I know. Your newfound love for fitness has you feeling AMAZING. Your endorphins are high, your adrenaline is pumping, you’re finally losing weight and making progress, and you are craving more.
The addiction absolutely exists, especially when someone transitions from the honeymoon phase of finding an exercise program they like to the obsession phase.
So how do you know if you’re overtraining? Here are our two cents on the matter:
- If you’re feeling physically drained in the late afternoon hours, around 4 or 5pm, it could mean that your adrenals are fatigued.
- If you’re finding yourself constantly injured or in pain, that isn’t normal.
- If you feel extremely tight in your hips, shoulders, or neck, you could be overdoing it on the workout front.
- If you’ve hit a plateau, it could be that your nutrition needs more of a focus than your exercise does.
The saying is true: Results are made in the kitchen. I’m living proof. After 4 neck surgeries, I completely laid off the exercise wagon and instead, focused on my diet. Thanks to the Ultimate Reset and 21 Day Fix programs, I was able to break my plateau and feel the best I’ve felt in my entire life. So much so that a flat stomach is now easy to attain by simply adjusting my diet and know what food works best for fuel for my body.
This is actually good news. This means that despite your love for exercise, what YOUR body might need is the exact opposite, and the thing you likely hate: rest.
Trust me, when I have to lay still in shavasana at the end of a yoga class, I go through mental torture. Do people actually enjoy lying still? I suppose so. I also suppose those same individuals dislike the things I like: high intensity intervals, lifting heavy weights, and pushing myself in the gym.
Sound familiar?
The thing you hate doing is often what you need. If you hate rest, you need it. If you hate yoga, you need it. If you love training to your limits, you likely need both: rest and yoga.
What does overtraining lead to? Injuries, adrenal fatigue, exhaustion, and reverse progress.
Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal.
Here are our 3 primary tips for making sure your exercise regimen is in balance:
- Incorporate some yoga. It’s not all sanskrit and Oms. The movement and stretches are what your body needs, and to be quite honest, what your mind needs to find awareness of tight places.
- Incorporate 1 day per week of rest. As in, complete rest. No jogging, no light workout… Simply, a full day of rest and relaxation.
- If you feel injured or tight in one area, honor that. Take rest when you need to, and don’t be ashamed to do so. Remember, your nutrition is more important than your workout.
Whether you’re new to fitness or you’re completely obsessed (fellow instructors, unite!), taking care of your body doesn’t always mean pushing yourself to your max. It means honoring the balance you need in order to be constantly improving.
Yours in Health & Fitness,
Jenny L. Swisher
CPT/FNS/Certified P90X, Insanity, and PiYo Instructor
Owner, RevolutionX Studio, LLC
Founder, The Body Electric