How much is to much?

tpt42087

Just wondering what everyone thinks is to much exercising? Currently I am doing the JM 30 Day Shred, Supreme90 Day Workout and just started the C25K today. I also use the elliptical at the gym. I don't want to over due it but Im just not sure how I figure out if it's to much. I did the elliptical and the C25K this morning and feel great normally get the two home workouts in after my kids are in bed. What are signs that I'm doing to much? Also if I'm burning an extra 1500+ calories a day how many should I be eating back?

Bikini_Bound150

I would say that if you feel good, you're doing okay. "Too much" would be if you cause an injury or are working out to the point where you feel sick. Just make sure you drink LOTS AND LOTS of water with that much cardio!! And always remember to stretch and take a rest day once in a while so you don't cause yourself an injury.

Personally, I eat back enough of my exercise calories to make my NET calories roughly 1,200 or more.

Kimsied

I think it kind of depends. I have the workout videos you mention and tried c25k for a few weeks in the past (but I added it on to what I was already doing and it was too much for me and resulted in pain after a few weeks).

I don't think the cardio you do is an issue though it could be depending on the duration. If you are doing the elliptical in between your c25k days that should be fine so you are resting a bit from the impact of running. I am into cross training so would think the movement of the elliptical is a little too similar to running and would probably opt for something low impact but very different.

Both the S90 and 30DS workouts are fairly short and also have a cardio effect. I guess I always ave this concern with 30DS, I think doing the exact same workout every day is taking an unnecessary risk for repetitive stress injuries and those injuries are the ones that tend to sneak up--everything is fine until you notice it is not. Even when I did 30ds I did it on alternate days. But it might be okay since it is just intended for 30 days and the weights are so light. You might want to watch how your shins feel with c25k and the hig impact cardio in shred though. With S90, I think you might be going to light in the weight you are using if you have the energy for another weight workout in the same day and also the day after. So you may not be getting some of the strength gains and metabolism gains that you could. I actually prefer S90 as a program over shred mainly because it is better planned, has more variety so you are not doing the same workout every day, etc. I know Jillian has some programs that may be more like s90 and some of her fans have informally made programs by combining her different workouts. It may be okay to do both for a month then just focus on the S90 and c25k. Or you could do 30DS for a month then switch to S90.

As someone who also tends to try to combine too many programs, I find sometimes it is better to do less and really give it your best. It may be better to pick one to focus on for now on the strength and do the c25k (and elliptical if you want) for your cardio. But really the workouts you are doing all have a cardio effect as does c25k so the elliptical would be optional and there are a lot of experts that say too much cardio can be a problem as well.

Kimsied

Here is an article that lists some of the signs:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/overtraining.aspx

BreakingOath

You should always eat back your exercise calories. If you already have a calorie deficit set on MFP and then don't eat back those exercise calories, you are creating an even greater deficit.

bostonmom23

It might be too much

I am currently doing a rotation

3 days week 30 day shred
3 days week C25k

I will be doing that for a month

Then my rotation for the next 90 days

3 day weights (will be 2 days s90 alternating the upper body workouts and 1 day 30 day shred or another circuit training )
3 days c25k or running when i finish .

I usually walk on the treadmill to make my workout time at least 45 minutes and some days 60 minutes

Cwilliams8676

Here is an article that lists some of the signs:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/overtraining.aspx

love that link thanx for posting it

rides4sanity

It's too much, when your body tells you its too much. Unfortunately it takes time to learn what your body is telling you.

You might be sluggish or nauseous, or your sleep might be affected. For me when I over train my sleep pattern goes haywire., I wake up every hour or so.

Others experience soreness/over use injuries, sore for more than a few days, and sore when just lying around.

As far as eating back the calories, no I wouldn't eat back and extra 1500, but you do need to eat back enough to fuel your body and your next workout. For me on high burn days (>1000) I have found that by upping my calories by 500-800 I feel good the next day. If I eat back less than that I am zombie girl in the morning, nauseous by afternoon and ravishingly hungry "will eat anything I see" by evening.

Listen to your body, if things seem off adjust your workouts and/or eating. Little tweaks to either can make a huge difference. Good luck! Add if you'd like.

mybiketrip

Here is an article that lists some of the signs:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/overtraining.aspx

love that link thanx for posting it

No, no, no!

Overtraining is way more rare than the amateur/casual athlete thinks it is. Joe Friel, a cycling coach of 30+ years, has seen only few instances of overtraining. Overtraining is much more serious than people think it is and it lasts for months; it's not simply being tired for a couple days after a hard run, that is what recovery runs are for.

"When I do a talk I often ask the audience how many have been overtrained. Almost everyone raises their hands. My guess is that fewer than 5% in any such athletic audience, even with mostly very serious athletes, has truly achieved overtraining. And that's a liberal estimate. It's very difficult to achieve the overtraining syndrome. Accomplishing that requires a superhuman effort to overcome your body's extreme weariness which is a probably a built in mechanism to prevent death or at least bodily harm. I've only known of one athlete in in 30 years of coaching who I believed was really overtrained. It wasn't a pretty sight. He was a pro triathlete who told after he retired that he was never the same athlete again. He raced unspectacularly for three more years following that episode." - Joe Friel

http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/thought-on-overtraining.html

Overtraining IS long term, not short term.

myfitnessnmhoy

Here is an article that lists some of the signs:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/overtraining.aspx

Very nice link, thank you.

You don't have to be sore to have overtrained. Boredom is a real problem with workouts - I have been using an elliptical trainer for a while now because it allows the highest calorie burn for the time I have with the lowest impact on my body. But I get bored of it, and I occasionally go bouts of skipping exercise altogether because I dread the "beast". So I've been using it three times a week for my "optimal" 45-minute workout, and twice a week as a warm-up for some core/strength training (planks, curls, etc). I may switch to another machine for my warm-ups.

Then again, cycling season is upon us, I have to start training for the 180-mile 3-day Trek Across Maine, so I think a lot of my workout time is going to be spent on my bicycle from here on in, including my commute.

myfitnessnmhoy

As to "how many calories should I eat back", based on my personal experience my opinion would be "most or all of them". I find that I get lethargic and my weight loss stalls if I don't eat enough, because I can't work out at the levels I can when I eat properly, plus if I'm really tired I'm sure I'm burning fewer calories on an ongoing basis.

Your body may be different, but I've found trying to starve my way to weight loss to be both counterproductive and, frankly, depressing. I loves to eat, and I love the fact that re-tuning my diet based on this site's recommendations is allowing me to feel less hungry, more energetic, and most of all occasionally struggling to eat my allocation of calories each day.

What? You mean I HAVE to have dessert? Oh, the HORROR!!!! (grin).

Losin' weight and enjoying food more than I have in years. I love this.