Get Results Without Killing Yourself in the Gym
/Did you know that it’s actually possible to exercise too much?
Don't get me wrong, exercise is amazing. Really, it's great for you. There are so many benefits of exercising regularly. Exercise makes you kinder, more patient, more energetic, and more confident. Exercise helps you sleep better, feel stronger, and feel more desirable. Oh, and bonus! it can help you maintain a healthy body fat level. However, believe it or not, but there is such a thing as too much exercise.
"What Erin, too much? But I want to lose 50lbs, but I want to have a six-pack, but I want to be a size 2..."
Stop. Just stop. Hate me if you want, but I honestly don't care how big or far-reaching these wants are. If you are exercising too much... you could be hurting yourself, and that's just not something I'm okay with. Granted, most people don't have this problem (in fact, they have the opposite problem!), but as someone who has been there (over-exercising), I can tell you there are a few signs you may notice if you are exercising too much.
Signs of over exercising:
Exercise leaves you exhausted instead of energized
You are unable to sleep, or you can't seem to get enough sleep
You feel anxious, depressed or guilty if you can’t find the time to exercise every day
You Experience:
General malaise, moodiness and/or irritability
Excessive muscle soreness and/or joint tenderness
Longer recovery times
Increased susceptibility to injury
Loss of appetite
Reduced immune function (frequent colds, flu-like symptoms, etc.), and
Elevated morning blood pressure and pulse rate
Goals are great, achieving them is even better, but it's possible to do more damage than good if you're not careful. One of the things I consistently remind my clients is that results happen while you're recovering, not while you're working out. In fact, that’s one of (many) reasons why getting adequate sleep is important when you have fitness goals (we’ll be going more in depth on that topic soon).
You’ve probably heard of the stress hormone cortisol. First off, please know cortisol isn’t “bad,” we actually need cortisol. However, if you’re overtraining (several hours of intense training most or every day of the week) your cortisol level can actually get too high which does more harm than good. Yes. I repeat, without getting all science geek-y in this blog, it’s important to note that too much exercise can actually have the OPPOSITE results of what you are trying to achieve (unless you’re going for high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, muscle wasting, and abdominal weight gain… which I seriously doubt).
Need proof? I actually lost weight and got stronger when I went from teaching 11 classes a week to teaching 4 classes a week. (And again when I went from 4 to 3 classes each week.)
So okay, you're on board. You want to achieve your goals, and you know that working out for 2-3 hours 6 or 7 days a week isn't going to get there. What else can you do?
Focus on the non-body composition reasons you exercise
Exercise can make you feel amazing when you’re doing it right. In fact, in the move Legally Blond, Elle Woods put it perfectly,
Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.
However, as you read earlier, over exercising doesn’t make you happy. That is, unless being tired, overly sore, cranky, irritable, and easily sick makes you happy. No? I didn’t think so.
Focus on your Nutrition
Paying attention to your nutrition is KEY when it comes to getting the results you want. Unfortunately, it’s also one piece that people who over exercise often skip over. If you really are exercising for multiple hours a day, you need to fuel your body for those workouts appropriately. If you don't your body will eventually start rebelling. You may plateau, gain weight, or start losing bone density like it's your job. I don't think I need to tell you that none of these things are ideal.
If your goal is weight loss (and you have body fat to lose), it is possible to lose weight by adjusting your nutrition alone (yes, I realize I may be partially putting myself out of business by telling you this). Take the extra time you have from cutting out hours of working out into doing research into different ways to eat healthfully and meal-prepping to make that way of eating work for your lifestyle. (We'll get more into this soon in one of the future 13 reasons articles)
Move, don't "exercise"
I don't want you to stop moving. In fact, that's the last thing I want. But instead of putting yourself through two hours of cardio equipment and an hour of Zumba (or other long and/or intense workout), integrate more movement into your day. Walk to the grocery store or if you can't, take more trips from the car to the house instead of trying to do it in as few trips possible. I realize, especially if you’re an over-exerciser walking may seem like a joke, but it’s not. It’s actually a great way to keep moving and release some of that cortisol you’ve built up… which in the long run, will help you burn more fat.
Other ways to keep moving are taking the stairs whenever you can, parking further away (you've heard this before), or walking over to a colleague at work instead of calling or emailing. Do double duty by increasing your water intake so you have more trips to the bathroom and work on reason #1 you aren't getting results.
Go on a picnic at the park: walk around, play catch or Frisbee. Use a microphone headset when talking to friends and family on the phone and walk while you talk. At home, put on good music while cleaning and take sporadic dance breaks and do your own yard work (instead of hiring a professional... or your child. Better yet, do it with your child!). Okay, I know not all of these will work for everyone, but you get the idea. You can keep moving without "exercising".
This doesn’t mean you should stop exercising all together. However it’s important to allow yourself some recovery days that just include movement and…
Rest!
As I mentioned before, your body repairs itself while you're resting. If you never give yourself time to properly rest and recover, you're impeding your results. Period. Now that you have more time, make sleep a priority and include recovery days (such as yoga or long stretches) in your schedule.
Focus on your Nutrition
Wait. Did I mention this already? We’ll be going over nutrition plans soon, but when it comes to achieving results I cannot understate how important this is. Good, clean nutrition is not a choice when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Yes I’m putting my bossy-pants on. Yes, it’s that important.
Keep Dalmatian foods out of the house
True, this goes along with focusing on nutrition, but I think it is so important that it has its own bullet point. If you know what your trigger foods are… don’t buy them. Keep those Dalmatian Foods far, far away.
Moral of the story
Most people don’t over-train. It’s really that simple. However, it’s important to know that it IS possible and it’s NOT good for you. When a workout routine goes beyond “normal” and does not include proper nutrition and recovery even lower intensity workouts can be damaging… to your goals, and your body.
This is just a quick overview of overtraining, the symptoms and how it can affect your body. If you think there is a possibility that you may be overtraining I highly encourage you to talk to your doctor, a fitness professional, and do some more research. You are in the driver's seat in this life... take charge, you've got this!
*Note, there are times and situations where more time spent exercising is okay as with professional athletes and people training for figure shows, etc. However, please note that these people are often on a specific plan including both a nutrition and a fitness regimen that is often (and should be, in my opinion) supervised by an educated and trained professional.
Bonus Resources:
13 Reasons Why You’re Not Seeing Results
Drink Water, Lose Weight, Look Younger
Is the Elliptical Making You Fat?
Learn to Love your Workout Routine
This is a follow up post to my previous article, 13 Reasons Why You’re Not Seeing Results. Over the next several weeks (months!) I’m going to be doing a deep dive into each of these reasons to help you achieve your goals and live your healthiest and happiest life! As always, feel free to leave me a comment if there’s something else you’d like me to talk about!