It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes, we see people have all the signs that they’re working out too much. Yes, no matter how healthy exercise is, you can take it too far. Check your workout schedule. Are you working out for hours every day? Are you doing strength training for your whole body seven days a week? That can be a good indicator.
What are the dangers of over-exercising?
Over-exercising can be counterproductive. In fact, that’s also one of the signs. If you’re putting in more time in the gym and really exercising, but aren’t seeing the results, you might need to cut back on workout time. Working out too much taxes the body. It doesn’t give the muscles a chance to heal the small microtears, which build muscle tissue. It takes 48-hours or longer for those to heal, so you need to give the muscle groups a rest. If you want to do strength training daily, alternate muscle groups you work.
You might be getting colds and flu more frequently.
When you workout too much, it can affect your immune system. Even though exercise burns off the hormones of stress, strenuous exercise, particularly if it’s done too frequently or for too long, can actually cause stress. While the muscle repairs, your immune system isn’t efficient. It can take up to 72 hours for the immune system to return to normal. That’s while the body is healing the microtears in the muscle that cause the muscle to grow. Overtraining can lead to a less efficient immune system.
Your body will tell you what you need to know.
If you’re finding you’re always exhausted or feel exhausted more quickly when you’re physically active, you might be working out too much. Recovery also takes longer after a workout. You simply don’t do as well as before and start losing ground. The harder and longer you workout, the worse it gets. Chronic fatigue, longer recovery time, anxiety, anger, depression and confusion are all signs you may be working out too much.
- Alternating your strength-building workout by working different parts of the body on different days or alternating aerobic, strength-building, flexibility and balance workouts can help.
- Exercise helps you fall asleep quicker, so if you find you suddenly have insomnia, you might be working out too much. You can still workout daily, just make alternate days a recovery workout.
- You’ll feel tired sooner, indicating you’re losing ground from working out too much, but you also may be losing muscle mass and increasing the amount of body fat you have.
- Your heart rate can tell you when you need rest. If your resting heart rate is normally 50 beats a minute, but it jumps to 80 beats a minute regularly, you might have stressed your body too much with too much exercise.
For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness