Can you exercise too much??

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nikii14
nikii14 Posts: 403 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I honestly think I am addicted to the gym. I HAVE to go every day. Whether its a class, elliptical, treadmill or light weights. I only go for an hour. My question is, can a person overdo it at the gym?? Is it better to take days off, or can I continue to go every day?? If I miss a day, I still have to do exerciese at home. :noway:

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  • nikii14
    nikii14 Posts: 403 Member
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    I honestly think I am addicted to the gym. I HAVE to go every day. Whether its a class, elliptical, treadmill or light weights. I only go for an hour. My question is, can a person overdo it at the gym?? Is it better to take days off, or can I continue to go every day?? If I miss a day, I still have to do exerciese at home. :noway:
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
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    I too an over-exerciser and I have wondered if doing too much is not good for me. I don't know the answer. I prefer outside to the gym, but I do something (if not more than one thing) everyday of the week. I do more than an hour every day.
  • courtney21
    courtney21 Posts: 9 Member
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    I think it depends on the person. I too get addicted to working out. I feel guilty if I skip a day. However; I have noticed that I tend to lose a little more weight if I do skip a day now and than rather than going and pushing it hard every single time.
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    I think your body needs a rest day once a week or so, but I have a hard time doing that myself also. What I am doing instead is just doing something lighter that "rest day." For instance, I will take a long walk or do a walking video instead of the harder core stuff.
  • mickie
    mickie Posts: 183
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    Yes, you can overtrain! You can workout your body too much and stop making any gains. Basically you're working out for nothing. :noway: Plus, if you overtrain you can more easily injure yourself. You should at least take one day off of exercise. I have worked out like two weeks in a row and could definitely feel that my body was more run down, but I felt like I needed to go. Then I read that you can overtrain and stop making any strides so I have MADE myself take at least one day off a week. Give yourself a break!
  • clk238
    clk238 Posts: 48 Member
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    me too- at least once a day- one or 2 days a week i go twice a day. I feel it's the only way to "keep up". that much working out, + MFP for the past 3 months have been the only things that have ever worked for me. I dropped 10 lbs in 2.5 months though, so it HAS been working. Now I am "addicted"... i took the first day off in 3 wks yesterday and feel all weird about it. I like crave the feeling of a really good workout.

    can anyone out there offer feedback on if you NEED to take a rest day? I do cardio every day and weights 2-3 days a week... if I'm sore, I do something that does not aggravate it, ie arms hurt from lifting, I'll do a spin class. or legs sore from running, I'll do hot yoga...
  • Kimono
    Kimono Posts: 367
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    I sometimes workout everyday. I don't think I am overtraining but I just like to be active, my mood improves and I feel great. I guess it just depends on the person. I did take yesterday off and it doesn't freak me out or anything, just didn't have the time.
  • codykitty
    codykitty Posts: 729
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    you have to give yourself a day off so you muscles rebuild. At least mix up which muscles you use on which day.
  • frankieswimmer
    frankieswimmer Posts: 3
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    working out everyday isnt a problem as long as you change what your doing, swap between strenght and cardio and upper body and lower body. got for a run one day then to an abs class the next, etc
  • Starchaser
    Starchaser Posts: 69
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    Categorically, yes.

    Overtraining can lead to impaired performance which slows down your progress, can weaken your immune system leaving you open to infections, and generally leave you feeling run down.

    In the UK I've read the maximum recommended level is four times per week for about an hour.
    I can testify from experience, three times a week for 45 minutes was enough for me to drop from 149lb to 135lb in four weeks.
    I did this for a martial arts competition.

    I appreciate it's different stroke since some people may simply not be fit enough to exercise at that intensity for 45 minutes and so to get the same benefit may need to work longer, but not by much.

    You can overtrain. It's a medical fact. It's why the pros take one week of training every four to six weeks.
    If you don't give yourself time to recover by resting in between, it can become problematic.

    There was a comment above about split routines. These are fine for building muscle but if its overall fat burn then each session should be a full body session working all major muscle groups to burn the maximum calories. This is where compound moves come in.

    Split routines do work but are more akin to strength and size rather than tone and definition, in my experience.

    So yes, you can exercise too much.
  • LightenUp_Caro
    LightenUp_Caro Posts: 572 Member
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    I think I'm having a problem with this.

    I've been running every day for the past 11 days averaging 6 miles a day, more or less depending on time. I know that this week I won't be able to workout on Wednesday or Friday, so I've been preparing myself for that by going everyday long and hard. I've also noticed a bump up on the scale. I have a feeling that this has something to do with that, but I feel like I can't not workout today or tomorrow because I have 2 days of no workout later this week.

    At least I know my body will get a rest at some point.

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