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Susan Gazerro Fitness Tips
Is It Possible To Over-Exercise?
By Susan Gazerro
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Physical activity improves your muscle strength and boosts your endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, which is helping to improve your cardiovascular system to work more efficiently. I have said for years, and will continue to say that exercise, specifically cardio exercise, is the only thing that works the heart muscle. When your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to do the things you need and want to do. Who wants to feel sluggish and tired all the time? e only way to change that is to be mobile. You have to move your body!
Now this article, coming from me, is going to be a bit of a contradiction. I don’t know if my clients would believe that I am writing an article on “over-exercising.” Most experts will say you need a rest day. I always say that if your body tells you that you need to rest, then rest; but if you feel okay, absolutely workout.” Now, I am going to admit that there is such a thing as overexercising.
To get stronger as a weight lifter or faster as a runner, you do need to push yourself, but you also need to rest. Rest allows your body and your muscles to recover. Again, I know I sound like I am contradicting myself, but there is a fine line. I do believe that if you feel energized, there’s no reason to take the day off, however, if you’ve pushed yourself beyond your normal limits, it is Myke Yeager Photography best to let your body recover so when you have your next workout, you can perform at your best. Not resting can lead to poor performance and also contribute to health problems. So how do we know if we are over-exercising?
Here are some symptoms you may experience that remind you that it’s time to back off and take a day or two off, or maybe even a week:
• Being unable to perform at your “normal” level • Needing longer periods of rest between sets • Feeling tired • Feeling depressed • Having mood swings • Having trouble sleeping or staying asleep • Muscles are sore, limbs feel heavy, body aches • Losing motivation • Appetite change; losing too much weight • Feelings of anxiety • Getting more colds; not feeling well
On the contrary to losing weight, too much exercise can increase inflammation, as well as the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can lead to fatigue and weight gain, especially around your belly. So you may be thinking, let me push, push, push, but if you are doing too much and you start to stress over your workouts, there is a good chance you will increase your cortisol, causing weight gain.
If you notice you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, take a rest. Like anything else, if you do too much of something, it either becomes boring or backfires on you. Same with exercise. As great as it is for your health, you need to know when to stop. With rest, you are less likely to injure yourself and are less likely to get bored. If and when I do take my rest day, I use that day to write some new classes or client programs. I never do the same workout twice. I’ve always said that I want people to stay interested and I do truly believe the way to see change is to do a variety of workouts. If you keep doing the same thing, you will hit a plateau.
Too much exercise can backfire, causing you to gain weight. We sometimes obsess so much about things, we lose the reality of what we really need to do. Another example is when people want to lose weight, they starve themselves or go on fad diets. Yes, you will lose weight. You are shocking your body and not feeding it. However, when you go back to eating, your body says, “I’ve been in starvation mode. I’m now going to store everything that is put into my body as fat.” is is why most, if not all people who go on a diet lose weight initially and then gain all, if not more of the weight back. ere is a right way to lose weight. ere is a right way to exercise. Our bodies were made to move. Keep moving; just know when to take a break so you don’t break down.
