much, too hard, or too quickly, however, can pose serious health risks.
I see so many who work out every single day, thinking that if they take a day off or rest they will be ‘taking it easy.’ When, in fact, it’s the other way around.
Another thing I see is they think because they work at a desk job this is their rest. This is a big no-no.
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You are doing your body a disservice if you work out daily or twice a day! Yup, I’ve seen that too! You are actually overtraining and run the risk of injury and more. Let’s discuss.
Some signs that you are working out too much:
Exhaustion
Constant fatigue
Irritability
Prolonged muscle soreness
Fitness Plateaus (I would say this is the biggest sign! And we will discuss in detail in a minute.)
Overexercising can have significant effects on mood and energy levels. According to NASM, the fatigue and low energy associated with overexercising can cause irritation, anger, problems with sleep, problems with productivity, and lack of enjoyment of your typical interests and hobbies. 😯
One of the biggest red flags🔺 that you are doing too much, too fast is an elevated resting heart rate, loss of or change in appetite, or mood changes. Sleep disturbances can also occur.
You can also increase the risk of injuries, like stress fractures, muscle strains, runner’s knee, joint pain, tendinitis, and bursitis. I’ve seen this too, shoulder impingement anyone? Still, exercising? Rest is imperative!!
Here are some signs of overtraining:
1. Decreased performance. A drop in your workout performance is one of the earliest signs of overload. Altered performance levels are often more apparent in endurance activities such as running, swimming, and cycling.
2. Disinterest in exercise. A significant decrease in motivation or enjoyment of the activity can be a major sign of burnout. This more often occurs in weight lifters, sprinters, or soccer players who are driven by speed and power.
3. Fat gain. If you've lost weight but noticed an increase in body fat, you could be in the later stages of exercise overload.
The body responds to prolonged stress by elevating levels of stress hormones, including cortisol.
Over time this will lead to increased storage of fatty tissue, as well as inhibit steroid-like hormones that normally help increase muscle.
A decrease in muscle mass can cause you to shed a few pounds, but this isn't a good thing since it means your body's less efficient at burning fat.
4. Mood changes. Depression, anger, confusion, anxiety, and irritability are common when your body is overstressed physically. Those same stress hormones you release when you're emotionally stressed are also released when you're physically overloaded.
4. Delayed recovery time. Persistent muscle soreness that lasts for hours or days after your workout is a sure sign you need more rest.
5. Elevated resting heart rate. When you put more stress on the heart, it has to work a lot harder. An increase in your normal resting heart rate, say, from 50 beats per minute to 65 beats per minute, could indicate that you're placing excessive stress on your body. If you have a smart watch I advise you to monitor this on a regular basis!
6. Fatigue. Mental or physical grogginess is a hallmark sign of overtraining The knee-jerk reaction to sluggishness is to exercise for an energy boost, but it's a catch-22. Another workout might wake you up short-term, but you'll be worse off later on.
7. Insomnia. Being in a state of overload often comes with disrupted sleep patterns, so instead of getting that much-needed rest, you become restless and can't fall asleep.
8. Diminished appetite. A decrease in appetite can occur in the middle to later stages of overtraining and goes hand in hand with feelings of fatigue and lack of motivation. By slowing down bodily processes like metabolism, the body attempts to force a reduction in its workload.
10. Weakened immune system. Don't try to push through that exercise funk or you'll keep sliding down—to a weakened immune system, inflammation, and outright injury. Not a good thing. Prolonged overtraining can take weeks, even months, to recover from, and can put your health at risk. Chronic inflammation, for example, has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Bottom line: Nurture your body and give it a much-deserved break when it needs to rest after that tough workout.
When the body doesn’t have time to heal, you risk getting overuse injuries, like tendonitis, fatigue, or tendon tears It increases the risk of future injuries too.
Solutions to overtraining
While overexercising can be problematic, the good news is that you can reverse the effects of overexercising. The first thing you can (and should) do is rest.
I told my friend he needed to take a day off and the look on his face was of shock and fear! He even told me a few of his friends (in the same gym) have burnout because they are working out daily.
Honestly, my friend needs to take at least 2 weeks off. But I am sure that he won’t hear of it. Unless he reads this article and knows I am talking about him. BTW there is more than one “him” that I am friends with in the gym who overtrain.
Take one to two weeks off training completely, which may be long enough for mood, energy levels, and motivation to return to typical levels for you. If you’re still experiencing symptoms of overtraining after taking that much time off, it’s a good idea to check in with your doctor to see if you need to take more time off or if there’s an underlying problem that needs to be addressed.
After you’ve taken this time off and as you return to training, make sure you’re taking steps to not jump right back into an overexercising routine.
Now you want to focus on:
Eating Well You’ll want to nourish your body with the calories you need for how active you are. Make sure you are eating a balanced nutritious diet.
Hydration is important for many key bodily processes, and you need extra hydration when you exercise. Staying hydrated can also help ease muscle strain and pain.
Sleep Getting plenty of sleep at night helps ensure your body has the energy it needs to get through the workouts you want to do. The National Sleep Foundation recommends getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
If there is something I know about that is sleep. I will be writing more posts on this soon!
Leaving Time for Rest and Recovery I highly recommend scheduling your workouts for the week on your calendar AND scheduling your rest days too!! If you have a pattern of over-training I recommend resting at least 2-3 days a week. And even leave a complete week of rest every 6-8 weeks.
Avoid Plateaus Typically your body will hit a plateau in your fitness every 6-8 weeks. A workout plateau is a stage of progress that happens when your body gets used to the demands of your current fitness routine, which causes your progress to level out. If you reach a fitness plateau, you may not see results even though you're maintaining your workouts.
This is exactly why it is so important to #1. Change your workout routines and #2. REST! After you’ve rested for 1-2 weeks start back with something totally different go from the gym to a Pilates or Yoga class (great btw). Or change your workout split so you hit all the muscle groups differently.
Your body will not only thank you but reward you with much love and results!
Not Overdoing It Avoid exercising in extreme heat or cold, which is more taxing to the body. And cut back on exercise when you’re coping with a lot of other stressors in your life.
Replenish your body’s fluids. Drink lots and lots of fluids, including fluids with electrolytes and potassium. Water, coconut water, cherry juice, and electrolyte-enhanced sports drinks are all good choices. If it’s hot out or you’re sweating more than normal, you’ll need even more fluids.
Prioritize recovery. While it’s important to work hard while training, it’s equally as important to let your body properly recover.
Take care of sore muscles with muscle recovery methods that actually work. And make sure you’re foam rolling and stretching on a regular basis.
Sleep. Sleep is our body’s prime time to recover, and shorting yourself of it puts you at high risk for overtraining.
So make sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep each night and take a cat nap when you feel the need.
I will be writing many more articles on sleep soon!
Your body will thank you for it.
How will you rest and recover? I hope this article hit home and lets you know that is not only okay to rest (even if you have a desk job) but it is imperative!!
I can’t wait to see what you do with this!
