Most people assume more is always better with exercise. But there is a point when you might be working out too much and getting worse results. The first question you should ask about an exercise program you are currently doing is "Are you getting results still?" If the answer is no you might think the solution is to workout more. While for some people this may be the case but not always. There are two reasons why you should not increase how much you are working out.
The first one is simple. You might be overtraining. Overtraining leads to less results and more injuries. Remember that exercise is stress. It is a good form of stress on the body but it is still stress nonetheless. Too much is bad, regardless if it is good or bad stress. Remember that when you workout you are actually getting weaker. You are breaking your body down so it will redevelop stronger and able to handle the increase workload. This is true for cardio or strength training. Just think if you are strong before you go into a workout or after. You will definitely be stronger before the workout.
The key is properly recovering after the workout is over. If you are training as hard as you can every time you exercise you might be overtraining. Here are some symptoms:
These are some of the more common signs of overtraining. If you feel this might be what you are suffering from it is ideal to take a week or so off. This doesn't mean you can't exercise at all but you just want to back off the intensity and frequency. Once you feel better you can resume your normal routine. It is a good idea to plan a lighter week every 6-8 weeks in order to prevent overtraining, especially if you are working out hard.
The first one is simple. You might be overtraining. Overtraining leads to less results and more injuries. Remember that exercise is stress. It is a good form of stress on the body but it is still stress nonetheless. Too much is bad, regardless if it is good or bad stress. Remember that when you workout you are actually getting weaker. You are breaking your body down so it will redevelop stronger and able to handle the increase workload. This is true for cardio or strength training. Just think if you are strong before you go into a workout or after. You will definitely be stronger before the workout. The key is properly recovering after the workout is over. If you are training as hard as you can every time you exercise you might be overtraining. Here are some symptoms:
- Decrease in exercise performance
- Chronic fatigue
- Loss of muscle mass
- Increase number of infections or illness
- Psychological staleness or loss of motivation
- Elevated resting heart rate
These are some of the more common signs of overtraining. If you feel this might be what you are suffering from it is ideal to take a week or so off. This doesn't mean you can't exercise at all but you just want to back off the intensity and frequency. Once you feel better you can resume your normal routine. It is a good idea to plan a lighter week every 6-8 weeks in order to prevent overtraining, especially if you are working out hard.
On top of overtraining there is another reason you need to watch how much you are working out. This is critical if you are training to lose weight. If you workout too hard too after you may actually decrease your activity for the rest of the day. Studies are showing that when individuals increase the amount they workout, they actually move less for the rest of the day. So they might burn more calories during a workout, but they burn much less for the rest of the day. This means you don't burn as much as you think you are and will not see the weight loss that you want.
To solve this problem, just try and pay attention to your energy levels throughout the day when you workout. If you feel tired and like you can't move, you might be training too much. An exercise program should give you more energy, not take it away. You could always track your movement with a pedometer or a fitbit to make sure you keeping up the same activity levels.
So see if you might be working out too much. I generally recommend 2-3 days of cardio and 2-3 days of strength training. You should have 1-2 days of recovery each week though to allow you to keep up the intensity each workout.
You Stay Healthy San Diego,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
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