The balance between pushing yourself too hard and not pushing yourself enough

Jambalady

I'm really struggling with whether I am pushing myself too hard when I work out. I have limited time, so I try to work out 3x a week (M,W,F). I do a cardio sculpt/bootcamp type class for about an hour each of those days and at the end of each workout I'm exhausted and fatigued. Generally, the next day I am still slightly sore, but overall, my body feels spent, as does my mind and I'm just grumpy.

People say that exercising should give you more energy, but I just feel like I'm dragging the next day. I'm rarely so sore that I don't want to or can't make my next workout, but it feels like it never gets easier.

Is that a sign that I should pull back a bit in my workouts? I want to make sure I am getting the most out of them but not if it means that my workouts are counterproductive and making me more tired than I should be.

Antonia_I

If you aren't puking or passing out during the exercise, and you aren't majorly sore afterwards, you are probably ok on the intensity. Are you sure you are eating enough (or the right things) to refuel your body?

Lizarking

Yeah, what's your rest and eating plan look like? This maybe sounds like a recovery issue.

girlwithcurls2

Antonia_I wrote: »

If you aren't puking or passing out during the exercise, and you aren't majorly sore afterwards, you are probably ok on the intensity. Are you sure you are eating enough (or the right things) to refuel your body?

Yes. This. I know that sometimes I work the intensity waaaay harder. If I'm not fueled up BEFORE that, and hydrated, the rest doesn't matter. It kind of ties into the "it's a lifestyle" thing--you need to be making sure you eat enough and drink enough in order to work out enough, then get enough sleep to do it all again

Jambalady

I'm a creature of habit, so I tend to eat the same things every day. My typical meals are egg white omelette with turkey, veggies, mozzarella or oatmeal with blueberries and nuts. Lunch is fruit smoothie or peanut butter banana smoothie with protein or salmon. Dinner is anything. I'm not good with my diary but on days I remember to log I'm between 1600-1800, sometimes more,so I think I'm eating enough.

Sleep is an issue, between work, kids and life, I probably only get 5-6 hours max a night. And on nights I work out, my body feels like a dead log.

So, is being slightly sore after each and every workout normal? I feel like I should be bouncing out of the gym with a smile, not dragging myself, lol.

peleroja

hollyhom wrote: »

I'm a creature of habit, so I tend to eat the same things every day. My typical meals are egg white omelette with turkey, veggies, mozzarella or oatmeal with blueberries and nuts. Lunch is fruit smoothie or peanut butter banana smoothie with protein or salmon. Dinner is anything. I'm not good with my diary but on days I remember to log I'm between 1600-1800, sometimes more,so I think I'm eating enough.

Sleep is an issue, between work, kids and life, I probably only get 5-6 hours max a night. And on nights I work out, my body feels like a dead log.

So, is being slightly sore after each and every workout normal? I feel like I should be bouncing out of the gym with a smile, not dragging myself, lol.

Nah, the smile comes later, not immediately afterwards IMO...I generally feel like a bag of garbage for 1/2 hr to an hour after a good run, but after a stretch and a shower and some water I feel much better.

As for the soreness, I would say that it's not normal every time. It's normal when you're starting or you change something up or hit a tough spot in your weight progression if you're strength training, but in my non-expert opinion if you're sore every single time, then you probably do have a recovery issue tied to sleep or your diet.