Is working out 6 times a week overdoing it?
MarissaRiv23
Posts: 406 Member
I have lost a total of 100lbs and have recently gained back 10lbs(now only 8lbs 
) I have gone back to basics and began carb cycling and working out consistently. I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out. I know it’s not that I’m not eating enough because on leg days I get in an average of 2000 calories and on non leg days I eat 1790. I guess my question is- does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?
Here is my current schedule
Monday- Hamstrings and glutes- heavy lifts
Tuesday- back and biceps and 45mins of cardio
Wednesday- light leg day- resistance band workouts, jumping squats etc and also 25 mins of stair master
Thursday- tricep, abs and 45 mins of cardio or Orange Theory class
Friday- off
Saturday- Quads - heavy lift day
Sunday- 1 hour of cardio or an Orange Theory class
Any advice is appreciated! ❤️
) I have gone back to basics and began carb cycling and working out consistently. I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out. I know it’s not that I’m not eating enough because on leg days I get in an average of 2000 calories and on non leg days I eat 1790. I guess my question is- does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?Here is my current schedule
Monday- Hamstrings and glutes- heavy lifts
Tuesday- back and biceps and 45mins of cardio
Wednesday- light leg day- resistance band workouts, jumping squats etc and also 25 mins of stair master
Thursday- tricep, abs and 45 mins of cardio or Orange Theory class
Friday- off
Saturday- Quads - heavy lift day
Sunday- 1 hour of cardio or an Orange Theory class
Any advice is appreciated! ❤️
1
Replies
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You say you're eating enough, but are you? What does MFP tell you to eat on non-exercise days? What percentage of your exercise calories are you eating?
Your muscles need time to recover but if you're varying your classes as you describe, it looks like each muscle group get recovery time.2 -
Strudders67 wrote: »You say you're eating enough, but are you? What does MFP tell you to eat on non-exercise days? What percentage of your exercise calories are you eating?
Your muscles need time to recover but if you're varying your classes as you describe, it looks like each muscle group get recovery time.
I should be eating 1790 calories daily. However, I have been working on building my legs and butt through working out and carb cycling. I read that I should up my calories by around 300 on leg days, so that’s why there’s an increase in calories.
Here is my net calories. Should I be eating the calories I gain from my workouts?
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I'm not sure what your other cardio is, but how much rowing are you doing in the OT classes? That can be a little more leg intensive than some other forms of cardio, so if you're going hard might impair recovery from your previous day's leg work, especially if you're just getting back into near daily workouts.
How's your sleep? Hope fast are you losing weight on these calories?
Is this the same workout schedule you were using when you were losing before? How long has it been since you did it before, and what workouts were you doing in between then and now?
There's nothing wrong with working out 6 days a week, if your current fitness level is up to the schedule you're running, the activities are well chosen, and it leaves you feeling good. Since you don't feel good, something's obviously out of line.
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MarissaRiv23 wrote: »I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out.
That's your answer. So you're either working too hard or not fueling your workouts enough (I'm leaning toward the latter because you say you don't eat exercise calories back which it says all over MFP that you should do)
Are you losing weight? If you are, you're in a calorie deficit. If you're losing fast you're in too big a deficit. I say eat more and see how you feel.13 -
I work out 7 days a week whenever possible and it is not a problem for me. However I vary the intensity and the exercise type and if I do feel off then I will take a rest day. That's rare unless I am unwell (which in itself is rare). The only thing that leaps out at me from your charts is the relatively high amount of calories devoted to snacks. Are these snacks actually good, nutritious food or are they of the grab and go because you're hungry variety?2
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"Is working out 6 times a week overdoing it?"
Depends on the person, it's not a general rule.
In context of you with your current fitness level and eating in a deficit then as you are feeling burned out the answer is yes you are overdoing it. (Or possibly undereating.)
"does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?"
Again not a general or universal rule, depends on the person their capabilities and their exercise routine.
Plus rest is just one form of recovery but not the only form. You don't have to be inactive to recover from exercise.
BTW - carb cycling is purely a personal preference, it certainly isn't a requirement or for most a significant factor, your body stores a substantial amount of carbs so it's not like you only have the carbs just eaten as fuel.
BTW2 - just giving calorie numbers doesn't indicate what your calorie deficit actually is (those numbers would be a huge deficit for me!). Your rate of loss gives a better indication.10 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »Strudders67 wrote: »You say you're eating enough, but are you? What does MFP tell you to eat on non-exercise days? What percentage of your exercise calories are you eating?
Your muscles need time to recover but if you're varying your classes as you describe, it looks like each muscle group get recovery time.
I should be eating 1790 calories daily. However, I have been working on building my legs and butt through working out and carb cycling. I read that I should up my calories by around 300 on leg days, so that’s why there’s an increase in calories.
Here is my net calories. Should I be eating the calories I gain from my workouts?
Yes. Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
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Listen to your body, it’s telling you something. If you’re feeling burned out, perhaps you should cut back a bit. You’ve lost a lot of weight, so you have a pretty good idea what it works for you, right?3
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kshama2001 wrote: »MarissaRiv23 wrote: »Strudders67 wrote: »You say you're eating enough, but are you? What does MFP tell you to eat on non-exercise days? What percentage of your exercise calories are you eating?
Your muscles need time to recover but if you're varying your classes as you describe, it looks like each muscle group get recovery time.
I should be eating 1790 calories daily. However, I have been working on building my legs and butt through working out and carb cycling. I read that I should up my calories by around 300 on leg days, so that’s why there’s an increase in calories.
Here is my net calories. Should I be eating the calories I gain from my workouts?
Yes. Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
As suggested, I think I will start eating some of my excercise calories, and see how I do. Thanks for your help!4 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out.
That's your answer. So you're either working too hard or not fueling your workouts enough (I'm leaning toward the latter because you say you don't eat exercise calories back which it says all over MFP that you should do)
Are you losing weight? If you are, you're in a calorie deficit. If you're losing fast you're in too big a deficit. I say eat more and see how you feel.
I think you’re right. I am always so used to cutting calories that it scares me to eat more. I lost 2.2lbs the first week even though I have it set to losing only .5lbs a week. Let’s see if this does the trick. Thank you!2 -
SnifterPug wrote: »I work out 7 days a week whenever possible and it is not a problem for me. However I vary the intensity and the exercise type and if I do feel off then I will take a rest day. That's rare unless I am unwell (which in itself is rare). The only thing that leaps out at me from your charts is the relatively high amount of calories devoted to snacks. Are these snacks actually good, nutritious food or are they of the grab and go because you're hungry variety?
I eat every 2 to 3 hours, but my snacks are nothing really processed. Some examples of my snacks are -hummus w/veggies, cold cuts, cheese, protein shakes, Greek yogurt with fruit or overnight oats with protein powder and blueberries.3 -
I'm not sure what your other cardio is, but how much rowing are you doing in the OT classes? That can be a little more leg intensive than some other forms of cardio, so if you're going hard might impair recovery from your previous day's leg work, especially if you're just getting back into near daily workouts.
How's your sleep? Hope fast are you losing weight on these calories?
Is this the same workout schedule you were using when you were losing before? How long has it been since you did it before, and what workouts were you doing in between then and now?
There's nothing wrong with working out 6 days a week, if your current fitness level is up to the schedule you're running, the activities are well chosen, and it leaves you feeling good. Since you don't feel good, something's obviously out of line.
Afterthought (this is what I get for replying first thing in the AM right after I wake up
).
OT is probably partly weight circuits, too. Weight circuits between actual weight training days is not ideal. If the alternate cardio days are very intense (whatever the modality), might want to back off the intensity a little to reduce total physical stress/recovery challenge.
Good new plan on the exercise calories, too. I 100% agree with the others about fueling.4 -
6 times/week is fine. But there is a lot of research around cycling an easy week every 3 weeks or so. So 4th week you still exercise but active recovery with lower stress and workload.4
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jsparks4000 wrote: »6 times/week is fine. But there is a lot of research around cycling an easy week every 3 weeks or so. So 4th week you still exercise but active recovery with lower stress and workload.
I will give that a try! Thanks
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I'm not sure what your other cardio is, but how much rowing are you doing in the OT classes? That can be a little more leg intensive than some other forms of cardio, so if you're going hard might impair recovery from your previous day's leg work, especially if you're just getting back into near daily workouts.
How's your sleep? Hope fast are you losing weight on these calories?
Is this the same workout schedule you were using when you were losing before? How long has it been since you did it before, and what workouts were you doing in between then and now?
There's nothing wrong with working out 6 days a week, if your current fitness level is up to the schedule you're running, the activities are well chosen, and it leaves you feeling good. Since you don't feel good, something's obviously out of line.
Afterthought (this is what I get for replying first thing in the AM right after I wake up ).
OT is probably partly weight circuits, too. Weight circuits between actual weight training days is not ideal. If the alternate cardio days are very intense (whatever the modality), might want to back off the intensity a little to reduce total physical stress/recovery challenge.
Good new plan on the exercise calories, too. I 100% agree with the others about fueling.
I apologize if I am reposting. MFP is acting a little funky and my original response is not coming up.
Thanks for the advice! Though I love OT, I do feel that it is contributing to me feeling a little burned out. I typically burn 600 plus calories per class and I am eating no more then 1790 calories a day. I just have to mentally accept that it is okay to increase calories. Definitely something I will work on. Thanks again!2 -
This varies widely from person to person as others have pointed out.
Sounds like your body is telling you something - either more rest, or more food, or a different variety of food (macros) or a combination thereof.
Personally I choose to have 2 rest days, although both of those are very likely going to involve activity - pedal biking, horseback riding, housework, hiking, moto-riding, etc. If I've had a very intense workout, or a race, I may take a true rest day with just daily activity, but it's pretty rare anymore that I spend all day just sitting around (and I have a desk job lol).
I do have a more intense training program that I go through a couple times a year (5 week program) - I tried once to keep up that rotation (it's ~2 hours of fairly intense training 5x/week for 4 weeks, with a lighter 5th week) for a longer period of time and ended up burning myself out. That ended up being followed by several months with few or no gym visits. The burnout did me NO favors. Lesson learned.
So, if you're starting to feel burntout, it may be a good time to ease off a bit, rather than completely burning yourself out (if something like a diet change doesn't solve the issue for you). Just speaking from experience on that one...0 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »I have lost a total of 100lbs and have recently gained back 10lbs(now only 8lbs) I have gone back to basics and began carb cycling and working out consistently. I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out. I know it’s not that I’m not eating enough because on leg days I get in an average of 2000 calories and on non leg days I eat 1790. I guess my question is- does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?
Here is my current schedule
Monday- Hamstrings and glutes- heavy lifts
Tuesday- back and biceps and 45mins of cardio
Wednesday- light leg day- resistance band workouts, jumping squats etc and also 25 mins of stair master
Thursday- tricep, abs and 45 mins of cardio or Orange Theory class
Friday- off
Saturday- Quads - heavy lift day
Sunday- 1 hour of cardio or an Orange Theory class
Any advice is appreciated! ❤️
No chest or shoulder work?
Why is your routine so unbalanced towards legs?
I don't think 6 days is too much if you get enough fuel and recovery. though you seem to do a lot, probably much more than is needed. What are your fitness goals?1 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »I have lost a total of 100lbs and have recently gained back 10lbs(now only 8lbs) I have gone back to basics and began carb cycling and working out consistently. I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out. I know it’s not that I’m not eating enough because on leg days I get in an average of 2000 calories and on non leg days I eat 1790. I guess my question is- does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?
Here is my current schedule
Monday- Hamstrings and glutes- heavy lifts
Tuesday- back and biceps and 45mins of cardio
Wednesday- light leg day- resistance band workouts, jumping squats etc and also 25 mins of stair master
Thursday- tricep, abs and 45 mins of cardio or Orange Theory class
Friday- off
Saturday- Quads - heavy lift day
Sunday- 1 hour of cardio or an Orange Theory class
Any advice is appreciated! ❤️
No chest or shoulder work?
Why is your routine so unbalanced towards legs?
I don't think 6 days is too much if you get enough fuel and recovery. though you seem to do a lot, probably much more than is needed. What are your fitness goals?
Oops, forgot to type it in. I do chest and triceps on Thursday’s and shoulders is mixed In between both upper body days.
When I originally lost the weight through cardio, I lost a lot of my butt and legs. I personally prefer to look curvier and that is why I focus on my lower body so much.
As of right now i just want to lose the regain weight. I don’t really know what I’m doing after that lol. I think just maintaining and possibly do a spartan race to challenge myself.0 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »MarissaRiv23 wrote: »I have lost a total of 100lbs and have recently gained back 10lbs(now only 8lbs) I have gone back to basics and began carb cycling and working out consistently. I am currently working out 6 days a week and sometimes feel so burned out. I know it’s not that I’m not eating enough because on leg days I get in an average of 2000 calories and on non leg days I eat 1790. I guess my question is- does the body need 2 full rest days to recover?
Here is my current schedule
Monday- Hamstrings and glutes- heavy lifts
Tuesday- back and biceps and 45mins of cardio
Wednesday- light leg day- resistance band workouts, jumping squats etc and also 25 mins of stair master
Thursday- tricep, abs and 45 mins of cardio or Orange Theory class
Friday- off
Saturday- Quads - heavy lift day
Sunday- 1 hour of cardio or an Orange Theory class
Any advice is appreciated! ❤️
No chest or shoulder work?
Why is your routine so unbalanced towards legs?
I don't think 6 days is too much if you get enough fuel and recovery. though you seem to do a lot, probably much more than is needed. What are your fitness goals?
Oops, forgot to type it in. I do chest and triceps on Thursday’s and shoulders is mixed In between both upper body days.
When I originally lost the weight through cardio, I lost a lot of my butt and legs. I personally prefer to look curvier and that is why I focus on my lower body so much.
As of right now i just want to lose the regain weight. I don’t really know what I’m doing after that lol. I think just maintaining and possibly do a spartan race to challenge myself.
I would suggest picking a structured program that is aimed at your goals rather than this program that looks like you put together yourself. From the sounds of it strong curves would be right up your alley, with cardio on your non-lifting days. here is a list of programs you may want to consider:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
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Just going back to your original response where you posted a snapshot of your MFP Nutrition page. MFP is telling you to eat 2100, which factors in a calorie deficit based on your selected weight loss, but you're only eating 1542 net calories. You're eating a lot less than you should be so I'm not at all surprised that you're feeling burned out.
Why do you only increase your calories on 'leg days'? I'm assuming you don't have a Fitbit synched up so are you manually entering exercise? What are you selecting?
Also, are you weighing all your food / measuring all liquids?1 -
Strudders67 wrote: »Just going back to your original response where you posted a snapshot of your MFP Nutrition page. MFP is telling you to eat 2100, which factors in a calorie deficit based on your selected weight loss, but you're only eating 1542 net calories. You're eating a lot less than you should be so I'm not at all surprised that you're feeling burned out.
Why do you only increase your calories on 'leg days'? I'm assuming you don't have a Fitbit synched up so are you manually entering exercise? What are you selecting?
Also, are you weighing all your food / measuring all liquids?
A fitness Instagramer I followed stated she would eat more on leg days and it helped with her muscle growth. After reading everyone’s responses, I’m assuming that’s not the best advice lol. I am definitely planning on increasing my calories and seeing how that works for me.
Also, I have an iwatch that tracks my calories burned.2 -
The only advice fitness instagrammers are qualified to give are photoshop tips and tricks.13
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Once upon a time, as recently as a year ago, I could not put together any combination of any exercises totalling once a week. Now, five plus months post hip replacements (Jan. and April) I sure as heck am not sweating (euphamistically) five or six a week! I am in my glory. My exercise is any combination of track walking, water calesthenics and water walking 105 minutes worth of all of it today!!3
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Listen to your body if it’s too much then workout 5 times a week but if you feel ok just keep doing it but don’t forget to listen to your body push it but not too much @MarissaRiv232
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Listen to your body if it’s too much then workout 5 times a week but if you feel ok just keep doing it but don’t forget to listen to your body push it but not too much @MarissaRiv23
I am working on being more patient with my weight loss. This week I took out my usual Orange Theory class and did yoga instead. I’ve also increased my calories a bit. I’m hoping to see a change in how I feel. 3 -
MarissaRiv23 wrote: »Listen to your body if it’s too much then workout 5 times a week but if you feel ok just keep doing it but don’t forget to listen to your body push it but not too much @MarissaRiv23
I am working on being more patient with my weight loss. This week I took out my usual Orange Theory class and did yoga instead. I’ve also increased my calories a bit. I’m hoping to see a change in how I feel.
Definitely the smart thing to do and your results will be long term.
Good luck. @MarissaRiv23
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MarissaRiv23 wrote: »Listen to your body if it’s too much then workout 5 times a week but if you feel ok just keep doing it but don’t forget to listen to your body push it but not too much @MarissaRiv23
I am working on being more patient with my weight loss. This week I took out my usual Orange Theory class and did yoga instead. I’ve also increased my calories a bit. I’m hoping to see a change in how I feel.
Definitely the smart thing to do and your results will be long term.
Good luck. @MarissaRiv23
Thank you! 😊1 -
I had more results lifting 5 days a week rather than 6. Working out 5 days per week was enjoyable and I was able to go hard whereas 6 days per week left me stressed out and tired. I think headspace is more important than people think.3
This discussion has been closed.
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