Signs You're Working Out Too Much
While most people have trouble getting motivated to work out at all, there are some who have trouble taking even a single rest day. And though it’s good to keep moving and working out on a near daily basis, it is possible to overdo it.
Maybe you love the endorphin rush of a good workout so much that you don’t want to go a day without it. Perhaps you feel guilty if you take a day off from going to the gym. Or, you might use exercise to keep yourself from stressing out about your daily food intake. Whatever the reason, after a certain point, too much exercise can be harmful to your health and hinder your results. After all, the point of exercise is to get healthy, not hurt.
Too much weightlifting, cardio, and HIIT workouts can all lead to burnout. Called Overtraining syndrome, or OTS, continuing to push yourself during burnout can lower your fitness level, negatively affect your performance, and cause injuries. So it’s important to avoid overtraining by working out within your limits and allowing yourself enough recovery time between workouts. Be sure to fuel your workouts so you have enough energy to sustain your training, and take care of yourself after each training session.
Red Flags That You're Pushing Your Body Too Hard
There are many signs that may indicate you’re over-exercising. While one of the below alone is possibly not cause for concern, if you can relate to numerous symptoms, you may be exercising too much.
Prolonged Muscle Soreness: Though sore muscles from a workout are normal, that feeling should be occasional, not frequent, and it shouldn’t last for more than two, or at most three, days after a workout.
Insomnia: When your stress hormones are out of balance, you may find it hard to relax and let go of tension at bedtime. This cuts into the crucial time your body needs to rest, repair, and restore itself during sleep.
Fatigue: It’s somewhat normal to feel tired after exercise, but fatigue happens when your body repeatedly doesn’t fully recover after you work out. You may feel excessively drained, especially during or right after workouts.
Decreased Performance: Overtraining can cause your performance to plateau or decrease rather than improve. You may find you have less strength, agility, and endurance, which makes it more difficult to reach your training goals. Overtraining can also slow your reaction time and running speed.
Altered Appetite: A good workout should incite excitement for your next meal. However, if you’re overtraining you may not feel hungry. Conversely, overtraining can make you hungry nonstop, even if you’re giving your body all the nutrition it needs.
Fat Gain: Exercising too much disrupts your body’s ability to regulate the stress hormone cortisol, which can make your body hold on to excess fat.
Immune Weakness: Moderate exercise is great for your immune system. Conversely, over-exercising can make it hard for your immune system to function well, and you may experience more colds and flu.
Inflammation: Different than sore muscles, systemic inflammation can show up as anything from joint pain to worsened digestion.
Depression: Exercise is a mood booster, but too much of it can leave you constantly feeling sad or lethargic. When your hormones can’t regulate properly because of overtraining, your happiness chemicals can’t do their jobs, either.
Injury: Both inflammation and prolonged recovery speed make you more likely to get hurt. If you’re getting injured from your workouts despite keeping good form and not training beyond your known capabilities, this could be why.
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